Flying with a firearm case question

[bigo334]

I will be going to North Dakota in August to visit my sister, and I wondering would this be a TSA approved case for my firearms.

https://f5mfg.com/product/cz-scorpion-ridgid-case/

 

[seldon14]

Requirements vary by airline but most I've seen are "lockable hard sided case". You do not want to lock it with " TSA locks".

 

[Fixer]

Couple of times I have flown with guns they rarely look at the case or guns at all. First time I read all the info on the airlines website and was ready for inspecting the firearms to be unloaded. None of that happened. They gave me the form that the firearms are unloaded and I put it on top of my pelican case after signing it. The person at the counter never verified they were unloaded and barely looked at the case. This was the same at Denver International and Salt Lake City Airport. Just about any hard case that can be locked will work. I was flying on American so I'm not sure about other airlines. On the TSA site it says any case that cannot be accessed while locked and unlatched is good. I have been using a pelican case with 2 regular Master locks. As stated earlier TSA locks are a no no. The case you are wanting to use looks good to me as long as the firearm cannot be a accessed by unlatching it while locked.

 

[DadSmith]

The few times I flew with a rifle I field stripped it, put it in a tsa approved case showed the lady at the counter then put a tsa approved lock on it. They still cut the lock to look at my disassembled rifle. So get cheap locks because they will cut them anyway and put plastic zip ties in there place. That was Southwest airlines out of Dayton, Ohio many years ago.

 

[Joniki]

Yes, that case will work. DO NOT put TSA approved locks on the case. Only you should have access to the case.

Save yourself some money and buy a case from Harbor Freight.

https://www.harborfreight.com/1800-weatherproof-protective-case-small-64550.html

 

[Alamo]

The case must be stiff enough that once locked it can't be pried open. Some "hard" plastic cases are cheap/flexible enough that when locked with a single lock in the center the corners can be pried open. They won't let you use a case like that. I doubt that's a problem with Ridgid, but so you know.

The regulations appear to say that the key or combo must be retained by only you. However if you ask TSA (like I have, just for grins), they say TSA locks are ok -- and they're the ones that enforce the rules. I'd stick with my own lock tho, but listen to the airport announcements in case they call you because they want to inspect the interior. I've never had them too interested in the guns, they were looking and swabbing for explosives.

Everytime I flew out of Indianapolis Weir Cook the ticket agent would give me a card to give to the "TSA Supervisor". After clearing the checkpoint I would go to this booth marked "TSA Supervisor" and hand them the card. They would take the key to my gun case and disappear for awhile, presumably downstairs to check the case. They'd bring back, and always in my case say "Good to go" and I would go on. This seems counter to the regulation and Indy is the only place I've seen this procedure, but as I said they are the ones enforcing that regulation, so I didn't kick a fuss.

Been a couple years since I flew from Indy, so don't know if this is still the procedure, but they did this every time I flew from there.

 

[Joniki]

My brother has had TSA ask for the key when flying out of Grand Rapids. One time he lost a magazine, now he asks to go with the key.

The case must be stiff enough that once locked it can't be pried open. Some "hard" plastic cases are cheap/flexible enough that when locked with a single lock in the center the corners can be pried open. They won't let you use a case like that. I doubt that's a problem with Ridgid, but so you know.

The regulations appear to say that the key or combo must be retained by only you. However if you ask TSA (like I have, just for grins), they say TSA locks are ok -- and they're the ones that enforce the rules. I'd stick with my own lock tho, but listen to the airport announcements in case they call you because they want to inspect the interior. I've never had them too interested in the guns, they were looking and swabbing for explosives.

Everytime I flew out of Indianapolis Weir Cook the ticket agent would give me a card to give to the "TSA Supervisor". After clearing the checkpoint I would go to this booth marked "TSA Supervisor" and hand them the card. They would take the key to my gun case and disappear for awhile, presumably downstairs to check the case. They'd bring back, and always in my case say "Good to go" and I would go on. This seems counter to the regulation and Indy is the only place I've seen this procedure, but as I said they are the ones enforcing that regulation, so I didn't kick a fuss.

Been a couple years since I flew from Indy, so don't know if this is still the procedure, but they did this every time I flew from there.

 

[bigo334]

The only thing that really sketches me out it I have a layover both to and from my destination, and I dont want to lose my guns during the changes.

 

[Fixer]

The few times I flew with a rifle I field stripped it, put it in a tsa approved case showed the lady at the counter then put a tsa approved lock on it. They still cut the lock to look at my disassembled rifle. So get cheap locks because they will cut them anyway and put plastic zip ties in there place. That was Southwest airlines out of Dayton, Ohio many years ago.

Not sure that was legal for them to do that. According to the TSA you are suppose to be the only one with the key to the locks and they are not suppose to be TSA locks. I have never had mine cut and I was the only one with the key. Zip ties are not secure at all. They can ask you to show them to verify they are unloaded and they can scan them, but they are not allowed to open them without you being present I do believe.

 

[Brian Keith]

Only time I've flown with firearms was on the Army's dime. We put our M-4 carbines, our M-9 pistols and our NBC drugs in Pelican cases. We buddied up and had two Army issue locks on each case. One buddy had a key for one lock and the other had the key for his/her lock. One person could not open the case. We left from Indy, and did have to have the cases open at Atlanta. Since we were all uniformed military, they didn't really pay a lot of attention to us. We were on our way to Afghanistan, of course, they didn't know where we were going except where our ticket was taking us. We carried NO ammunition, but had lots of mags in our checked bags. On the return trip a year later, we were closely inspected by MP's leaving Bagram AFB, but not so much later. We still used the same locked pelican cases, buddied up and NO ammo and No NBC drugs. We turned in our NBC drugs in Afghanistan prior to leaving. We did still have our magazines. As a side note, when going on R&R, we left our weapons on our FOB, and could not take any magazines. In my case, I flew military air to Kuwait, then Lufthansa to Germany. In Kuwait, I changed to civilian clothes. Of course, it wasn't really hard to determine who is US military flying out of Kuwait at that time. And, we used our military ID as our passport.
BKW

 

[rjsone]

Evidently, hiding it under the liner of your suitcase is NOT the correct answer.

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/loc...ort/2523841/?_osource=db_npd_nbc_wnbc_eml_shr

 

[DadSmith]

Not sure that was legal for them to do that. According to the TSA you are suppose to be the only one with the key to the locks and they are not suppose to be TSA locks. I have never had mine cut and I was the only one with the key. Zip ties are not secure at all. They can ask you to show them to verify they are unloaded and they can scan them, but they are not allowed to open them without you being present I do believe.

It kinda got me upset because of how they handled it. If it was scanned they should have seen it was disassembled.

 

[two70]

Save yourself some money and buy a case from Harbor Freight.

Putting an expensive firearm in a cheap case and then handing it over to a bunch of goons known for breaking/stealing things does not sound like a well thought out plan to me.

 

[Joniki]

I have used a HF case many times and never had an issue. Even an expensive Pelican case can be opened with very little difficulty. Locks only keep honest people honest.

Putting an expensive firearm in a cheap case and then handing it over to a bunch of goons known for breaking/stealing things does not sound like a well thought out plan to me.

 

[dwh79]

I have flown with a pistol several times and have always used TSA marked approved combo locks and have never had a issue or someone tell me I can’t use that lock. I thought the lock had to be TSA approved. I guess next time I will be reading more. I have flown with it out of Phoenix, Indy, Orlando, and somewhere else but can’t recall.

 

[JettaKnight]

I have flown with a pistol several times and have always used TSA marked approved combo locks and have never had a issue or someone tell me I can’t use that lock. I thought the lock had to be TSA approved. I guess next time I will be reading more. I have flown with it out of Phoenix, Indy, Orlando, and somewhere else but can’t recall.

See this:
[video=youtube;94z0OJ_-4Lo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94z0OJ_-4Lo[/video]

 

[two70]

I have used a HF case many times and never had an issue. Even an expensive Pelican case can be opened with very little difficulty. Locks only keep honest people honest.

I'm a lot more concerned about damage than theft when talking about something larger than a concealable handgun. Pelican cases, among others, have long been proven to take a beating and protect the contents, the Chinese knockoffs from HF do not have that track record.

 

[Alamo]

RE: keys, this is what is currently on the TSA website concerning keys/combos/locks (emphasis added:

[FONT=&quot]Firearms must be unloaded and locked in a hard-sided container and transported as checked baggage only. As defined by [/FONT]49 CFR 1540.5[FONT=&quot] a loaded firearm has a live round of ammunition, or any component thereof, in the chamber or cylinder or in a magazine inserted in the firearm. Only the passenger should retain the key or combination to the lock unless TSA personnel request the key to open the firearm container to ensure compliance with TSA regulations. You may use any brand or type of lock to secure your firearm case, including TSA-recognized locks.[/FONT]

https://www.tsa.gov/travel/transporting-firearms-and-ammunition

 

[1nderbeard]

The only thing that really sketches me out it I have a layover both to and from my destination, and I dont want to lose my guns during the changes.

Watch out for this. Pilot friend of mine who is in to guns warned me that in case your flight gets canceled you need to make sure it's legal for you to possess your particular firearm in whatever state you might be stuck for the night. Flying to SD the only potential trouble stop would be Chicago but I'm guessing you'll fly through somewhere else.

 

[bigo334]

So the flight plan is indiana, Colorado, then North Dakota. Reverse on the way back. Hopefully everything goes smooth. I just dont want to lose thousands of dollars, cause some baggage guy has sticky fingers