Traveling with firearm thru O’Hare Airport?

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  • Matthews

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    Within a month I will be traveling to Colorado via O’Hare. If able, Im hoping to bring along my carry for the trip. Has anyone gone through the process and could walk me through it? One area I am worried about is the transportation from my vehicle to where it is checked in. Does the firearm have to be disassembled if I am not within my vehicle in Illinois? And will the ammunition need to be locked up as well?
     

    JettaKnight

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    Within a month I will be traveling to Colorado via O’Hare. If able, Im hoping to bring along my carry for the trip. Has anyone gone through the process and could walk me through it? One area I am worried about is the transportation from my vehicle to where it is checked in. Does the firearm have to be disassembled if I am not within my vehicle in Illinois? And will the ammunition need to be locked up as well?

    Assuming your "carry" is a handgun, if it's packed in bag, or not conspicuous, you won't have a problem. Just head to the counter and declare it.

    Follow the airline guidelines.


    I think you'll find it's not as bad as you think.


    Oh, and do not use a TSA approved lock.
     

    rawbeervoter

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    Within a month I will be traveling to Colorado via O’Hare. If able, Im hoping to bring along my carry for the trip. Has anyone gone through the process and could walk me through it? One area I am worried about is the transportation from my vehicle to where it is checked in. Does the firearm have to be disassembled if I am not within my vehicle in Illinois? And will the ammunition need to be locked up as well?

    I can't comment on your exact situation, but I had a connecting flight through O'Hare and had checked my piston in initially at Indianapolis. The airline was different and they wouldn't do an airline to airline transfer, so I had to exit the security gates to go pick up my firearm and check it back in at O'hare. If I recall correctly, ammo has to be checked in separately (ie in checked baggage) and the firearm must be in a locked case itself. I did not have to disassemble the firearm.

    I will be interested in hearing a follow up to this once you've settled in from your return trip. Good Luck.
     
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    Alamo

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    A couple posts from a year ago on checking in at O'Hare with a firearm from another forum:

    https://texaschlforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=96293&hilit=O'Hare#p1254116

    https://texaschlforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=94771&p=1237753&hilit=O'Hare#p1237753

    As bad as Illinois is about guns, they are not in the same level of Hell as NY and NJ. NY/NJ do have a habit of arresting non-NY/NJ residents who try to check a firearm at any of the NY and NJ airports. Chicago does not appear to do this.

    Good luck.

    And I can't resist: this is TSA's own guidance about what locks can be used on a hard-sided gun case:

    [FONT=&amp] 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

    TSA has been pretty consistent over the years at stating that TSA-approved locks are acceptable for locking gun cases. There are entire mega-post threads here on INGO thrashing that one. :)
     

    JettaKnight

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    TSA has been pretty consistent over the years at stating that TSA-approved locks are acceptable for locking gun cases. There are entire mega-post threads here on INGO thrashing that one. :)

    If you look at the CFR's, it clearly states that only the owner shall possess the key. If it's a TSA lock, then the owner, plus a thousand other knuckle-draggers have the keys.


    CFR 1540.111 (c)(2)(iv)

    (iv) The container in which it is carried is locked, and only the passenger retains the key or combination.


    Personally, I'd want to make it as hard as possible for someone to gain access.
     
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    Alamo

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    If you look at the CFR's, it clearly states that only the owner shall possess the key. If it's a TSA lock, then the owner, plus a thousand other knuckle-draggers have the keys.

    As I said, this has been thrashed thoroughly elsewhere. I will note that ones to enforce this rule are the...TSA. Happy flying.
     

    Matthews

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    So the handgun is in a locked case, which must be stowed in the checked baggage to be out of sight correct? Would the ammunition I have packed in a factory box have to go inside of another checked bag? Or can it be stored inside the same checked bag with the hard case?
     

    Joniki

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    I fly out of ****cago pretty frequently, typically Southwest airlines. I generally put my EDC in a hard sided case with the magazines in the same case buried in my locked suitcase. I have a reloaders case for my ammo that is in the same hard sided case. I routinely carry one of my other handguns to the airport and then lock it in the vault in my car when I arrive. DO NOT use TSA locks on your gun case. TSA locks on your suitcase is fine. And yes, declare your firearm at the ticket counter.
     

    Joniki

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    So the handgun is in a locked case, which must be stowed in the checked baggage to be out of sight correct? Would the ammunition I have packed in a factory box have to go inside of another checked bag? Or can it be stored inside the same checked bag with the hard case?

    Your ammo can be stored in the same locked case as your firearm. The ammo needs to be in a secure container.
     

    MontereyC6

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    To add, when flying with a handgun, I also tether my pistol case with cables and locks so that it can not be removed from my suitcase. If TSA needs to check my handgun again, they can come get me to do it. I've done this on more that a dozen flights over the last few years.
     

    seldon14

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    Yeah I've flown out there no problem. Usually you can just Google firearm + whatever airline you are flying and they will give you there specifics.
     

    63PGP

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    My wife has family in Illinois and I carry in the car when we travel. I keep a copy of the IL Firearm Concealed Carry Act printed and this section printed and highlighted as the first page. I generally don't do anything to be pulled over but its there just in case. Non-resident permit holders have more rights to carry than IL residents.

    https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=3497&ChapterID=39



    (e) Nothing in this Act shall prohibit a non-resident from transporting a concealed firearm within his or her vehicle in Illinois, if the concealed firearm remains within his or her vehicle and the non-resident:
    (1) is not prohibited from owning or possessing a
    firearm under federal law;
    (2) is eligible to carry a firearm in public under
    the laws of his or her state or territory of residence, as evidenced by the possession of a concealed carry license or permit issued by his or her state of residence, if applicable; and
    (3) is not in possession of a license under this Act.
    If the non-resident leaves his or her vehicle unattended, he or she shall store the firearm within a locked vehicle or locked container within the vehicle in accordance with subsection (b) of Section 65 of this Act.
    (Source: P.A. 98-63, eff. 7-9-13; 98-600, eff. 12-6-13; 99-78, eff. 7-20-15.)

     

    cosermann

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    The only thing that has jammed up some people is if for some reason they get stuck in New York (ex. Missed connection, Weather, airline issue, etc.). Then what?
     
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