To those who fly often and also carry.

[smythe012]

The following is regarding a recent flight my wife and I took on Southwest from Chicago Midway to Tampa and back:
so simple it was almost ridiculous - after studying the process, printing the rules from both TSA and Southwest, and purchasing a hard sided case ( basically a locking tool box with foam inserts )
I packed 4 handguns - each semi auto, each with a empty chamber flag, my "mag bag" small zippered bag I use for mags and ammo - Southwest allows up to 11 pounds of ammo, I had 8 mags, 200rds 9mm and 400 rds .22. (ALL ammo must be in factory type organized containers and not loose) arriving @ the airport we head to the ticket counter, we check our luggage with cloths and state the case contains a firearm, all 3 pieces of luggage get the big white destination strip through the handle - 2 pieces get tossed on the conveyer, the counter agent has me fill out 2 cards 1 with red lettering my name to be printed and signed, airport to and from - it goes inside the firearm case, the other paper is a signed confirmation that the packed firearms are in fact unloaded - that paper went into my carry on backpack. The counter agent then walked us over to the TSA counter, I carried the gun case, TSA agent swiped some paper thing around the perimeter opening of the case while it was closed to read for some type of residue (?) then asked if the case was locked - I said no , he said lock it - I did - 2 latch locks and padlock not TSA locks - I hold the keys - the case was only opened to toss in the card, never were my firearms exposed as they were packed under the foam, never were my firearms removed from the case to be inspected. After I was instructed to lock the case it was then tossed on the conveyor .......... In Tampa - our 2 pieces of luggage popped out on the carousel - and my firearm case was "in a roped off section" with golf clubs etc and required me to show my matching stub to retrieve my case. Off to the range, Shooters World in Tampa was very nice.

Flight back - somewhat the same deal as above - we check a total of 3 pieces 1 being my gun case - tell the counter agent it contains a firearm - fill out the same 2 pieces of paper as in Chicago, 1 in my backpack one in my gun case, he has us wait for an escort - the escort carries my gun case - we follow to TSA , I state the case is not yet locked - they have me lock it - I do - they run it through x-ray and give me a thumbs up - enjoy your flight, they put a "TSA Inspected" strip of tape on my case. Back in Chicago I find the "golf club area" just in case, our 2 pieces of luggage pop out on to the carousel and not a minute later so does my gun case............ out there with the general luggage population. I grab it and head to the parking lot. NO ONE checked our stubs vs our luggage -

Thee End

piece of cake

Dan T

This is almost exactly what I'll be doing for my first "take your guns and ammo with you" flight on Wednesday.

I'm taking three pistols in a locked Pelican case as well as magazines and ammo in my Midway USA "mag bag."

[img=http://s14.postimg.org/7gqv23vnh/Full_Size_Render.jpg]
[img=http://s7.postimg.org/b5sgdltrb/image.jpg]

Originally I was going to have the pistols w/o any magazines in them, but I liked the idea of zip ties to indicate the guns were unloaded. I have 100 rounds of 9mm and 100 rounds of 45ACP in the mag bag, plus five additional magazines. The mag bag, plus ammo and magazines weighs in at about 10.5 lbs., so Southwest should be fine with that.

The Pelican Case will have a locked padlock on it, with the only two keys in my carry on bag. I'm putting both the locked Pelican case and mag bag in a green duffel along with my hiking/climbing gear.

Lastly, I have a paper copy of Southwest's gun policy as well as TSA's.

Sound about right?

 

[LockStocksAndBarrel]

This is almost exactly what I'll be doing for my first "take your guns and ammo with you" flight on Wednesday.

I'm taking three pistols in a locked Pelican case as well as magazines and ammo in my Midway USA "mag bag."

[img=http://s14.postimg.org/7gqv23vnh/Full_Size_Render.jpg]
[img=http://s7.postimg.org/b5sgdltrb/image.jpg]

Originally I was going to have the pistols w/o any magazines in them, but I liked the idea of zip ties to indicate the guns were unloaded. I have 100 rounds of 9mm and 100 rounds of 45ACP in the mag bag, plus five additional magazines. The mag bag, plus ammo and magazines weighs in at about 10.5 lbs., so Southwest should be fine with that.

The Pelican Case will have a locked padlock on it, with the only two keys in my carry on bag. I'm putting both the locked Pelican case and mag bag in a green duffel along with my hiking/climbing gear.

Lastly, I have a paper copy of Southwest's gun policy as well as TSA's.

Sound about right?

I would add that the ammo needs to be in a factory box of some kind. I use the boxes with the plastic round holders in side.

 

[tatic05]

This is almost exactly what I'll be doing for my first "take your guns and ammo with you" flight on Wednesday.

I'm taking three pistols in a locked Pelican case as well as magazines and ammo in my Midway USA "mag bag."

[img=http://s14.postimg.org/7gqv23vnh/Full_Size_Render.jpg]
[img=http://s7.postimg.org/b5sgdltrb/image.jpg]

Originally I was going to have the pistols w/o any magazines in them, but I liked the idea of zip ties to indicate the guns were unloaded. I have 100 rounds of 9mm and 100 rounds of 45ACP in the mag bag, plus five additional magazines. The mag bag, plus ammo and magazines weighs in at about 10.5 lbs., so Southwest should be fine with that.

The Pelican Case will have a locked padlock on it, with the only two keys in my carry on bag. I'm putting both the locked Pelican case and mag bag in a green duffel along with my hiking/climbing gear.

Lastly, I have a paper copy of Southwest's gun policy as well as TSA's.

Sound about right?

I will be doing this with Southwest in September. Please report back how everything went if you dont mind. I am heading to CO for backpacking in the mountains and I will be bringing something with me.

 

[Joniki]

I would add that the ammo needs to be in a factory box of some kind. I use the boxes with the plastic round holders in side.

I have never had any problems carrying ammo in reloading boxes. As long as the rounds aren't loose, it isn't a problem.

I recently had a problem with a metal gun safe with a combination lock. The people in Indy wanted a "pad lock with separate key".

 

[smythe012]

I would add that the ammo needs to be in a factory box of some kind. I use the boxes with the plastic round holders in side.

Yep. All ammo is boxed in factory boxes. Southwest states: "The ammunition may be placed in the same container as the firearm and must be securely packed in cardboard (fiber), wood, or metal boxes, or other packaging specifically designed to carry small amounts of ammunition." I'm guessing factory or reload boxes would do just fine.

I will be doing this with Southwest in September. Please report back how everything went if you dont mind. I am heading to CO for backpacking in the mountains and I will be bringing something with me.

That's exactly what I'm doing! If you don't hear from me in a week or so, PM me and I'll report back on how it went at Midway and Denver International.

 

[Dirtebiker]

I would add that the ammo needs to be in a factory box of some kind. I use the boxes with the plastic round holders in side.

Yep. All ammo is boxed in factory boxes. Southwest states: "The ammunition may be placed in the same container as the firearm and must be securely packed in cardboard (fiber), wood, or metal boxes, or other packaging specifically designed to carry small amounts of ammunition." I'm guessing factory or reload boxes would do just fine.



That's exactly what I'm doing! If you don't hear from me in a week or so, PM me and I'll report back on how it went at Midway and Denver International.

Ammo can be in magazines, just don't have the mags IN the gun!

 

[LockStocksAndBarrel]

Ammo can be in magazines, just don't have the mags IN the gun!

All true. Just not loose.

 

[smythe012]

UPDATE!

First off, complete success and quite easy (as many have said).

Midway: I went straight to the counter (because there was no line) and declared I had a firearm in one checked bag. The lady at the counter was very nice and completely unfazed. I filled out the little piece of paper and she taped it to my locked box. I received my boarding pass and walked my bag to the end of the counter where a TSA agent was waiting. He took my duffel bag and opened it. He pulled the locked box out but did not ask me to unlock and open the case. I told him I had a magazine and ammo case as well. He did a quick check on it to make sure ammo was in boxes and that was about it! Locked box and ammo/mag bag into the duffel, and off it went.

I arrived at DIA and picked up my bags at baggage claim, just like any other bag.

Coming back from Denver I had the same experience, although the process took a bit longer. Same experience with the lady at the counter, took my bag down to TSA room. It looked like they X-rayed (sp?) the entire bag first, then opened the duffel. Again, they did not ask me to open the lock box. But that was it.

At Midway it took an additional ten minutes max. At Denver 10-15 minutes.

 

[tatic05]

UPDATE!

First off, complete success and quite easy (as many have said).

Midway: I went straight to the counter (because there was no line) and declared I had a firearm in one checked bag. The lady at the counter was very nice and completely unfazed. I filled out the little piece of paper and she taped it to my locked box. I received my boarding pass and walked my bag to the end of the counter where a TSA agent was waiting. He took my duffel bag and opened it. He pulled the locked box out but did not ask me to unlock and open the case. I told him I had a magazine and ammo case as well. He did a quick check on it to make sure ammo was in boxes and that was about it! Locked box and ammo/mag bag into the duffel, and off it went.

I arrived at DIA and picked up my bags at baggage claim, just like any other bag.

Coming back from Denver I had the same experience, although the process took a bit longer. Same experience with the lady at the counter, took my bag down to TSA room. It looked like they X-rayed (sp?) the entire bag first, then opened the duffel. Again, they did not ask me to open the lock box. But that was it.

At Midway it took an additional ten minutes max. At Denver 10-15 minutes.

Thanks for the update. What did you use for the ammo/mag bag? Also, it was considered two checked items correct? One being your duffle bag and the other the hard case for the firearm, even though it was inside an already checked bag.

 

[smythe012]

Thanks for the update. What did you use for the ammo/mag bag? Also, it was considered two checked items correct? One being your duffle bag and the other the hard case for the firearm, even though it was inside an already checked bag.

I had a MidwayUSA tactical pistol case holding seven magazines (mine were empty, but you can have them loaded). My pictures are linked in the top post on this page. I placed four boxes of ammo in the main pocket. Because my locked box and ammo bag were able to fit in my duffel with all my other hiking/ climbing gear, the whole thing counted as one bag. If you put your locked box in another bag, it still counts as one checked bag. Make sense?

 

[tatic05]

I had a MidwayUSA tactical pistol case holding seven magazines (mine were empty, but you can have them loaded). My pictures are linked in the top post on this page. I placed four boxes of ammo in the main pocket. Because my locked box and ammo bag were able to fit in my duffel with all my other hiking/ climbing gear, the whole thing counted as one bag. If you put your locked box in another bag, it still counts as one checked bag. Make sense?

Makes perfect sense, thank you! I just need to figure out which firearm I am going to be taking with me. Thanks for all the help.

 

[ArcadiaGP]

Flying to ATL next month, wanted to try doing this.

So you can include the locked firearm inside of your checked bag, or it has to go as it's own separate checked piece?

With a revolver, can I just have the ammo in my carry on, or with it somewhere else in the checked bag?

 

[tatic05]

Flying to ATL next month, wanted to try doing this.

So you can include the locked firearm inside of your checked bag, or it has to go as it's own separate checked piece?

With a revolver, can I just have the ammo in my carry on, or with it somewhere else in the checked bag?

I flew Southwest and they allowed me to put my locked hard sided gun case in one of my checked bags. Im not sure if that comes from the company or ATF.

You can not have ammo in your carry on. I had my ammo in another bag with two magazines. One mag had ammo in it the other did not and then I had one box of ammo in a factory box. The ammo bag was not in any locked bag/case, just a regular bag that had strings to close it.

I am not saying it has to be done the way that I did it but I didnt have any issues in Indy or Denver. In Indy I opened my checked bag showed the guy the locked case and taped the card I filled out on the gun cases. After that he gave me a card to give to the TSA guys once I was through the checkpoint and they called down and verified everything was good. In Denver, I just followed a guy over to the TSA inspection room. They put my checked bag through a machine and said I was good to go. Total time in Indy was maybe an extra 5-10 minutes and in Denver about 10-15 minutes.

 

[chipbennett]

Flying to ATL next month, wanted to try doing this.

So you can include the locked firearm inside of your checked bag, or it has to go as it's own separate checked piece?

With a revolver, can I just have the ammo in my carry on, or with it somewhere else in the checked bag?

Caveat: check the specific requirements for YOUR CARRIER before taking any advice.

That said, with United, I placed my pistol in a (non-TSA) locked pistol case, inside my checked luggage. Ammunition was also in my checked luggage, in factory packaging that included separation of each round (i.e. no bulk-packaging).

Personally, unless you're packing a long gun that simply won't fit in your normal checked luggage, I would not send a firearm in a separate case as its own checked luggage. That's one more piece of luggage to get mishandled, and raises the potential that it is recognized as containing a firearm. Keeping the pistol case in your normal, checked luggage mitigates both of those risks.

Also: don't take ammunition in your carry-on. Keep it in your checked luggage. TSA rules prohibit it:

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

 

[Bfish]

Dwight Howard Reportedly Not Arrested After Accidentally Bringing Gun to Airport | Bleacher Report

If no one saw this, the new Texas law has taken effect. Dwight Howard did not face any criminal charges... Texas made the change because Dallas Ft. Worth was having an incident almost daily (greater than every other day, or multiple times a day). I talked to a detective at the airport in INDY and he said they would like to follow Texas's lead on their new way of handling such incidents.

You guys with ammo were also lucky, I met a guy who got popped for having some firecrackers in his golf bag to scare geese away. Much less live rounds...
Some stories I've been told by some military guys on commercial flight like presenting TSA with a grenade pin and 5.56 rounds they found waiting in line blows my mind. You do want to double and triple check your stuff!

 

[Alamo]

Dwight Howard Reportedly Not Arrested After Accidentally Bringing Gun to Airport | Bleacher Report

If no one saw this, the new Texas law has taken effect. Dwight Howard did not face any criminal charges...

At the time Dwight Howard boo-booed the law was NOT in effect. He showed up at the airport on Aug 28, and the law did not take legal effect until Sep 1. The DA just decided not to file charges, possibly because it was so close to the law kicking in. Dwight got lucky.

 

[Bfish]

At the time Dwight Howard boo-booed the law was NOT in effect. He showed up at the airport on Aug 28, and the law did not take legal effect until Sep 1. The DA just decided not to file charges, possibly because it was so close to the law kicking in. Dwight got lucky.

Oh well I wouldn't have been surprised to see it dropped regardless. It happens all around the country all of the time... My thing was that they let someone take it off for him, when the TSA should have taken his pistol.

 

[ArcadiaGP]

Is something like this OK?

http://www.amazon.com/Single-Pistol...d=1442844962&sr=8-1&keywords=TSA+handgun+case

 

[chipbennett]

Is something like this OK?

http://www.amazon.com/Single-Pistol...d=1442844962&sr=8-1&keywords=TSA+handgun+case

EDIT:

I looked at the Amazon link, and the other images. Given the way that the closures work on this case, I think you'd be fine.

ORIGINAL:

Doubtful. But maybe? Depends upon the configuration.

The general rule of thumb is that you shouldn't be able to open the case wide enough to insert a finger. If the cord prevents the hasps from opening, then you're good. But if the cord allows the hasps to open and merely prevents the case from fully opening, it's probably not going to be acceptable. I guess it would depend on how tight you can make it.

I drilled a hole in my factory, plastic Ruger case that the SR9c comes in, and used the smallest security padlock I could find. The hasps can still be opened, but the case only barely opens/separates at the corners.

With the case in your picture, you'd probably want to use two locks: one in each hole. No worries; the locks are cheap, and usually come multiple to a pack, with a single key.

 

[tatic05]

Is something like this OK?

http://www.amazon.com/Single-Pistol...d=1442844962&sr=8-1&keywords=TSA+handgun+case

I would agree that the case would work but personally I would think getting two locks for each hole on the case.