Govt rules for airplane travel with firearms

[allen-ak]

Flying with your guns and ammo?

Thes two web sites cover the Government rules.

Airlines also have thier own rules.

Might be good to print all these off and have them with you when your travel.


http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtrav...rial_1666.shtm

http://safetravel.dot.gov/index_ammunition.html

[Nitroman]

This question is asked so often your post should be made a permanent sticky.

[DanAKAL]

I fly with firearms several times per year. My solution is a pelican case with two locks and disassembled firearms inside. For shotguns I just break it down and pack with the barrel removed. Revolvers I remove the cylinder. Rifles, remove the bolt whether it is bolt action, lever action, or semi auto. Pistols, remove the slide. I leave all of the parts in the same pelican case and it usually contains more than one firearm. This works for me in every airport that I have been through. What I have found is there is someone working for TSA in every airport that understands and can identify parts of a gun. When they x-ray a near bomb proof pelican case that has two locks containing disassembled firearms they just don't give it a second look.

Dan

[RMK]

Good Advice Dan

Dan has offered some good advice in his post. He is correct that every bag, including those with guns gets run through an X-ray.

It's pretty easy to see that a gun is unloaded, and or, partially disassembled. Don't forget to properly package the ammo. TSA with not accept loaded magazines even if they're removed from the gun and inside the locked box.

You would be amazed at how many people just "toss" a gun in their suitcase, and end up with a steep fine from the feds. :cool:

[IndyCzar]

ammo limit?

My wife will be traveling via airplane from lower 48...no stops in Canada and will be transporting 2 rifles for me...Is there a limit on the amount of ammo allowed inside a pelican case...I would like her to bring 4 boxes of factory ammo...

could not find any reference except TSA saying a small amount of ammunition...anyone have any other references that she can carry with her...thanks...

[ADfields]

I don't think you can have ammo in with the gun. I just put it in with my cloths in plastic ammo boxes or factory packaging. Cant help on the limit other than they didn't bat an eye at my 400 rounds.

With the new baggage fees on my last trip Alaska Airlines hit me $15 for my first bag, $30 for my second, both were suitcase. Then the spooky part $100 for my 3rd bag, a rifle, and $150 for the 4th also a rifle. I was stuck in Phoenix with two of the guns I just inherited and had to pay it or skip my flight! Had I known I would have mailed them or at least bolted the cases together and saved $150. So CALL YOUR AIRLINE and know in advance what the charges are so you don’t get rooked like that!:mad:

[zaxon]

The amount of ammo allowed varies from airline to airline, but on Alaska it's 50lbs for domestic and 11lbs (5kg) for international flights.

Most airlines post their bag fees online these days. AD, when's the last time you flew? When I flew back to school in August it was only $85 for 3 bags IIRC.

[ADfields]

The amount of ammo allowed varies from airline to airline, but on Alaska it's 50lbs for domestic and 11lbs (5kg) for international flights.

Most airlines post their bag fees online these days. AD, when's the last time you flew? When I flew back to school in August it was only $85 for 3 bags IIRC.

It was October 2 2009 when I learned my lesson on bag fees.:mad:

I had been a little too busy trying to burry my Dad and sort everything out to think about baggage fees. Also I had made that flight many times when I lived in Arizona packing 2 rifles and 4 or 5 handguns and never got charged over $30 before this. Heck in 2008 I had 5 bags and #5 was a 170 pound blacksmith anvil and it was just $55 for its weight. It’s a new world of fees these days.

[JOAT]

Expect more restrictive rules soon!

Suitcase with ammo and primers in it "explodes" at Miami airport. Bag and contents catch fire. Directly caused by primer detontation.

Expect the TSA to drop their foot on airlines about allowing any ammo to be placed in checked baggage. We are, after all, a totally kneejerk reactionary society.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/12/28...est=latestnews#

:mad:

[marshall]

Suitcase with ammo and primers in it "explodes" at Miami airport. Bag and contents catch fire. Directly caused by primer detontation.

Expect the TSA to drop their foot on airlines about allowing any ammo to be placed in checked baggage. We are, after all, a totally kneejerk reactionary society.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/12/28...est=latestnews#

:mad:

How in the heck did they go off. They had to be surrounded by tons of clothes in the bag. Other bags must of been packed with soft goods too. I cant imagine any hard or sharp object hitting and igniting a primer packed in a suit case.

I imaging they were not packaged in their original package. These primers get shipped daily by freight handlers and never go off. I'm not saying take them on a flight but I'm puzzled that they went off.

Generally they would have been caught by the X-Ray machines or random bomb sniffing dogs. I got busted a few months ago coming back from Mexico as I went through customs. A dog started barking at me because of the smell of my small range bag that was attached to my suit case. No gun or related stuff in there at that time but the residue set him off.

[danthedewman1]

I shipped 3 .22s and a pistol all in the same gun case..No problems.Was free because of my Delta airmile status.Cheaper then FFl shipping.

[Turk Hunter]

This is what i did on a trip to Alaska=contacted the TSA and got the what and not to do with your gun"s".
Ammo can be carried in the same case as the gun in it's original carton/nothing loose. Gun must be shown that it is unloaded=Get this they had me pull the Ruger .44 right out at the airport check in counter and show them it was unloaded in Manchester, NH and then they fill out a card that you sign and put into the locked gun case inside your baggage.

At Anchorage International they had you go to the side where there is a TSA scan area where you show the guy the gun is unloaded and they still scan your bag along with swiping the baggage with patch's and then that goes through a machine to test for any trickey explosive residue.

[springer]

Flying with your guns and ammo?

Thes two web sites cover the Government rules.

Airlines also have thier own rules.

Might be good to print all these off and have them with you when your travel.


http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtrav...rial_1666.shtm

http://safetravel.dot.gov/index_ammunition.html

I would recomend reading FAR 108 section 203 and the contract of carrage which can be found on the airlines website. I frequently print and carry these when I know that I will be traveling through airports located in "unfriendly" states.

[KnotTide]

I just had a one week trip outside to GA and flew AlaskaAir all the way there with no hassle as is usual. I take a hand gun alongpacked to TSA specs. On the return trip I flew American Air for the first twolegs and ran into more trouble than I ever have combined. If you are flyingwith American make sure if you change carriers you have enough time to get yourbag and recheck it at the airport where you change carriers. This is not ontheir web site but they would not transfer my bag to Alaskan Air. The ticketagent found an obscure policy after much research on her part that said theywon't transfer. I'm not sure if it was just the ticket counter I dealt with inAtlanta or if this is systemic, but their customer service tanked and it all stemmedfrom me having a firearm in my luggage.