Flying with Firearms, slight procedure change with TSA.

[L84CABO]

Good thing that you are there as well. At LAX TSA's master key worked to open my suitcase, at Orlando it did not and I had to give them the password for the suitcase.

At neither airports they got into the gun case.

This is part of the reason that I use a large pelican case (1615 Air Case) as both my actual suitcase and gun case. The gun goes in the case and my padlocks (non TSA Locks) go on the outside. If there's a gun in the case, I don't want them in it without me. Period. Now granted they can always cut my locks off. But that's against the rules. This way, you also get the added benefit of having all of your possessions secured with non TSA locks. Bonus.

[squeeze]

Explosives. They also use the same swabs on other articles. e.g. shoes.

Traveled many times with Air Alaska. Declare firearm at check-in>walk me to a small room where they open the bag>swab for explosives>re-lock bag> i'm on my way. BTW The persons checking your bag are NOT TSA. They work for a private contractor who provides the service; so procedures sometimes vary even tho they are not supposed to. They are not supposed to mark/tag your bag. That is a big NO-NO. I would carry a copy of the TSA regs and politely point out discrepancies in their handling. Only once did they ever ask me to open/see my firearm and that was because the guy and I were discussing my make and model and he was interested is seeing one. Nice guy. Even brought my left-behind key onto the airplane for me. Another guy and I had a early am talk about guns. He shoots at the the local range and invited me to stop by and shoot his 500 S&W. My take is that they are there to enforce the law-not to give me a hard time.

My last time through; she grabbed my locked case and with both hands and managed to pry it open enough to touch the firearm with her finger. El cheapo case. She said 'I'm not supposed to let you fly with a case that allows me to do that; so next time....... I have since used a Pelican type case with 2 locks.

[baggss]

Also, since you mentioned it, I don't believe the airlines or TSA will allow you to use TSA locks on a firearms case, they make you use your own, specifically to control who has access to the case.

I think the TSA locks were on the suitcase. The hardcase with the gun was inside of the suitcase. At least that's how I read that. I assume the hardcase was locked with non-TSA locks but that's not really clear.

[Mesa Defense]

I can't imagine why anybody would ever want to bring a firearm on an airplane with all the hassle.

[THBailey]

Try Chicago O'hare...

I often fly with a firearm. As a hedge against having an issue with an enthusiastic but ignorant counter person or TSA bureaucrat I carry a copy of the pertinent pages from both the airlines and TSA's firearms procedures.

[Jimi Jah]

I'd rather send it UPS to my destination. No swabs needed.

[tanks]

I think the TSA locks were on the suitcase. The hardcase with the gun was inside of the suitcase. At least that's how I read that. I assume the hardcase was locked with non-TSA locks but that's not really clear.

Yep, TSA locks on my suitcase, non TSA locks (two of them) on the Pelican inside.

Funny thing is at the TSA Pre-check X-Ray line I got flagged with my carry on. I was gone for a week and had rented a house from AirBnB. I had bought Lawry's and Chili powder for my eggs in the morning.

I had put them in my carry on. TSA took them out, pulled out a lab kit, spilled each spice on two pieces of gauze and then put a few drops of chemicals. One blue and the other white and when they did not change color, let me go. They also swabbed inside of my carry on as well.

[tanks]

I just made the same trip and had a totally difference experience, same one I have had for many years at LAX with United. What airline did you fly?
...

American. Though a friend of mine was flying out of Orlando with Delta at about the same time and had the same experience.

[emtmark]

They are not supposed to tag the outside of your bag


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[71MUSTY]

They are not supposed to tag the outside of your bag


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They always tag the outside with a special handling tag. But that's a good thing because it does not go through normal baggage handling.

[Dan_Eastvale]

A lot of good info here. Covering ALL aspects. Procedures and what to expect.

[Scratch705]

funny how some here say it is an hassle, and i've read elsewhere that some people purposely check in a firearm to ensure their luggage will be safe at the other end due to the extra security steps. if they were going to travel with expensive equipment/items (ie computer, photography, heirlooms etc)

a tip i read from them was to purchase a starter gun or flare gun since they don't want to buy a real gun. and to use that as the "gun" to qualify for the extra security check-in.

[Bert Gamble]

I had my first trouble with TSA and a handgun when departing Sacramento a few weeks ago. I flew in with no problem, but getting out was hell. I went to the counter and declared the firearm, put the signed form on the locked hard case and the counter person took the luggage and said to wait for 15 minutes to see if TSA needed me. The 15 minutes passed and my wife and I went to the gate to wait for our flight. As we were boarding, the attendant said that TSA needed to speak with me, so we were pulled out of line.

I went back to the Southwest counter to find out what was up and a supervisor said we need to go to the TSA inspection place. We went and I waited outside for him to get information and come back. When he came back, he said the agent wants to open my gun case, so give him the key. I told him that the case is only supposed to be opened in my presence and he agreed. While he agreed, he said that my only hope of getting this TSA agent to release my bag is to do what he says, so I gave the key.

When the guy comes back, he tells me that the TSA agent who he described as "rouge" would only let me fly if I had a hard case AND hard sided luggage. I explained that it is an "either" situation, but not both and he once again agreed with me. He said that I might be able to get a hard sided suitcase at one of the 2 shops, and issued a $200 Southwest credit for my troubles.

When I went to the shop, I asked for hard sided luggage, and the lady working there said "let me guess, you have a firearm" and I said yes, why? She said that over the last 2 days she has sold all but 1 hard bag to people with the same problem, so all she had left was a huge suitcase for $169. I bought it and went back to the Southwest supervisor. I told him what the lady in the shop said and he called an off duty supervisor and confirmed that this guy was harassing gun owners for several days and that a complaint had been filed by Southwest with the TSA, but nothing could be done about him until it was investigated.

We ended up getting home 10 hour late, but we made it.

Hope the TSA scum gets canned.

[edgerly779]

^^^ You wait till tsa clears you not 15 minutes.

[k1dude]

Every time I fly with a gun the rules and regs change depending upon the Airline agent and/or the TSA Agent. They invent stuff on the spot. Having the airline and TSA regs on you simply pisses them off and they make your life miserable. So DO NOT pull out the regs.

Sometimes it goes smoothly, sometimes it doesn't. Always give yourself an extra hour or two to jump through the invented rules they create on the spot.