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Forgive me if this is in the wrong place, but since it was a story about a shotgun I put it here.
So there I was, and the situation was desperate indeed. I was traveling with two children under 10, had to get up at 4am and flying out of a tiny central Washington airport.
I was traveling with a couple of C&R handguns in a locked case in my suitcase that I had declared with the airline in the proper manor, in addition to the handguns, I had a Winchester model 97 shotgun that i had disassembled. The receiver was locked in the handgun case, the barrel and stock were in my large suitcase. After going through security I had made a b-line to the bathroom. While I was washing my hands my son came in and said that they were calling for me at security.
I went over and the ticket agent started yelling at me that I had an undeclared firearm in my bag and the cops were on their way. I informed her that there was indeed no firearm in my bag that wasn't locked up. I then turned to the TSA agent and told him calmly that I had a barrel in my suitcase and since it was not a firearm and was essentially a metal tube didn't fit the criteria for a firearm it was not prohibited. He shrugged his shoulders and said that this was an airline thing and the police will sort it out.
My wife was at this point just shaking her head knowing that I was about to go to war, ushered the kids to the gate and tried to avoid the stares of the other passengers who were now involved in, what the ticket agent was trying to portray, a terrorist trying to get on their plane.
The police arrived quickly and we went back to the baggage area where my bag was lying open with the "assault barrel" lying on top. I informed the officer that the receiver was safely locked up in the gun case in a separate bag and as such the item of consternation was now just a metal tube and a chunk of wood. The officer agreed with me but said that the airline won't allow it to travel in the baggage and said "there must be some regulation that has changed and he doesn't know about". Fortunately I was able to get a hold of family nearby and the officer said he would wait for them to arrive and turn over the offending metal tube to them when they arrived stating that I had done everything right.
I was allowed to board the plane and the rest of the trip progressed without incident; the barrel was recovered by my mom and the police again told her that everything I did was correct.
Lesson learned yesterday: have the airline regulation handy when traveling, because like law enforcement officers, the people charged with enforcing the rules do not always know said rules.
So there I was, and the situation was desperate indeed. I was traveling with two children under 10, had to get up at 4am and flying out of a tiny central Washington airport.
I was traveling with a couple of C&R handguns in a locked case in my suitcase that I had declared with the airline in the proper manor, in addition to the handguns, I had a Winchester model 97 shotgun that i had disassembled. The receiver was locked in the handgun case, the barrel and stock were in my large suitcase. After going through security I had made a b-line to the bathroom. While I was washing my hands my son came in and said that they were calling for me at security.
I went over and the ticket agent started yelling at me that I had an undeclared firearm in my bag and the cops were on their way. I informed her that there was indeed no firearm in my bag that wasn't locked up. I then turned to the TSA agent and told him calmly that I had a barrel in my suitcase and since it was not a firearm and was essentially a metal tube didn't fit the criteria for a firearm it was not prohibited. He shrugged his shoulders and said that this was an airline thing and the police will sort it out.
My wife was at this point just shaking her head knowing that I was about to go to war, ushered the kids to the gate and tried to avoid the stares of the other passengers who were now involved in, what the ticket agent was trying to portray, a terrorist trying to get on their plane.
The police arrived quickly and we went back to the baggage area where my bag was lying open with the "assault barrel" lying on top. I informed the officer that the receiver was safely locked up in the gun case in a separate bag and as such the item of consternation was now just a metal tube and a chunk of wood. The officer agreed with me but said that the airline won't allow it to travel in the baggage and said "there must be some regulation that has changed and he doesn't know about". Fortunately I was able to get a hold of family nearby and the officer said he would wait for them to arrive and turn over the offending metal tube to them when they arrived stating that I had done everything right.
I was allowed to board the plane and the rest of the trip progressed without incident; the barrel was recovered by my mom and the police again told her that everything I did was correct.
Lesson learned yesterday: have the airline regulation handy when traveling, because like law enforcement officers, the people charged with enforcing the rules do not always know said rules.
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