Airports and Firearms

While this post is also about pistols it can be applied to long guns as well.

Much to my wife's dismay I insisted on taking a handgun with me on our recent trip to carry concealed. She thought (and I thought so too) that taking it with us and flying would be a great big hassle.

It turns out that it was relatively painless.

Obviously it had to be checked. I placed the suitcase it was in on the check in counter and said "I need to declare a firearm." After that the person behind the counter instructed me on what to do, and all was well. Then taking it over the X-ray machine with the TSA personel, I told them "I have a firearm in the bag." The asked if it was unloaded, locked and declared. I said yes, as I had just done this at the counter. The TSA had me wait while the bag passed through so I could open the case if need be, but had no further problem.

So here's what you need if you want to take a firearm with on a trip that you'll be flying:
A) The Gun(s) must be in a hard sided case that cannot be easily pried open.
B) You need a lock on the case. It cannot be a small TSA approved lock, get a pad lock. You, and only you, keep the key to the lock.
C)THE GUN MUST BE UNLOADED -- make no mistake, check it, check it again, and look a third time. THE GUN MUST BE UNLOADED.
D)Ammo can be in the case, but again, not in the gun. It can, however be in the magazines provided it meets other restrictions. Ammo also must be either the manufactures original container or be completely encased--check the website for rules.
E)You can also have more than one gun in a case.

Check the TSA website and the Airline web site(s) to see the specific rules. Do not take these as the rules you need to pack by. Get, Read and Understand the actual rules. These were for informational purposes only, and are not complete.

One more disclaimer: Make sure where you are going allows what you are bringing. Each state is different and the rules change with the state (and sometimes city, county or regional) lines. If you are leaving the country, do your homework. I don't know much more than that about international travel.

Here's hoping you have a safe holiday season of travel.

-Steven Kipp