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  #1  
Old 06-23-2017, 10:59 AM
The Big D The Big D is offline
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Default Gun in checked bag...interesting(?) new info.

As some of you know, I travel frequently on commercial aircraft with a gun in my checked bag.

Learned something new halfway through this trip. Checked bag at BWI (Baltimore) and flew via United to Las Vegas with plane change in Chicago. No issues; bag made the quick connection at O'Hare and arrived safe and secure.

Four (4) nights in HOT Las Vegas and attempted, as usual, online check in as I had done BEFORE first leg of trip. Despite repeated reminders to check in from UA, my attempts over two (2) days were unsuccessful. Phone and iPad screens said 'unable to complete...proceed to airport.' Tried from a friend's phone...ditto. Figured there was a computer glitch.

Went to LV airport yesterday a.m. and tried kiosk for boarding pass. Same issue. Hmmmmmm... went to counter and told agent I was unable to get boarding passes but needed to check bag with gun, regardless. He explained my reservation was flagged as involving a checked gun from time of BWI check in. After check in completed agent asked me to stand by in that area for fourteen (14) minutes and if I was not paged I was good to go. That time was to allow TSA review he said.

That has never happened to me before. BUT ZERO PROBLEMS. Flew to Chicago, bag/gun all okay.

Time for some fun in Chicagoland.

Be safe.
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Old 06-23-2017, 11:11 AM
gman51 gman51 is offline
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You mean they will let a gun go through the screening machine but a tube of toothpaste will get flagged by bells and sirens going off?
Nope I don't fly anymore because I don't like getting mistreated like that.
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Old 06-23-2017, 11:36 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The Big D View Post
After check in completed agent asked me to stand by in that area for fourteen (14) minutes and if I was not paged I was good to go. That time was to allow TSA review he said.
That's happened to me every time I've traveled with a firearm. Not exactly 14 minutes, but a waiting period.
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Old 06-23-2017, 11:45 AM
The Big D The Big D is offline
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Default Huh?

Not carrying onboard. Referring to the TSA checked bag screening process.

Be safe.

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Originally Posted by gman51 View Post
You mean they will let a gun go through the screening machine but a tube of toothpaste will get flagged by bells and sirens going off?
Nope I don't fly anymore because I don't like getting mistreated like that.
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Old 06-23-2017, 11:50 AM
The Big D The Big D is offline
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Default New to me...

...and I have carried scores of time. In some airports (like Washington Reagan National and Hartford Bradley) you accompany your bag to the TSA screening area; in others, like BWI and Chattanooga, the bag immediately goes on a conveyor 'far' away and you don't see it again.

Never have I been asked to wait at the counter area after the bag has been carried away. Never.

Be safe.

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That's happened to me every time I've traveled with a firearm. Not exactly 14 minutes, but a waiting period.
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Old 06-23-2017, 01:05 PM
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I've traveled by air with a firearm only a few times.
For Post#2, the firearm is in "checked" baggage, done at the ticket counter, not "carry-on". This is done outside of the screening/x-ray area.

For Posts#1&#5, I've had the two methods of check-in. At one airport, the ticket counter referred me directly to a TSA-staffed area to check-in my luggage containing the firearm. Proper packaging of firearm, ammo, and the like were determined and the bag was checked in from there.

At another airport, the airline's ticketing staff checked the firearm's packaging/ammo/unloaded/locked status and suggested I wait ~10 minutes to allow the luggage to later get x-rayed or inspected somewhere else between the ticket counter and being loaded onto the aircraft. Should there be any questions or should it be necessary to unlock & inspect by TSA I could then be easily located.

For those who may not know, a TSA lock is NOT used on the firearm's box itself, which in my situation, the locked-firearm-box was then locked inside of my suitcase which may or may not have a TSA-approved lock.
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Old 06-23-2017, 01:14 PM
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I've had minimal problems traveling with firearms. Whenever I go even if I don't have one with me I bring a lockable case so I'm all set if I buy one. One of the things I've done at check in is show them a copy of my C&R FFL and after that I'm good to go.
I only had a problem one time and I was sent to TSA. I had to clear with the supervisor and he was OK after I did a verbal appraisal of a couple of his firearms for him
Jim

Last edited by italiansport; 06-23-2017 at 01:15 PM.
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Old 06-23-2017, 01:47 PM
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I have traveled with a firearm so many times that I think I have experienced everything described above EXCEPT being unable to check in on line. That has never happened to me.

In the current era, after airlines figured out that it wasn't their job to check guns to see if they are unloaded, the most common experience is that after I declare to the counter person that I have a firearm they give me the tag that has to go into the locked suitcase and then someone, not always a TSA person but sometimes it is, escorts me to a room where there is a TSA person who opens the case, checks the bag for explosives (don't ask me why they do this since exposure to gunpowder is obvious), looks at the firearm(s), closes and locks the case and hands me the key. Sometimes I have to lock the case.

It was quite some years ago when the airline itself took the locked bag and bade me await an announcement that I was cleared - and it was a small airport, either in Arizona or Colorado.

The weirdest experience I ever had was many years ago, in Fort Lauderdale, FL, I think, where I was directed to take my tagged luggage to a place where baggage handlers were tossing everyone's luggage onto a conveyor belt. I told the guy I had to have it checked by TSA, he told me not to worry about it, and off it went......successfully. I never understood that one.
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Old 06-23-2017, 03:08 PM
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All the problems at airports, especially w/guns, has sworn me off flying. If I can't get there in my car I'm not going. My 91 y/o uncle is in the hospital and not doing well. If something bad happens I'll have a decision to make b/c he's a three day drive from me.
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Old 06-23-2017, 03:29 PM
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After being at ground zero on 9/11, picking up pieces of planes and people, I pretty much swore off flying. If I can't get there by car, I can't get there.
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Old 06-23-2017, 03:49 PM
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I can understand your sentiments about flying but unless (1) everyone and everything you love and hold dear is local to you, and (2) everything you ever wanted to see on this planet is either local to you or you've been there and done it, your swearing off flying limits your life incredibly in the 21st century. I dislike flying very much. But not sufficiently enough to keep me from close friends and family or seeing the world.

Here are just three examples of places I have visited recently that required flight:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...na-interno.jpg

400 Bad Request

(c) Wikipedia 2017

9/11 memorial - Google Search

(c) nycgo.com 2017

Jus' sayin'..................

PS: Not sure why that second one is called "Bad Request". Someone's joke, maybe.

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Old 06-23-2017, 04:29 PM
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A gun in the belly of the plane is ok, but all those water bottles that might just contain explosives, that TSA confiscates, get tossed into a big trash can that's mere feet away from hundreds of innocent people.
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Old 06-23-2017, 05:01 PM
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Used to travel a lot with guns always required to have them in separate locked baggage IE gun case
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Old 06-23-2017, 05:16 PM
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Weirdest I have heard lately involves Delta. Delta has started to divert luggage with firearms to the oversized and special handling luggage area and then Zip-tie it closed. Someone I know on another board was told that if he attempted to open it while in the luggage area the Delta employee would "have him arrested". (not wanting any trouble he opened it and concealed in the airport transport to the cars). Delta is getting a bit big for its britches about weapons these days.
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Old 06-23-2017, 07:29 PM
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I travel with firearms on a regular basis. I've had no unusual experiences at O'Hare or Milwaukee. I sign the card, tape it to the small gun safe inside the suitcase, and hand it to the ticket agent to place on the conveyor.

I have been asked at some airports to wait for the TSA inspection and a not that it's good to go. At Seattle, I carry the bag to a special booth near the ticket counter. It's inspected and a porter carries it to the baggage checking area. I was asked to do the same in Ft. Meyers, FL, but had to carry it to the far end of the terminal. Fortunately, that was just once.

You should not hand the key or combination to TSA. They may ask you to open it if they see something unusual. If it's inside another suitcase, they may remove the gunsafe to better inspect the other contents, which might be hidden under all that metal. I put TSA locks on the outer suitcase, not on the "hard sided case" which holds the firearm.

They will not cut the locks or force the gunsafe unless they detect an immediate danger or unlawful condition. Checked baggage X-rays can easily see whether it is loaded or not. If they need to open the case, they will attempt to notify you and refuse to process the luggage until you respond.

Arrested for opening a suitcase in the baggage claim area? You cannot be arrested for violating a company rule, except on the aircraft itself. A law would apply to all airlines, not just Delta, and since it is an unusual requirement, it would be posted, citing the applicable law or ordinance. The shooter in the Ft. Lauderdale airport went into a restroom to retrieve his weapon. There is always someone looking over your shoulder in Florida restrooms, but not the TSA type

It is a violation of Federal law for anyone to mark the suitcase or otherwise indicate there is a firearm enclosed, including the airline or local authorities.

Last edited by Neumann; 06-23-2017 at 07:34 PM.
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Old 06-26-2017, 09:50 PM
The Big D The Big D is offline
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Default Update...and confirmed info.

Flew from Chicago O'Hare to BWI today. As was reported in the OP, I could not check in ONLINE for my flight from Las Vegas.

Same situation for today's flight. Seems United Airlines flags the reservation once a leg is flown with a gun in checked baggage. I suspect it serves as a reminder to declare the gun rather than simply check ones bag. No issue/problem, however.

In fact, today's check in with the agent at the airport was absolutely effortless. Agent filled out the tag, I signed it, and placed it in my suitcase.

The agent thereupon escorted me to the TSA baggage inspection area just a few steps away. Waited for about a minute for the scan and them went through PreCheck line.

No issues whatsoever.

Be safe.
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Old 06-26-2017, 11:19 PM
Racer X Racer X is offline
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You got escorted right to the scanning equipment? I need to start packing a pistol in my luggage. I know they get special attention and tracking, and you need to go to the luggage holding area where they check your ID. At least they do when I travel with pistols.
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Old 06-27-2017, 10:13 AM
The Big D The Big D is offline
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Default Procedures are airport specific.

Though I was escorted directly to the baggage screen area at O'Hare, that was NOT the case at BWI or LAS. At BWI the bag went onto a conveyor immediately after check in; at LAS I waited at the check in counter for 14 minutes, as requested.

Procedures do vary except one absolutely MUST contact a live airline agent and complete the form and place it in the bag if carrying a gun therein.

Hope this useful.

Be safe.




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You got escorted right to the scanning equipment? I need to start packing a pistol in my luggage. I know they get special attention and tracking, and you need to go to the luggage holding area where they check your ID. At least they do when I travel with pistols.
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Old 06-28-2017, 08:35 PM
Moe Mentum Moe Mentum is offline
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I travel with a firearm frequently. If you follow the airlines policy, you will not have any hassles. I never have. Just go to their website, and check their policy on firearms ( usually under sporting equipment ) and your good to go.
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Old 06-28-2017, 11:31 PM
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You took a gun to Chicago?!?!?! And you're not in prison? Wow.
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Old 06-29-2017, 10:40 AM
The Big D The Big D is offline
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Default All good!

And did not get shot nor did I shoot someone. Imagine that!

Be safe.

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You took a gun to Chicago?!?!?! And you're not in prison? Wow.
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