Interestingly, I can tell by the remarks that many of y'all are using soft sided luggage with zippers. Then you are putting hard, lockable gun cases inside those bags. Further, I am aware of this practice for years after the first time a friend of mine did it and showed me. I was astonished. It is, in my opinion, a misunderstanding of the FOPA rules.
The TSA publishes the following, in coordination with the rules established by the FOPA:
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You may transport unloaded firearms in a locked hard-sided container as checked baggage only. Declare the firearm and/or ammunition to the airline when checking your bag at the ticket counter. The container must completely secure the firearm from being accessed. Locked cases that can be easily opened are not permitted.
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•Declare each firearm each time you present it for transport as checked baggage. Ask your airline about limitations or fees that may apply.
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•Firearms must be unloaded and locked in a hard-sided container and transported as checked baggage only. Only the passenger should retain the key or combination to the lock unless TSA personnel request the key to open the firearm container to ensure compliance with TSA regulations.
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•Firearm parts, including magazines, clips, bolts and firing pins, are prohibited in carry-on baggage, but may be transported in checked baggage.
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Official website of the Department of Homeland Security
If there is a copyright it belongs to DHS but I think their on line publications are public domain.
I admit I was unaware of that last rule so I posted it just FYI.
The important term is this:
You may transport unloaded firearms in a locked hard-sided container as checked baggage only
Apparently, the traveling public, and the airlines, have come to the conclusion that soft sided, zipper closed baggage that has a locked, hard sided gun case inside complies with the above stated rule. I assure you that from a technical standpoint, from a legal standpoint, that interpretation is incorrect. Then there is this:
Locked cases that can be easily opened are not permitted.
If someone can explain to me how soft sided, zippered luggage is NOT easily opened I would be obliged to hear that explanation.
When I travel with a gun it either goes into its own locking, hard sided suitcase or it goes into hard sided, lockable luggage. Locked by keys and combinations, Anything else is, technically, wrong and, worse, anything else is VERY vulnerable. I would rather check a hard sided Samsonite-type lockable briefcase with a gun inside of it than the fanciest zipper closed luggage, even if it is hard sided. I mean the kind where the lock is built right into the case's edge using various methods, locked by keys or combinations or both. Anything less is, well, less!
No luggage locks are super secure but all zippered luggage is easily opened. And resealed. I would never carry anything such a suitcase if it was of any value. That's not to say I don't use such cases but I don't pack anything in them that I cannot easily replace and certainly never a gun.