Does a Doskocil Gun Guard case meet TSA requirements

sceva · Jul 3, 2010

Will be flying from Chicago Ohare to Cincinnati and am thinking about taking a revolver with me. The last time I flew with a handgun (many years ago) I used my Doskocil Special Edition Gun Guard plastic case and had no issues.

Can anyone tell me if the GunGuard single pistol case is still TSA/Airline approved? I don't want to get to oHare and find out there is an issue. United just says to follow TSA guidelines and the TSA site just says hardsided lockable with the passenger retaining the key. (non-TSA locks) I think I have that covered with the Doskocil Case Guard and double padlocks.

Anyone with experience with flying out of oHare and declaring a handgun? Not so worrind about Cincinnati.

jkc · Jul 3, 2010

The case itself should be just fine, but put it inside another piece of luggage, so that it's not readily identifiable as a gun case. After declaring it at the ticket counter, and placing the orange "Unloaded Firearm" tag inside the luggage, accompany the luggage containing the gun case to the TSA screening point, tell the TSA people that there's a gun in the luggage, and stand by, ready to open the luggage and gun case for further inspection if necessary, until they give you a thumbs up.

I suggest having immediately at hand a printed copy of the TSA, FAA, and airline's firearms policies. You will not be dealing with the best and brightest, and some of the people you must deal with in the process are notoriously ignorant of their own official policies. Summon supervisors (rudimentary literacy is assumably among the minimal job requirements...) at the first suspicion of erroneous procedure.

Most airlines, in my recent experience, have abandoned the manifestly unsafe practice of "inspecting" your checked weapons at the ticket counter, exposing your luggage to every potential thief on your flight that can beat you to the baggage carousel. In the unfortunate event that you are required by a ticket agent to handle a weapon in front of your fellow passengers in a public place with no safe direction to point the weapon while it is being "inspected" by some nitwit ticket agent, I recommend using the ticket agent themselves as the potential bullet trap.

Incompetence and outright theft are apparently endemic in the airline industry, so I wouldn't fly any irreplaceable firearms.

The Big D · Jul 4, 2010

jkc is largely correct; however, I have used TSA locks for the gun case for quite some time...with no problems, of course.

In addition, at some airports the flyer does NOT accompany his/her luggage to the TSA screening area. The luggage goes right on a conveyor belt at the airline's ticket counter.

Simply be prepared for whatever arrangements you find. It is a great idea, as jkc stated, to have a printed copy of TSA and the airline(s) regs in your custody to help resolve any questions/problems that might arise.

Be safe.

saturner1 · Jul 4, 2010

Bid D is correct. I have flown over 30 times since 2001, to and from many different airports. I don't use the TSA locks. The routine keeps changing from airline to airline and city to city, but it is basically as has been described. Just go with the flow and be aware that you have about a 99% chance your luggage will be searched and not so neatly replaced. In Houston they have started doing the explosive swab test on all luggage with a firearm. Have fun.

Steve

Does a Doskocil Gun Guard case meet TSA requirements

sceva

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jkc

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The Big D

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saturner1

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