I just returned from my bear hunt in Oregon and for the first time in my life I flew with my Specialty Pistol as checked baggage. I had previously traveled to Oregon to hunt in 2016 and that time had shipped my gun via UPS, but round trip shipping cost me over $300 and I was not happy with the condition of my case when it arrived back home so for this trip I decided to fly with it.
I hunt with Specialty Pistols which are bolt action rear grip handguns. This “not normal” look may have played some role in what transpired, but I will share my story just the same and let you decide.
First off, I have a Pelican hard case that is almost 5 feet long. Inside I have three layers of foam with the center piece cutout that holds a soft sided case which contains my firearm. I do not have anything else (Ammo, etc) inside the case.
The pelican case is locked with 4 padlocks, two of which require a key and two which are combination. They are extremely tight fitting, so even in the event of the latches popping open, the case will not open at all. The Pelican case is identified with 2 heavy duty ID tags, as well as my brand and personal ID being stippled into the polymer of the case. Although it looks like a gun case by nature, there is nothing identifying it as a firearm.
I arrived at Austin, TX airport at approximately 2:45 am. I was flying American to Medford, Oregon with a layover in LAX. I declared my firearm when I went to the American counter as is required by law and the teller asked me if it was unloaded. I said it was unloaded and she had me sign a form which she had me place inside the case. I unlocked one of the end locks and slipped the postcard sized paper in and re-locked the lock. I was then directed to a TSA firearm check station about 30 yards down from the American counter. I was the second person in line there behind a guy with a standard handgun. That guy put his handgun case on a conveyor that drug it through what I’m guessing was an X-ray machine. In just a few minutes the 2 TSA guys gave him the green light to go and he and his wife walked away. I then was instructed to put my case on the conveyor and I watched as the two TSA guys talked back and forth as they looked at the screen. One of the guys walked over to me and stated that he needed to do an inspection. He had me unlock all 4 locks and then take a step back while he conducted his check. He unzipped the soft case that contained the firearm, but did not touch the gun. He zipped the soft case back and then pressed on the foam around the gun on both sides of the case. He then began to close the case and as he did, I requested he place the free floating piece of foam I had in the proper place which he did. He then had me lock the case and told me I was good to go.
When I arrived in Medford I went to baggage claim and grabbed my suitcase. A few minutes later I heard a woman’s voice call my name and I saw a lady walking around the carousel with my gun case. She was holding one end in her hand and the other end was rolling on the floor how it was designed to do. I approached her and she asked to see my ID which I provided. As soon as she saw my ID, she let go of the end of the case, allowing it to drop to the floor, turned and walked away without even a word. I responded to her actions with a loud “really” and she never looked back. It wasn’t a big deal as my rig is well padded, but I can only guess she was an “anti” of some sort and was taking her anti kidney shot as she saw fit. No biggie either way as I was excited to get going and get to hunting.
4 days later I re-entered the Medford, OR airport at 5am to begin my journey home. This time I was flying United and did the same process as before. The United lady at the ticket counter asked if my gun was loaded when I declared it and I again said it wasn’t. She told me that she was going to take my word for it and had me sign another declaration postcard which I again had to slide in one end of the case. She took my gun case and told me to stand to the side and she would call me in 10 minutes if TSA wanted to do an inspection. In about 10 minutes she gave me a thumbs up and said I was good to proceed to to the TSA security line and that no inspection was needed. I was in line for about 15 minutes when a female TSA agent in her mid-20’s approached me and asked my name. She then said that she needed the key to my gun case because they felt that the gun was loaded. I politely informed her that I was a police detective and that it would be against federal law for me to give her my key and that I needed to be present during any inspection of my firearm. She replied, “really???....well then come with me”. I followed her halfway across the airport (only about 100 yards) where she took me to a hallway and told me to wait on another agent to conduct my inspection. In a few minutes another female in her 20’s came out with my gun case. She could barely lift it, so I helped her get it onto the table and she thanked me and asked me to open the locks. She opened the case and only felt around the foam on both sides of the case and never opened the soft case containing the firearm. She asked me if it was loaded and I said no and she then had me lock the case back and said I could proceed back to the TSA checkpoint. I went and got back in line which was short and made it to the point where my boots, belt, and all my belongings were in the plastic bin and I was about to walk through the body scanner. The original TSA lady walked up to me and said, “were you the one with the loaded gun?” I said that I wasn’t and that I had just finished my inspection. She walked over to another TSA guy and they began whispering to each other and looking at me. She came back over and said that a second inspection was going to be required because x-rays showed that my gun was loaded. She had me carry my container of stuff along with my boots and walk in my socks the 100 yards back over to the same hall. As we walked she said there was something round in the gun. I told
Her maybe she was seeing the rounded muzzle-brake or the bipod legs and she said that wasn’t it. This time three ladies in their 20’s were in the hall with my gun case and they again had me
unlock it. I told them they would need to remove the gun from the scabbard and the one said, “I’m not touching a gun....you do it.” I removed the gun and opened the bolt and put my pinky down into the chamber so they could see that it was empty. The other lady said, “the x-ray looks like there are bullets inside the front and in the grip.” She then said, “it looks round and then like a lot of bb’s”. I realized that I had filled my stock with brass pieces, and then brass coated bb’s mixed with Devcon for weight. I guess they were seeing this on the X-ray. When I explained this, they said they understood and had me lock it all back up and proceed. Even though it was a bit of a pain, they were all very polite, although clueless. My flight got delayed (unrelated to the inspection) so I had to catch another to Austin which put me about 2 hours later than originally scheduled. As we touched down in ATX, I received a text from Travelocity saying my luggage had arrived on an earlier flight and that I needed to see a United baggage claims specialist for my stuff. I found the United baggage claims office behind the carousel and I saw my bag and gun case sitting there with about 40 other pieces of luggage. I walked in and the lady asked if she could help me. I told her the gun case and tan bag were mine and she said to go ahead and take them. She never asked for ID or for a claim ticket or anything. This probably made me the most nervous of all.
The gun was in excellent condition and had been taken care of from what I could see. It only cost me $50 round trip to ship it vs the $300+ with UPS 2 years earlier.
All in all I was happy and would recommend the process. I feel my guns which are my prized possessions are much safer flying than they are being shipped. I recommend knowing the law and the airline rules and not hesitating to speak up when an uneducated TSA agent tries to do something that violates those laws. Remain respectful yet firm and I feel all will go well.
Just my experience the first time doing it and thought I would share for anyone else who might be thinking about doing the same.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I hunt with Specialty Pistols which are bolt action rear grip handguns. This “not normal” look may have played some role in what transpired, but I will share my story just the same and let you decide.
First off, I have a Pelican hard case that is almost 5 feet long. Inside I have three layers of foam with the center piece cutout that holds a soft sided case which contains my firearm. I do not have anything else (Ammo, etc) inside the case.
The pelican case is locked with 4 padlocks, two of which require a key and two which are combination. They are extremely tight fitting, so even in the event of the latches popping open, the case will not open at all. The Pelican case is identified with 2 heavy duty ID tags, as well as my brand and personal ID being stippled into the polymer of the case. Although it looks like a gun case by nature, there is nothing identifying it as a firearm.
I arrived at Austin, TX airport at approximately 2:45 am. I was flying American to Medford, Oregon with a layover in LAX. I declared my firearm when I went to the American counter as is required by law and the teller asked me if it was unloaded. I said it was unloaded and she had me sign a form which she had me place inside the case. I unlocked one of the end locks and slipped the postcard sized paper in and re-locked the lock. I was then directed to a TSA firearm check station about 30 yards down from the American counter. I was the second person in line there behind a guy with a standard handgun. That guy put his handgun case on a conveyor that drug it through what I’m guessing was an X-ray machine. In just a few minutes the 2 TSA guys gave him the green light to go and he and his wife walked away. I then was instructed to put my case on the conveyor and I watched as the two TSA guys talked back and forth as they looked at the screen. One of the guys walked over to me and stated that he needed to do an inspection. He had me unlock all 4 locks and then take a step back while he conducted his check. He unzipped the soft case that contained the firearm, but did not touch the gun. He zipped the soft case back and then pressed on the foam around the gun on both sides of the case. He then began to close the case and as he did, I requested he place the free floating piece of foam I had in the proper place which he did. He then had me lock the case and told me I was good to go.
When I arrived in Medford I went to baggage claim and grabbed my suitcase. A few minutes later I heard a woman’s voice call my name and I saw a lady walking around the carousel with my gun case. She was holding one end in her hand and the other end was rolling on the floor how it was designed to do. I approached her and she asked to see my ID which I provided. As soon as she saw my ID, she let go of the end of the case, allowing it to drop to the floor, turned and walked away without even a word. I responded to her actions with a loud “really” and she never looked back. It wasn’t a big deal as my rig is well padded, but I can only guess she was an “anti” of some sort and was taking her anti kidney shot as she saw fit. No biggie either way as I was excited to get going and get to hunting.
4 days later I re-entered the Medford, OR airport at 5am to begin my journey home. This time I was flying United and did the same process as before. The United lady at the ticket counter asked if my gun was loaded when I declared it and I again said it wasn’t. She told me that she was going to take my word for it and had me sign another declaration postcard which I again had to slide in one end of the case. She took my gun case and told me to stand to the side and she would call me in 10 minutes if TSA wanted to do an inspection. In about 10 minutes she gave me a thumbs up and said I was good to proceed to to the TSA security line and that no inspection was needed. I was in line for about 15 minutes when a female TSA agent in her mid-20’s approached me and asked my name. She then said that she needed the key to my gun case because they felt that the gun was loaded. I politely informed her that I was a police detective and that it would be against federal law for me to give her my key and that I needed to be present during any inspection of my firearm. She replied, “really???....well then come with me”. I followed her halfway across the airport (only about 100 yards) where she took me to a hallway and told me to wait on another agent to conduct my inspection. In a few minutes another female in her 20’s came out with my gun case. She could barely lift it, so I helped her get it onto the table and she thanked me and asked me to open the locks. She opened the case and only felt around the foam on both sides of the case and never opened the soft case containing the firearm. She asked me if it was loaded and I said no and she then had me lock the case back and said I could proceed back to the TSA checkpoint. I went and got back in line which was short and made it to the point where my boots, belt, and all my belongings were in the plastic bin and I was about to walk through the body scanner. The original TSA lady walked up to me and said, “were you the one with the loaded gun?” I said that I wasn’t and that I had just finished my inspection. She walked over to another TSA guy and they began whispering to each other and looking at me. She came back over and said that a second inspection was going to be required because x-rays showed that my gun was loaded. She had me carry my container of stuff along with my boots and walk in my socks the 100 yards back over to the same hall. As we walked she said there was something round in the gun. I told
Her maybe she was seeing the rounded muzzle-brake or the bipod legs and she said that wasn’t it. This time three ladies in their 20’s were in the hall with my gun case and they again had me
unlock it. I told them they would need to remove the gun from the scabbard and the one said, “I’m not touching a gun....you do it.” I removed the gun and opened the bolt and put my pinky down into the chamber so they could see that it was empty. The other lady said, “the x-ray looks like there are bullets inside the front and in the grip.” She then said, “it looks round and then like a lot of bb’s”. I realized that I had filled my stock with brass pieces, and then brass coated bb’s mixed with Devcon for weight. I guess they were seeing this on the X-ray. When I explained this, they said they understood and had me lock it all back up and proceed. Even though it was a bit of a pain, they were all very polite, although clueless. My flight got delayed (unrelated to the inspection) so I had to catch another to Austin which put me about 2 hours later than originally scheduled. As we touched down in ATX, I received a text from Travelocity saying my luggage had arrived on an earlier flight and that I needed to see a United baggage claims specialist for my stuff. I found the United baggage claims office behind the carousel and I saw my bag and gun case sitting there with about 40 other pieces of luggage. I walked in and the lady asked if she could help me. I told her the gun case and tan bag were mine and she said to go ahead and take them. She never asked for ID or for a claim ticket or anything. This probably made me the most nervous of all.
The gun was in excellent condition and had been taken care of from what I could see. It only cost me $50 round trip to ship it vs the $300+ with UPS 2 years earlier.
All in all I was happy and would recommend the process. I feel my guns which are my prized possessions are much safer flying than they are being shipped. I recommend knowing the law and the airline rules and not hesitating to speak up when an uneducated TSA agent tries to do something that violates those laws. Remain respectful yet firm and I feel all will go well.
Just my experience the first time doing it and thought I would share for anyone else who might be thinking about doing the same.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Comment