Flying with Handguns

[Guest 3pugguy]

Hell, you could have just driven to Memphis and save yourself the headache.

Or the New Providence area of Clarksville...

[waynesan]

Just got back from a two week vacation in Montana. The only problem I had was checking my bags at Tri Cities Airport. I was traveling with two handguns in a locked case.

Unforturnately I did not check the case that well after it was locked and one side of it could be pryed up enough to reach in and get a gun if you really tried.

The TSA agent came and told me what the problem was and that she was going to talk to her supervisor and see if something could be done to make it work. The supervisor came and they talked it over (behind the counter and wall, out of my sight). Then they came back and asked me if I had a smaller lock that they could try. Luckily for me, I did. I gave it to them, they took it back to the luggage and replaced the bigger lock with the smaller one and they said it would be OK if I just put a lock on the suitcase itself, which I did.... and that's how it went.

I think both of the agets went beyond what most would expect them to do to get me outta Kingsport with my handguns.

They couldn't have been more helpfull or pleasant to deal with.

While I was in Montana I bought another gun case that worked better just to avoid any delays or problems on my return trip.

[Angus]

As a SWA employee, they will not ask to see it. You declare that it is unloaded, and it is in a locked container. It may be placed inside of another bag, but the gun case has to be locked. SWA will visually verify that the gun case is locked. The TSA will not need to open it since the responsibility lies with the air carrier.

FTI: we are not paid top dollar, but here in BNA I know for a fact nothing will be stolen from your luggage by one of us.

[OngoingFreedom]

First time travelling with a firearm on an airline. When I first got my Glock 23 earlier this year I also purchased a small, key-locked safe that would have a small footprint in my suitcase and meets the TSA’s requirements: hard-sided, locked, not easily pried open. It came with a cable to anchor it, which I thought was thoughtful, and the case was able to accommodate the pistol and an extra magazine. Unfortunately the case stunk of mothballs so I removed the foam inserts and left them to air out over several days. This helped but the smell never completely went away. I discovered that if I placed the pistol and the magazines “just so” I could squeeze two magazines into it. I then gave myself a brief scare when I couldn’t unlock it. After a bit of tapping, some hitting and very measured, forceful rotation of the key I managed to unlock it and swore I’d never try two magazines in there like that again.

The time came to try the process out, as I was leaving Nashville and heading to Orlando to attend annual airplane training. Before the flight I studied TSA’s website about firearms and ammunition. At first I thought I’d just put both loaded magazines into the safe. This is allowed by the TSA. I decided not to: 1) because I didn’t want a repeat of the earlier issue, 2) I carry 13+1 (fully loaded magazine plus one round in the chamber) so where is that extra round supposed to go, and 3) although only implied on the TSA’s website I read on various airline websites that they want primers protected. I took out a loaded magazine and looked at the back of the top cartridge and thought “that is one exposed primer:”

Loaded magazines can be placed in holsters if they are secure. I use a Smart Carry Holster that doesn’t really secure the spare magazine when it isn’t on your body, plus it doesn’t hold two magazines, so that was out. I thought about buying some magazine holsters and looked also at what Cabela’s et al had to offer but wound up saving the box from some practice rounds and put the ammo into that. After emptying the Glock I decided to put one empty magazine back in the well of the gun and stored the extra magazine with it in the safe.

I have read about some horror stories that some have had their guns stolen in the bags so I used the cable tether that came with the safe and secured the safe to the back of the suitcase: I wrapped it around one of the square tubes that house the suitcase handle extensions:

Then I loaded my suitcase with clothes and toiletries with the safe connected to the tether but laying outside and put it in last, which was a good thing as it would be inspected later. I stuffed the ammo box securely between some clothes. Since this was my first time I also decided to carry the cable lock that comes with new Glocks as added insurance in case I got hassled:

I didn’t install it in the gun but just left it loose in the suitcase. Also as a precaution I printed the TSA firearm policy as well as Southwest’s firearms and ammunition policy and stuffed those in as well.

Feeling prepared I headed to the airport. I arrived 1 ½ hours early to mitigate any issues that might arise. I walked up to the “full-service” counter after a very short wait (passenger traffic was light) and told the agent I was declaring an unloaded firearm. She asked if this was the first time I’ve ever done this (was it that obvious?!) and I said it was. She produced a small white card with red lettering “Southwest Airlines Firearms Declaration Tag”. I saved the one from the return trip:

She explained I should fill out as much as I could and she would fill in the rest. PNR# means “Passenger Name Record” and they want you to put your confirmation number there. MCO and BNA are the airport codes. I filled it all in after asking what PNR was and skimmed the back side before signing. I missed one thing on the declaration but it didn’t turn out to be a problem. As I was re-reading it later I was concerned to see that I had declared “1. The firearm(s) chambers are free of ammunition and the magazine clip has been removed (when applicable).” The first part was true but not the second! When I returned to Nashville at the end of my trip I made sure to not place the empty magazine back in the well. The reason I missed that tidbit is because neither the TSA’s nor Southwest’s policies on their websites mentioned anything about this. It was only on the card, so I guess this was a Southwest thing.

She then asked me to open the safe. I expected her to want to inspect the gun to make sure it was unloaded but she sounded a little anxious when I touched it and said “No, that’s okay” and placed the declaration card in the safe, which I then closed and locked. I asked her for some extra cards so I could show up for the return trip prepared and spend less time. She then pointed me to the TSA baggage x-ray and I told the officer there I had an empty firearm in my baggage and would wait on the bag’s inspection (which the TSA website recommended I do). The officer put my bag at the head of the line while I waited nearby in case they wanted to inspect the safe. If I didn’t I ran the risk of having the bag being denied and not making the trip! Sure enough the officer on the other end of the machine had me hand the first officer my key so they could peek inside the case. I was unable to see what they were doing (I was still at the front of the machine) and by the time I thought to go observe their search they were done and were zipping everything up, handing me back my keys and told me everything was fine. After that everything went normally. From entering the baggage check line to clearing security with my carryon computer briefcase took about 20 minutes.

In Orlando I waited until getting to my hotel to rearm myself. I placed the safe in the car with the cable strung through one of the LATCH anchors in the back in case I had to disarm going into a building that prohibited legal carry but that never became necessary.

On the return trip from Orlando the check in went a little differently. The baggage agent wanted to see everything, including opening the ammunition box (even asking if it was the original packaging) and seeing the empty chamber of the pistol. Fortunately I had left the empty mag out of the pistol and had placed one in the case, one loose in the suitcase with that cable lock I didn’t need. This agent wasn’t nervous at all watching me handle the gun. After she was satisfied with the inspection she place the signed declaration card on top of the safe (not inside this time) and hopped over the baggage counter with my suitcase. She asked me to follow her and rolled the suitcase to an unused x-ray machine with two bored-looking TSA officers next to it. Apparently it was there for travelers like me. I thanked her as she returned to her counter while the officer sent it through the machine. After it exited he asked for my keys and also inspected the inside of the safe. The only thing he wanted to do was to press down on the foam around the weapon. He closed and relocked the safe and handed me back the keys, then took a probe with a white circular patch on it and rubbed it all over my suitcase. He removed the patch, placed it in another machine, determined there was nothing suspicious about the whole thing (like drugs, explosives), zipped up the suitcase and told me everything was fine. I went on my way. Once again from that point everything went normally.

I’ll probably continue to travel with the extra cable lock just in case I encounter a really unconvinced agent but I’m sure I’ll never need it.

--EDIT-- I just remembered that when returning to Nashville the TSA officer, after finishing his inspection, placed a small, circular sticker on the destination/claim tag of the suitcase. Unfortunately I didn't save the bag tag when I got to Nashville.

Edited August 10, 2009 by OngoingFreedom
1st edit: Added a picture, 2nd edit: remembered something

[Angus]

Yeah, sorry bout that. The magazine should be out of the weapon. And no, we as employees should NEVER handle YOUR firearm. We are to visually inspect that there is a firearm in the case, but it should not be handled at all by an airline employee.

[mac12]

Thanks for the play-by-play account of your travel with a gun. Good info.

[kwe45919]

Yeah, sorry bout that. The magazine should be out of the weapon. And no, we as employees should NEVER handle YOUR firearm. We are to visually inspect that there is a firearm in the case, but it should not be handled at all by an airline employee.

Tis true.

Airline security will tell you that if the weapon is stolen, and you as a ticket counter person has handled the firearm, you are now a suspect if the firearm is stolen. If the firearm is used in a murder, your finger prints might be the only ones on the firearm. You have a right to not allow anyone but a TSA employee to handle the firearm. If anyone other than you handles your firearm, tell a TSA agent or management person of the airline and have it addressed right there. There are strick guide lines ticket counter people are supposed to follow when handling a person wanting to declare a firearm.