flying with guns

[happysmitie]

next monday we will be flying to florida on spirit airlines. clearwater area and i am somewhat excited . was stationed at macdill afb in the late 6o's . a have never had the chance to go back , but this trip well change that ! i believe that florida honors indiana's carry permits . what is the procedure for bring my carry gun with me ? is it susspose to be in a lockable proper case & follow down us to florida with our luggage ? are the chances pretty good of receiving my gun when we pick up our cases at the airport ? how does all this work ? or would it be more sensible to just carry a can of pepper spray? ( my distant 2nd choice )

appreciate info from people who travel & are knowledgeable ! thanks in advance

 

[Hoosierdood]

From Spirit Airlines website:

https://content.spirit.com/Shared/en-us/Documents/Contract_of_Carriage.pdf

Scroll to page 26

Short answer...
1. Hard sided, locked container (your factory pistol case should work) Place the container in your checked bag.
2. Place your empty mags in the case as well
3. Ammo must be in a package designed to hold ammo (factory box?)
4. Ammo may be stored inside the hard sided container that your firearm is in
5. Declare that you are travelling with a firearm at the ticket counter
6. You will be directed to a TSA agent. They do this often. No big deal.

 

[flightsimmer]

A few decades back I flew myself and a friend out to Raton, New Mexico.
I had rifles, shotguns, revolvers and self loaders as well as a tonne of ammo to feed them, so much so that I had to weigh everything to be sure that my plane would carry everything.

Well, 10hrs later we arrived at the Whittington Center and rented a station wagon to carry all of our guns and gear and checked in at the Center and got a lodge all to our selves for the entire week.

We had the place, 10x20 miles, and all of the 12 different ranges to our selves for the week. It was the best times of our lives and we still remember it like it was yesterday.

Today we would have been arrested as terrorist and thrown in prison for the rest of our lives but oh, it would be worth it. Today I couldn't even get on the airport grounds with a gun or ammo. What a shame.

 

[wcd]

next monday we will be flying to florida on spirit airlines. clearwater area and i am somewhat excited . was stationed at macdill afb in the late 6o's . a have never had the chance to go back , but this trip well change that ! i believe that florida honors indiana's carry permits . what is the procedure for bring my carry gun with me ? is it susspose to be in a lockable proper case & follow down us to florida with our luggage ? are the chances pretty good of receiving my gun when we pick up our cases at the airport ? how does all this work ? or would it be more sensible to just carry a can of pepper spray? ( my distant 2nd choice )

appreciate info from people who travel & are knowledgeable ! thanks in advance

Bit of advice non Tsa lock should be utilized.

 

[femurphy77]

Darn, I was hoping this was a thread about a new reality show.

 

[wildcatfan.62]

Flew to Idaho a few weeks ago with a group of guys for a black bear hunt.
Checked firearms:
1. In a lockable hard side case with a padlock on each hole for a lock. Mine had 3 so I had to get 3 locks that were common keyed. The agent should not be able to the case wide enough to slide firearm out... Unloaded mags stay with firearm. They asked if guns were unloaded prior to opening case for inspection. Had to sign a card stating guns unloaded.
2. Ammo in checked bags but had to be in orginial boxes.
3. Once you arrive we went to baggage area to claim firearms. We opened cases to check for any oblivious damage. One guy had a cheaper case get destroyed on the way back. The back hinge was broken in half. Not sure if the airline accepted the damage claim or not.

I went to airport a week before we left to show them my case and locks to make sure they'd be accepted.

Good luck I think it depends on where you fly out of if they have any idea how to handle a gun.

 

[happysmitie]

thanks for the info . was stated that container containing the gun must go in checked bag . what i have is a caseguard gun case that has the exturnal build in locks ( if they are pickey at all they might say these locks are not secure enough ) but the case guard case is a good bit too big to go inside a suitcase ! this gun case case not be shipped seperately ?

 

[happysmitie]

just ordered , off amazon , a lockable pistol case foam lined . both sides has the usual sliding latches & each side has built in holes for padlocks. that should take care of the gun secured factor . from my research & info right here i take it that the suitcase that holds the gun case does NOT have to be locked . is this correct ?

 

[happysmitie]

one more update ! we will NOT be flying spirit airlines , instead we take american to chicago then united to florida . my girlfriend says they do this a lot to produce the cheapest fairs .
QUESTION should i assume , without going thru both airlines gun policies with pages & pages , that the idea that was put down here by hoosierdood , is the same for the airlines we are now going to fly on ?

sensible reply's appreciated !

 

[SnoopLoggyDog]

I have a hard pistol case with two regular (non TSA) padlocks that the pistol, ammo and extra mags go in. I also go the extra step of putting a cable lock through the action of the pistol, prior to locking it in the case. The ammo rides in a factory ammo cardboard box, in the case.

For additional security, I attached a plastic coated steel cable to the inside of my suitcase. The other end of the cable has a loop so I can padlock the gun case to the cable. On the outside of the case is a label with my name and cell# and a laminated business card. Have never had a problem flying with a handgun.

 

[chipbennett]

There are several threads already here on INGO, with very good, solid information and links to source requirements (primarily, applicable federal statutes). I strongly recommend you search for and read them. Lots of discussion from people who travel regularly with firearms.

 

[DadSmith]

Here is a video that might help clear things up about flying with firearms.

 

[ghuns]

I've only done it once. It should have been easy. Lock it up, declare it when you drop off bag, wait close by while they run it through the x-ray machine. I even opted to not bring any ammo, I just bought some when I arrived at my destination.

I was waiting patiently near the baggage drop for a while when I see a TSA guy coming out with my bag. He explained that we had a problem; I declared one firearm but the x-ray showed the bag contained two. Now, I have a fair amount of guns but not so many that I lose track of where they are at all times. To further complicate matters, he claimed one of the firearms was loaded.

I assured him the bag contained one, and only one, firearm. He assured me that I was incorrect. The x-ray showed two and one had a clearly loaded magazine. I said, ok, assuming you are right, what do you propose I do about it?

He looked around and pointed to a nearby 'family' restroom. He said, take your bag in there, lock the door, remove the undeclared loaded firearm, bring the bag back to me, and take the undeclared loaded gun to your car.

I didn't bother to tell him I was dropped off and had no car. I just set off for the bathroom. I tore my bag apart looking for ANYTHING that bared a passing resemblance to a loaded firearm. I came up empty handed.

I took the bag back to him and reported my lack of findings. He seemed stressed. I said, how about I go back to the x-ray machine with you and you show me the second, undeclared, loaded firearm. He was like, you don't mind? I was like, why would I?

So into the back we go to meet Larry, Darrell and Darrell who were dutifully running bags through the machine. They ran mine through and Larry, obviously the brains of the operation said, RIGHT THERE! SEE IT! That's a gun and them there's the bullets in the magazine.

I knew immediately what it was. I opened the suitcase and pulled out a small tool bag that I always carry with various EDC type gadgets. This was the 'gun' and the 'loaded' magazine. Notice the 'magazine' containing exactly 4 bullets...

Everything went fine from there on out.

 

[Jodyrocks96]

It's been awhile for me. I would just be upfront and courteous about the situation.