Looking for luggage for secure flying with a gun.

[gundaddypv]

Can't trust the f'ing TSA not to steal my gun when I fly. I'm looking for a case which will keep ALL of my stuff secure. I know - it'll be out of my sight as soon as I turn it in, and baggage does get "lost" but there's a lot of TSA theft while the bag makes it to its destination.

Can anyone suggest a solution? I've seen hard-sided cases which look like military surplus but can handle big locks. However, I don't know where to buy one.

Thanks in advance!

 

[telpinaro]

Try Amazon... My husband just bought some nice luggage there. Of course, it is now missing somewhere. Possibly Istanbul. No idea.

 

[croute]

There is no such thing as "secure luggage" when it comes to the TSA. My suggestion is to insure it.

 

[Firefighterchen]

Bouncing off the op, there is nothing in the rules or laws about making sure the firearm is secluded from all the other belongings, correct? The only requirements is that it is unloaded and in a hard sided case, correct?

Why couldn't a case such as the picture attached, with the foam removed, have your clothes and firearm inside, and then locked securely, meet the requirements?



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[bofh]

Good lord! There is a lot of guessing going on here. Don't get arrested for ignorance. There are strict TSA regulations for transporting firearms.

The TSA regulations: Firearms and Ammunition | Transportation Security Administration

What TTAG recommends: Flying With Your Guns Revisited | The Truth About Guns

Recent USACarry thread: http://www.usacarry.com/forums/traveling-handguns/41578-traveling-air.html

- Check with the airline you are flying with as well. They may have their own interpretation of the TSA rules or additional ones.

- Airline desk personnel sometimes do not know all the rules, including their own. Make sure you do. Have a printout of them with you.

- Do not take possession of your firearm back from the airline in a state/city where you are prohibited from doing so, such as when getting stuck overnight at JFK airport. It is better to avoid such states/cities for connecting flights in general.

- If you get rerouted to such a state, you can tell the airline agent that you do not accept the new route and you are willing to wait at your current location for a better connection.

- It may be better to put the gun case inside another checked luggage, especially when traveling with a handgun only. Small bags/cases get easier lost as they can fall off unnoticed during ground transport or are just forgotten inside the plane when unloading. The checked luggage can be locked with a TSA-compliant lock on the outside. The gun case must be locked with a lock only you yourself have the key/combination for. A TSA-compliant lock is not acceptable. Read the TTAG recommendations cited above for that.

- There is a "$2,500 of ArmsCare coverage with your NRA membership. This plan covers insured firearms, air guns, bows and arrows against theft, accidental loss, and damage." This insurance must be activated separately from your membership (NRA Online Membership).

 

[Firefighterchen]

Good lord! There is a lot of guessing going on here. Don't get arrested for ignorance. There are strict TSA regulations for transporting firearms.

The TSA regulations: Firearms and Ammunition | Transportation Security Administration

What TTAG recommends: Flying With Your Guns Revisited | The Truth About Guns

Recent USACarry thread: http://www.usacarry.com/forums/traveling-handguns/41578-traveling-air.html

- Check with the airline you are flying with as well. They may have their own interpretation of the TSA rules or additional ones.

- Airline desk personnel sometimes do not know all the rules, including their own. Make sure you do. Have a printout of them with you.

- Do not take possession of your firearm back from the airline in a state/city where you are prohibited from doing so, such as when getting stuck overnight at JFK airport. It is better to avoid such states/cities for connecting flights in general.

- If you get rerouted to such a state, you can tell the airline agent that you do not accept the new route and you are willing to wait at your current location for a better connection.

- It may be better to put the gun case inside another checked luggage, especially when traveling with a handgun only. Small bags/cases get easier lost as they can fall off unnoticed during ground transport or are just forgotten inside the plane when unloading. The checked luggage can be locked with a TSA-compliant lock on the outside. The gun case must be locked with a lock only you yourself have the key/combination for. A TSA-compliant lock is not acceptable. Read the TTAG recommendations cited above for that.

- There is a "$2,500 of ArmsCare coverage with your NRA membership. This plan covers insured firearms, air guns, bows and arrows against theft, accidental loss, and damage." This insurance must be activated separately from your membership (NRA Online Membership).

Who is guessing? He didn't ask about TSA guidelines, he's asking about good secure luggage options. No one has given information that could lead to being arrested either. Swing...and a miss.

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[gfrlaser]

The rules state:
The firearm must be in a hard-sided container that is locked. A locked container is defined as one that completely secures the firearm from being accessed.
Locked cases that can be pulled open with little effort cannot be brought aboard the aircraft.

My question is, can the hard sided container be packed inside the larger luggage case and checked in. I have a lockable hard side case but it is rather small compared to the ones being suggested.

 

[bofh]

The rules state:
The firearm must be in a hard-sided container that is locked. A locked container is defined as one that completely secures the firearm from being accessed.
Locked cases that can be pulled open with little effort cannot be brought aboard the aircraft.

My question is, can the hard sided container be packed inside the larger luggage case and checked in. I have a lockable hard side case but it is rather small compared to the ones being suggested.

Yes. The hard sided container needs to be locked correctly, i.e., not with a TSA-compliant lock. The larger luggage case can be locked with a TSA-compliant lock. The firearm tag will be placed outside the hard sided container. Read the link I posted: Flying With Your Guns Revisited | The Truth About Guns

 

[longslide10]

Be prepared to spend some money for a good hard case plus TSA approved lock. Try here: Link Removed

or maybe this for handguns: Link Removed

 

[longslide10]

One more thing....Don't fly United. They purposely break or lose items.

 

[longslide10]

Do you have any friends that have a pilot license? Rent a plane and split the cost. That's another option and ya don't have to worry about the TSA and checking bags in and losing it, just load your bags, climb aboard and go.

 

[DC99]

I bought mine at a local gun shop sorry no pic. It is a hard case, holds two hand guns easily. I put two tsa approved locks on it and put it in a large suitcase. The airline agent made me open it to see they were slide locked and clear. The tsa guy also made me open it to view they were locked also. Then he took the luggage for scanning. I had no other issues but did notice the tsa wrapped their tape around the suitcase when I picked it up.
PS just re read your thread, don't think your going to find one to handle a big lock. FWI tsa does have authority to cut off the lock if your not there with the key.

 

[Firefighterchen]

I bought mine at a local gun shop sorry no pic. It is a hard case, holds two hand guns easily. I put two tsa approved locks on it and put it in a large suitcase. The airline agent made me open it to see they were slide locked and clear. The tsa guy also made me open it to view they were locked also. Then he took the luggage for scanning. I had no other issues but did notice the tsa wrapped their tape around the suitcase when I picked it up.
PS just re read your thread, don't think your going to find one to handle a big lock. FWI tsa does have authority to cut off the lock if your not there with the key.

You should not have put tsa locks on your gun case. The tsa locks go on the outer suitcase if you are putting the gun case inside the suitcase. The gun case has to have non tsa locks.

The tsa can cut the locks on a gun case only if the case set of an alarm, there is a declaration, and they have tried to reasonably contact the passenger, usually with police presence. If there is no declaration, they can cut the locks without contact.

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[ventman]

In my skeet shooting days I checked a $10,000 shotgun many times in an Americase. They are the best.

 

[NavyLCDR]

Be prepared to spend some money for a good hard case plus TSA approved lock.

I put two tsa approved locks on it and put it in a large suitcase.

Using TSA approved locks on the gun case violates Federal regulations:

eCFR ? Code of Federal Regulations

Title 49: Transportation
PART 1540—CIVIL AVIATION SECURITY: GENERAL RULES
Subpart B—Responsibilities of Passengers and Other Individuals and Persons
§1540.111 Carriage of weapons, explosives, and incendiaries by individuals.

(c) In checked baggage. A passenger may not transport or offer for transport in checked baggage or in baggage carried in an inaccessible cargo hold under §1562.23 of this chapter:

(1) Any loaded firearm(s).

(2) Any unloaded firearm(s) unless—

(i) The passenger declares to the aircraft operator, either orally or in writing, before checking the baggage, that the passenger has a firearm in his or her bag and that it is unloaded;

(ii) The firearm is unloaded;

(iii) The firearm is carried in a hard-sided container; and

(iv) The container in which it is carried is locked, and only the passenger retains the key or combination.

There is absolutely no advantage to using a TSA approved lock on the gun case - and why would you want to use a lock that the TSA can easily open with their key? That is exactly what "TSA approved" means - that TSA can open the lock without breaking/cutting it.

In addition, there is no certification for "airline approved" or "TSA approved" firearms cases. Those are terms used by the manufactures to jack up the price. The correct statement would be "meets the criteria for airline transportation" which means that access to the firearm without using tools is prevented when the case is locked. I use a $10.00 case from Ace Hardware.

http://www.tsa.gov/traveler-information/firearms-and-ammunition

The firearm must be in a hard-sided container that is locked. A locked container is defined as one that completely secures the firearm from being accessed. Locked cases that can be pulled open with little effort cannot be brought aboard the aircraft.

 

[longslide10]

Using TSA approved locks on the gun case violates Federal regulations:

eCFR ? Code of Federal Regulations



There is absolutely no advantage to using a TSA approved lock on the gun case - and why would you want to use a lock that the TSA can easily open with their key? That is exactly what "TSA approved" means - that TSA can open the lock without breaking/cutting it.

In addition, there is no certification for "airline approved" or "TSA approved" firearms cases. Those are terms used by the manufactures to jack up the price. The correct statement would be "meets the criteria for airline transportation" which means that access to the firearm without using tools is prevented when the case is locked. I use a $10.00 case from Ace Hardware.

Firearms and Ammunition | Transportation Security Administration

Ok, consider us schooled

 

[gfrlaser]

The original reasons for all of this is because I am flying to Florida soon to drive my daughter back to Ohio in a car. I think I have decided to keep things simple and hopefully less costly by shipping one of my firearms to her beforehand. It will be there when I arrive, no fuss, no muss. Now to study up on the requirements of shipping firearms. It's always something.

 

[NavyLCDR]

The original reasons for all of this is because I am flying to Florida soon to drive my daughter back to Ohio in a car. I think I have decided to keep things simple and hopefully less costly by shipping one of my firearms to her beforehand. It will be there when I arrive, no fuss, no muss. Now to study up on the requirements of shipping firearms. It's always something.

If you are talking about a rifle or a shotgun, then you can drop it in the mail US Postal Service, addressed to yourself in care of another person, just fine. No problems there. US Post Office regulations prohibit you from mailing a handgun via US Post Office to almost anyone that isn't a government agency.

If you plan on using FEDEX or UPS, such as for shipping a handgun, then you are going to be disappointed. Federal law, 18 USC 922 (e) requires you to notify the shipper, in writing, of a shipment containing any firearm that is going out of state to any person other than an FFL.

18 U.S. Code § 922 - Unlawful acts | LII / Legal Information Institute

Once you notify FEDEX or UPS in writing of your shipment containing a firearm, they will deny the shipment because it violates their Terms of Service (Tariff) to ship a firearm that is not going to or coming from an FFL.

Link Removed
FedEx Express Terms and Conditions and FedEx Ground Tariff

In addition, you have the extra trip to the post office, FEDEX or UPS (and FEDEX or UPS will just turn you down). Then you have to have to have someone actually present at the other end when the gun arrives or it will likely just be left on the front porch. And you are trusting all the post office, FEDEX or UPS employees not to steal your gun - but you won't trust the TSA not to even though hundreds, if not thousands of firearms travel in checked baggage every day in this country without incident.

BTW - is you want to comply with Federal law, every time that you come within 1000 feet of a school in any state other than where you actually have a permit from you must unload your gun and lock it in a case. That's 18 USC 922 (q)(2).

Have a nice trip.

 

[Oldgrunt]

It would be cheaper to just rent a car and drive to Florida. Drop it off there and then drive his daughter home. With all the different regulations, one gets the idea they don't want us to have weapons. I have made up my mind if I have to travel, I'll drive, take a train or take a bus. There went my wife's trip to Hawaii!

 

[telpinaro]

It would be cheaper to just rent a car and drive to Florida. Drop it off there and then drive his daughter home. With all the different regulations, one gets the idea they don't want us to have weapons. I have made up my mind if I have to travel, I'll drive, take a train or take a bus. There went my wife's trip to Hawaii!

Hawaii isn't worth it anyway. Too hot and humid. :wink: