A guide to travelling with your gun

[sarisataka]

A guide to travelling with your gun

Travelling with your gun can make for a stressful journey, with various legal requirements and airline rules to adhere to. Dominic Griffith gives his advice on how to avoid stress while travelling with your gun.
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Anyone who has travelled with shotguns or rifles will have an implausible story to tell of inefficiency or inconsistency. With any luck they will also have enjoyed the odd hassle-free encounter with knowledgeable airport security staff that eased what could otherwise have been a stressful journey while travelling with your gun.

A detailed understanding of the law is a prerequisite to travelling with your gun but, in addition to the fundamental international and national legal requirements, individual airlines and airports will have their own rules and guidelines which must be satisfied, and the pilots themselves may even have the power of veto on the carriage of firearms. Local rules at the destination may also apply. With regard to any international flight it is therefore worth looking at the Transport Security Administration (TSA) rules as well as national or local guidelines.

The key to a relatively stress-free flight while travelling with your gun most certainly lies in the preparation. Even though each airline’s policy on travelling with your gun is usually available on its website, common to all is the advice to “notify before you fly”. The airline will then request information on the type of firearms and ammunition to be transported and remind you of the required documentation. All also suggest you allow extra time at check-in, because security staff either have to be specially assigned at the smaller airports or because only a few of the larger airport security staff are dedicated to firearms and may be delayed travelling between airport terminals and the various airlines that are requiring their services.

Read more at http://www.thefield.co.uk/features/a-guide-to-travelling-with-your-gun-22826#SuIZFrW8Oy5wQSd3.99

This seems pertinent since many seem surprised that airlines allow firearms in checked baggage. This article shows it is not an unique experience:
Here are the TSA rules on flying with a gun  

[doc03]

1. I don't think a gun and ammo should be carried on a plane. I never carried a gun in my luggage,

I am completely shocked that you can carry ammo with it. How easy that would be to get your bag take out your gun and start shooting
people in the airport. I am amazed that hasn't been done before. I am sure there will be copy cats now.

[SQUEE]

2. just as easy as walking in the front door...

Baggage check is not a secure area.

[doc03]

3. Right same thing nt

[kudzu22]

4. So what's the difference having it in your luggage?

You can still get to the same place with gun + ammo.

[gejohnston]

5. What if you are going to a target competion or class

in another state? Hunting? That is the reason for taking it on checked baggage.
https://www.tsa.gov/travel/transporting-firearms-and-ammunition
I doubt there will be copy cats. This is a guy that walked into an FBI office and said ISIS was putting thoughts in his head.

[MarvinGardens]

6. In ATL you can carry a loaded weapon in the non-secured areas.

https://www.google.com/amp/www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-law-allows-man-to-carry-loaded-assault-rifle-through-atlanta-airport-im-not-scaring-anybody-20150604-story,amp.html

Open or concealed with the proper permit.

This is the case in some other juridictions with permissive laws as well.

[ManiacJoe]

9. This is the same in MOST places.

In general, airports are not a secured area and have no special restrictions on them for carrying weapons.

[Eleanors38]

8. Another soft target. You can arrive at an airport and start shooting,

You can go through the effort to check an arm in, fly to Florida, pick up the gun in baggage claims, load in the crapper, then start shooting. Maybe he hated tourists, and Florida was the spot.

Maybe he knew fed security was unarmed, which meant he could slaughter more.

Have there been any prior instances like this?

[Eleanors38]

7. My experience...

Checked in a 112-yr-old .22 rifle in hard case. I had to show the clerk how to examine it to see it was unloaded. Got to destination and waited 45 minutes at the baggage carousel until the same pieces of luggage passed me 10 times. No rifle. I walked around the carousels. No luck. Then on a shelf below a locked pass-through, I saw the case & rifle. Anyone could have picked it up and walked off with it. It would have been nice to know in advance the proper way to return properly checked arms to travelers.

[sarisataka]

10. Common sense

Would say you should have a positive exchange of luggage marked containing a firearm. Go to a staffed location and present id showing you are the rightful owner of the luggage

[yagotme]

11. HAHAHAHAHA

You said "common sense".

[sarisataka]

12. I know,

I am more likely to get a unicorn for my birthday...

[yagotme]

13. Sad, but true. What color unicorn?

[Eleanors38]

14. Yes, but this is fast & cheap, and not sufficiently restrictive of gun-owners.