I will be moving to a different state soon, and I’m wondering if it’s legal to take my .38 Special on the plane with me (In my checked luggage, not my carryon). Do I have to lock it up, or declare it or anything? Is it even legal at all?
Call the airline. They’ll let you know what they require.
One of my brothers once did it, and the just required that he put an extra locking strap around the case. I guess the original lock wasn’t up to snuff. Anyway, I am sure that the airline insists you let them know about it.
You absolutely must declare it to the airline. Call them ahead of time to make arrangements and make sure there is no confusion. Allow an extra hour because you’ll encounter people who don’t know the rules for this. Be warned that they will probably slap a sticker on your bag stating that there is a gun inside. That’s a big invitation to baggage theft. Make sure that the gun can be legally in your possesion on both ends of the flight.
Must be in locked case. Action open…no ammo in case.
You should call the airline. I don’t think they want people listening to you at the counter about ‘having a gun on the plane’ if you catch my drift 
You’re cruisin’ for the proverbial bruisin’ unless you are very careful here.
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Call the airline. Get the name and badge (or ID) number and telephone number of everyone you speak to.
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Get them to fax an acknowledgement of the fact you will be checking the gun.
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Check the gun at the curbside check-in, not inside the terminal. IIRC, there have been a couple “unfortunate misunderstandings” of people trying to check their gun inside the terminal, even though the rules said they could.
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Don’t pack it with ammo, don’t carry ammo in a seperate container, don’t even daydream about ammunition on the plane. Think about the cute girl 2 rows up…oh wait, she’s gay. Never mind…
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Like Padeye said, make damn sure it is legal on both sides of the trip.
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If the gun is worth anything at all, take out extra insurance. Given the tendancy of baggage handlers to steal anything smokable, spendable, or shootable, it would be a wise precaution.
Two thoughts hit my mind at once:
- Una, only a hack writer places herself in a story, a la Clive Cussler ;);
- Just cause she won’t wanna sleep with me don’t me she ain’t nice to think about
Sua
IIRC, Ammunition is considered an “explosive”, so it can only go by ground. .22 rounds have been known to “cook off” if they come into contact with a 9v battery. They don’t want to take any chances there will be a hole in the aircraft that wasn’t there when they took off.
It will probably have to be in a hard case, not a soft one. It must be locked. They will almost certainly want to check it to ensure that it is unloaded, so be prepared to open the case. You might want to open the action beforehand so it doesn’t look like you’re cocking it.
I’d be a little leary about checking it at the curb. You might want to have Airport Security called to escort you to an inside baggage check. Ask if they have a “discreet” area where the firearm can be examined without a lot of publicity. Extra insurance is a good idea.
As everyone else has said, call the airline ahead of time.
Go here
A couple other points:
You do have to have an FAA sticker/tag attached to the case that the firearms is in, but it does not have to be on the outside of the case!!! This is euphemistically referred to as a “steal me” tag :eek:
You may be required to show that the gun is safed i.e. field stripped, in order to pack it.
NO AMMO NO AMMO NO AMMO
This is a quick way to lose ten big ones in a hurry as well as many other nasty consequences!!
This includes but is not limited to: different calibers, dummy ammo (keychains?), brass, primers (which require special handling anyway if they’re going by air) etc.
Another bit of advice learned the hard way: if you are transporting a firearm, expect to have a more thorough and less tolerant search of the rest of your baggage. I had a nice Chris Reeve Sebenza knife that had travelled with me lots o’ times with no problem. The last time I brought a couple HK P7’s home, I would have lost it had I not happened to have a self addressed stamped envelope (for just that purpose) to post it home in.
Let me tell you the guard was pissed!! I think he was already imagining it in his collection ($325 knife)
…and to this [/threadmsg_ct.xp?AN=695099732.1&mhitnum=0&CONTEXT=974860721.828899329]deja.com](http://x68.deja.com/[ST_rn=fs) thread adressing your specific issue.
I don’t know why I couldn’t put this link after the first link in the previous message. Any help, Uncle? We know you’re reading this one 
Typically, The rules for the place I work for are as follows (for Domestic US Flight only*:
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Case must be lockable and Gun must be unloaded.
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Ammon MAY be carried, but in it original packaging only and stored in a seperate, lockable “ammo box”
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A tag, which is bright green with large lettering stating “Unloaded Firearm” is placed inside the case.
As a baggage handler at a major Airline hub, I abhor the common misconception that we steal poeple’s stuff… Frankly, we can’t be more happy to see the stuff GO!(Anywhere! I doesn’t matter… Send it to Atlanta and wish it a happy life!
I personally see, on average, around 6,000 peices of luggage a day. The current trend of packing 200 lbs suitcases is getting more and more worrisome, but shrug The poeple I work with are more inclined to THROW your luggage than wonder whats inside of it
And yes, We’ve had firearms “discharge” inside the cargo bin of an aircraft (on the ground)… It happened when someone tossed the gun case up into the bin. When it hit, it went off, put a hole in the bin of the aircraft…
Of course, we’ve also had agents struck by lightening and other “occupational hazards”…
One word: Vonnegut
How 'bout sending it via UPS the day you leave? Then you don’t have to worry about all the airport hassels.
Touche.
Sua
I don’t know if this applies to Domestic, but when I came back to Prague after a visit to Colorado I brought back a Ruger 10/22. I had to sign a paper declaring a bunch of stuff (unloaded, mine, etc.) but one caveat there was that if it was for “personal safety” that it was then a “weapon of war” and could not be transported. So claim it as a target shooter or sport gun if asked.
My rifle had to be in a hard lockable case, no ammo near it (but you could transport ammo in an ammo box, which I thought was still too lenient) and had a “Security” sticker slapped on it. The bright orange gun sticker was kept inside. I had to go into a back room with a security guard (who was old, deaf, and didn’t speak English very well) to open the case and show him everything.
As for checking it in at the curb, I question if this is important. Yes you get their attention, but no one freaks or anything, they just call over the manager for the proper paperwork.
But I definitely agree with keeping the names and numbers of everyone you talk to…I needed that the first time I tried to do this when I was given the wrong information. And call you must, one airline might have a strange series of hoops that they want you to jump through (like a hard locking case AND a trigger lock or it being stripped down).
Oh, BTW, if anyone goes internationally, rifles are OK, but handguns are not. I was told that Heathrow airport in London refuses to allow handguns to go through it AT ALL.
-Tcat
UPS is more notorious for firearms theft than airlines!!!
Is Amtrak a possibility for your move? Theoretically, you’re not supposed to carry a firearm in carry-on luggage on the trains anymore than on airplanes. But unless you’re crossing the border into Canada,* nobody will be looking into your bags. There’s certainly no security checkpoints with metal detectors and x-ray machines at Union Station.
*For reasons unknown outside those agencies, both US and Canadian customs are purportedly extremely (IMHO overly) thorough on trains crossing the border. Not with motorists crossing at the same border posts, just with Amtrak/VIA passengers. Wassup with that?
I think I’d go with the UPS approach. Is it a federal offense to mail a gun to someone who is not a dealer, manufacturer, or gunsmith? Hell, yeah. Is anybody going to find out? Hell, no. Just don’t expect to make an insurance claim on your improperly shipped handgun. I think I’d just wrap it up in a bigger box than necessary, write “perishable–cole slaw” on it, and ship 'er off.
I saw a fellow at the (Greensboro, NC) airport this weekend who seemed to know what he was doing. He had what was obviously a purpose-built steel case, rifle or perhaps hunting bow length. It was locked by about a 3/8" diameter full-length steel bar and secured with a Master padlock at each end. He was wearing overalls, camouflage, and a day-glow orance hunting cap. No mistaking at all who this guy was or what he was doing. He didn’t look nervous while standing in line to check in.
Several years ago I worked for an airline that serviced small airports in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho, etc. During hunting season there were many sportspeople transporting rifles and other firearms. Those who did not have their own FAA-approved firearms cases could ‘borrow’ one from the airline (this involved paying a rather large deposit which was returned at the passenger’s destination when the passenger returned the carrying case).
The firearm had to be broken down as much as was possible and the passenger had to sign a form stating that it was unloaded. (The firearm was not checked by airline personnel to verify that it was unloaded.)Ammunition could be transported in a separate FAA-approved case.
This sort of transportation is more common than you might think and airport personnel know how to handle the situation. My weirdest checked baggage experience? The deceased infant in the Campbell’s soup box. We managed to lose the box for 1-1/2 days…