Flying with a gun - What not to
do...
Since 01-11-09
From:
** Tim @ USCCA
Sent: Thursday, January 08, 2009 12:05 PM
Subject: "Flying with a gun: What not to do..."
"Flying with a gun: What not to do..."
January 8th, 2009
Hello, James!
Today I wanted to share an email with you from a friend of mine that I received
yesterday... you're going to get a kick out of this, and if you've never checked
a gun as baggage on an airplane, you might even learn a valuable lesson.
*********
Hey Tim- good morning bro.
Hey, do you remember how I said I had to take a plane to Florida and drive a
relative's vehicle back up for them? Well... I thought I would share with you
the "awesome" experience I had. Here goes...
When found out I was going to Florida, I was thrilled. Sure, I would be escaping
from "18 degrees and snowing" to "75 degrees and sunny" for a couple days, but
mostly because my concealed carry permit allowed me to carry in Florida and ALL
the states we would be traveling through on our way home.
As you know, I have been traveling quite a bit lately, and this was the first
time I have been able to (legally) take and carry my GLOCK. So I was a bit more
excited than I have been on trips where I COULDN'T take my gun. Not
so ironically, this trip would be the safest of them all. It's
"...funny..." that the states and areas that ban guns are the most dangerous
ones. Anyway....
I already had a nice blue hard-plastic Smith & Wesson pistol case, so I went to
Walmart and bought a "TSA approved" combination lock. I didn't want to take any
chances of this not working out.
I happened to be flying on Delta Airlines, so I went to their website and found
the following information:
Pistols
One pistol case containing:
* five pistols
* pistol telescopes
* noise suppressers
* a small pistol tool case
* 11 pounds of ammunition
When checking a firearm, you must:
* Declare to the Delta representative that you are checking a firearm (If a
Security Checkpoint is prior to the Delta ticket counter, you must declare the
existence of a firearm to security personnel.)
* Present firearm(s) unloaded and sign
a "Firearms Unloaded" declaration
* Lock the firearm(s) in a hard-sided,
crush-proof container and retain the
key or combination
* Maintain entry permits in your possession
for the country or countries of destination
or transit
* Ensure small arms ammunition is packed
in the manufacturer's original package or
securely packed in fiber, wood or metal
boxes
I THOUGHT I was well within these guidelines... so, my wife and I got to the
airport and we headed up to the counter. It was to be a light trip, so we packed
our clothes and gear in our carry-on backpacks, and the pistol case was the only
thing I was going to check in.
The Delta lady that checked me in was VERY friendly. I just have to give her
some credit, first of all. She didn't look at me weird when I told her that I'd
like to check a firearm, she just made small talk as she tagged it, and said
"Okay, now I have to take you over to TSA to inspect this."
This is where it gets funny. Before I was even TO the TSA inspection area, the
short-haired woman wearing the TSA badge said loudly, "That's not going to
work."
"Uh oh!" I said while grinning. As you know, I am hardly ever serious. "Will it
work for 20 bucks?" I asked her as we approached the inspection area.
"Funny. No, the whole idea of having a locking gun case is so that the guys down
there [pointing to the black hole where all the bags were conveying into] can't
get into it. Your case is plastic."
"Yeah, but your website said a hard-sided case that can't be crushed."
"Well it would be easy to break. Plus, your case only locks once, in the center
of the handle. It has to lock at both ends."
At this point, a TSA guy who had been listening to the exchange poked his head
over and repeated: "It has to lock on both ends."
Bummer. That was fine though. I had put aside about $700 JUST for travel
expenses, and having the gun was worth it to me. Heck, I think I'd rather stay
in an "unsafe" hotel WITH my Glock than a "safe" one without it.
"Well, do you sell pistol cases?"
"No," the lady said, "but the airlines sometimes do."
Yes- Hope. Not the Obama kind... actual hope!
The nice Delta lady was still standing there, and frowning, said to me, "We
stopped selling them a while ago... but Northwest Airlines only stopped
recently. I would go ask that lady over there," she said pointing at a lady
behind the NW airlines counter.
So, we walked down there. "Excuse me ma'am, but I was told by the TSA lady down
there that you might be able to help me by selling me a pistol case.. [I held
mine up] this one here doesn't meet regulation. Before you say anything- there's
20 bucks in it for you if you get me fixed up!"
She looked at me funny and said, "Well I can tell you right now that the cases
we sold were $75!"
Ouch. But, maybe it would be a good case.
"That's totally fine- I just want to be able to take my pistol!"
She left, and returned empty handed. "Sorry, we sold our last two cases last
week. There's one back there still, but there are no keys for it, so we can't
sell it."
Rats... I had one last idea. I thanked the lady wholeheartedly for all the
legwork, and headed back to TSA. Now, once again, I must give this older woman
at the Northwest Airlines check in line credit- she was REALLY nice, and again
didn't seem weird that I was checking in a pistol. Anyway...
"Excuse me," I said to the TSA lady. "NW is all out of cases... what if I check
my backpack as luggage and just stick the case in it- would that work?"
The TSA lady sighed and proceeded to demonstrate on my poor pistol case how easy
it would be to break it open. "Okay, I get it!!"
As I took my case back, I noted the heavy frost around it where she had touched
it.... kidding!
So, my friend Tim.... From sunny Florida I am sending you this email weaponless.
I had to take it back to my vehicle in the parking garage. I hope it's safe!
One last thing, Tim: When I tried to check the gun, the Delta lady must have
written something on my boarding pass, because BOY did my wife and get
handpicked for some major TSA searching.
They wiped our hands, wallets, phones, EVERYTHING down for drugs, they took
everything out of our bags (EVERYTHING), they patted us both down, and they even
stuck us in a TINY glass room for a few minutes while they went through all our
things. Everyone was looking at us through the glass as they went by.
I'm such a joker that I wasn't embarrassed... but I'm not sure if my comments to
TSA helped anything:
"Find anything yet?"... "I'll be counting that money when you're done there,
just so you know!"... "Make sure you check those boots real good!... "Wow,
you're done with the boots? I can have them back? Ha! Awesome- Hey babe, they're
done checking the boots!"
The weird thing was, my wife was the only one who found my comments funny!
Okay Tim... I'd better get going. I guess the lesson would be to get a GOOD
metal case with built in locks if you're ever going to transport a pistol.
HERE is where I found all of Delta's gun transportation regulations... Take
care bro.
**********
Okay, that's the end of his email. I feel bad that he had to go without his gun,
but hopefully we can all learn from his experience!
That's all for today, friends!
Tim Schmidt
USCCA - Owner / Founder
N173W21298 Northwest Passage Way,
Jackson, WI 53037, USA
