Posted on 08/26/2012 9:14:41 AM PDT by marktwain
I took my gun on a airplane for the first time, and it was much easier than getting it across town in Washington, D.C. The most difficult part of the process on Sunday was figuring out how to legally transport my firearm from my home in the District to Reagan National Airport in Virginia. The rest was -- surprisingly -- a breeze.
I was traveling to St. Louis for a self-defense course for female journalists who cover firearm-related issues at the Winchester Co. In planning the trip, the company rep, Michael, recommended I bring my own Sig Sauer P229 so that I could learn on my own pistol. He sent me United Airlines firearms guidelines, which looked pretty simple: the unloaded gun had to be in a locked, in a hard case and checked in the luggage.
Still, I was nervous about flying with it. My gun doesn’t get out much since it’s against the law in D.C. to take my gun anywhere other than another state. Another rep, Shannon, said I should bring it in a locked box to ensure that it didn’t disappear with airport security. She also suggested that I call Ronald Reagan National Airport for any local laws, like the one in New York that requires a police officer escort the bag.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
I have done it dozens of times.
You have never had one stolen by baggage or TSA handlers?
The biometrics lock on the case is cool. Too bad they don’t have a way to secure the case inside the suitcase and an alarm that sounds if the suitcase goes further than a few hundred yards from the owner.
D.C. has strick gun laws? Then they must have really low gun-related crime rates, right? /sarc
I saw one poster say that he secures the locked box to the inside of the suitcase with a locking cable....great idea.
Never have. My interactions with TSA has been positive. The airlines seem to go out of their way to insure that guns are not stolen. It gives them a royal headache, because the system insures that there are witnesses that you had the gun in the luggage.
If you can legally possess the gun where you are going, and where you started from, you can legally transport it in checked luggage.
“for a self-defense course for female journalists who cover firearm-related issues at the Winchester Co.”
I hope she’s better with her firearm than she is with the English language. Either that or they really have a LOT of problems at Winchester :-)
WTF
>>t gives them a royal headache, because the system insures that there are witnesses that you had the gun in the luggage.<<
A gun gets special attention — they are few, they are specifically declared, they are of concern to LEOs across the spectrum.
Even the dumbest TSA agent or baggage handler knows to mess with one would be inviting HUGE trouble. Better to take something like a laptop (although baggage stealing has become pretty rare anyway since baggage is under more scrutiny).
Its interesting how they handle firearms in baggage differently in different states. I recently flew out of NY to Florida. At the airport checking the gun was a big production, first they had to get a supervisor, then I had to open the case and show them it was unloaded. Then we had to wait 20 minutes for a sheriff to come and inspect the gun and to check my carry permit. Flying out of Florida it was no big deal. They didn’t even make me open the case to show it was unloaded. Flying out of Seattle they didn’t make me show it was unloaded but escorted me and the bag to a special TSA booth where they did wipe tests on the gun case, the bags and my carry on. The procedures vary from place to place but its not a big deal.
Thanks for the Emily Miller story. I have read her earlier sagas on getting registered and buying her pistol, she writes an interesting article. D.C. gun rules are insane & unconstitutional. We need more real conservative justices on the USSC.
You are welcome and correct.
Ditto. Flying out of Louisiana and Georgia has not been a problem. I like picking up my checked baggage and arming myself in the vehicle before I've left the airport property.
What is a wipe test?
What is a wipe test?
What is a wipe test?
What is a wipe test?
_________________________
Tests pucker tension.
Sort of a lie-detector test for armed Americans.
lol
Please be gentle. It’s my first time...
What is a wipe test?
It is a test for explosive residue.
But if you are transporting a firearm, isn’t it likely that there is going to be some traces of explosive residue/gunpowder on the gun case? So what would be the point?
Either they know that and discount it, or their tests exclude residue from gunpowder and primers.
I transported a high capacity reloader that had lots of dust from the depriming of hundreds of cartridges, they did a wipe test, and waved me through.
“What is a wipe test?”
It is a test for explosives residue by wiping a sample pad on your bag or clothing.
Just be sure you don't make a unscheduled weather-related landing in NYC or New Jersey, where you will then not only have your gun seized by police but also have felony firearms charges filed against you, making you a prohibited person for the rest of your life. As has happened to a few people.
~~~~~~~~~
Now that I'm retired, I avoid flying like the plague. But, when I traveled for business (to locations with reciprocal CCW licensing) I always flew with three handguns.
I found that check-in goes very smoothly if you save the orange "'Unloaded' Declaration" card from a previous flight, hand it to the check-in agent, and say, "I'll be needing another of these to fill out".
I use a lockable Samsonite brief case with several "gun rugs" of various sizes inside. Mot of my pieces have readily-separable slides, and I place each slide in its own "rug". That allows those who are interested to see that the pieces are not only unloaded, but disassembled and non-functional.
I only experienced one minor perturbation: one cute little libbimbo at Logan literally jumped back when I opened the case so she could check that the pieces were unloaded. She said, "I've never even seen one of those things for real before! I'll take your word for it that they're unloaded..." She refused to touch them, but her supervisor was passing by, so I asked him to do the verification...
The main thing is simply to let the agents know it's just routine, and you do it all the time...
My guess is that, further down the luggage line, there is an “explosives sniffer” or another wipe test. Since your gun case is likely to test positive, doing a pre-screen allows them to avoid a lot of excitement at the explosives checkpoint.
Not sure...However, at an east coast airport a few months ago I overheard the Sturmabteilung say something to an old man like: "Drop trow & skin it back"
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.