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It appears I am going to have to fly to Phoenix and drive my daughter and her toddlers back to Austin in the next week or so.
I was wondering if anyone has recommendations for a good case / safe / vault to use to store a full size M&P in to put in the checked luggage to fly out there?

Having never taken a gun on a flight before, I have a lot of learning to do real quick the way it looks.
The simple thing to do would be to just not take a gun for the return trip, but that just doesn't seem like a good idea.

Thanks.

Stop by a gun store and buy one of the Pelican cases they have, or just about any other sturdy case. Add a good lock (NOT! a TSA lock) and you are good to go.

Leave the lock off until you declare at baggage check. Get there early enough to loiter there after your bag is checked so that you can be immediately accessible to TSA should they need to open your bag and possibly your gun case. Bring printed copies of all of the airline and TSA rules. The only reason TSA is allowed to open your bag is if the xray or the operator is not able to "resolve" a possible threat in your bag, and guns being big opaque blocks have a tendency to block the view of things near them, so your electronic device next to your travel shampoo under your gun might need to be looked at to eliminate the possibility of there being a concealed IED.

Despite the horror stories, most TSA personnel are just average joes trying to make it through the day with all of the usual aggravations but including irate passengers who think that the TSA is against them personally. When I was there, the people I worked with were rarely anti-gun and most did not care much if they saw a gun in a bag. There were always a few at the extremes, a couple who would do anything to delay a person with a gun in their bag because they didn't think it was right, and some, like me, who might make a passenger late by wanting to spend too much time chatting about guns. Attitude begets attitude, stay cool and if there is any dispute, immediately ask for a supervisor.

If your suitcase is a zipper tyoe, remember that zippers are easy to open so locks are nothing more than devices to prevent the zippers from moving, carry a hard side suitcase, and it can have a TSA lock on it. Secure your gun case in one corner of the bag with nothing else besides clothing near it, and don't bother with the dirty underwear trick, we have seen it so many times that it's boring and just causes us to wonder what else you have to hide.

What he said!


LabRat

Thanks Jim. Very helpful.

I'll stop and get the case and see what I can find to lock the case into the suitcase and some locks.
I'm sure you're right, most of the people at TSA are probably regular Joes...It's just a little unsettling flying with a gun ...guns and airplanes dont seem to go together.

Thanks again.