First Time Flying With Handgun (Long read)

[Snap E Tom]

A few weeks ago, I flew to Seattle from Austin on vacation. Since this was a vacation with no real time constraints, and I was flying from one gun friendly state to another, I figured I'd try taking my carry handgun, a Sig P220 Compact.

Weeks before, I read a bunch of sites including this one, on what to expect. I condensed everything into a mental checklist.

1) I need a TSA lock for the luggage, a non-TSA locked hard case for the firearm.
2) Ammo should be stored in a separate container. The original packaging for the ammo is fine.
3) I declare my weapon at the baggage check.
4) They give me a form to fill out. The form goes into the suitcase outside the case or inside depending on directions they give me.
5) They may or may not ask to see that it's unloaded.
6) They either send me to a separate TSA area to inspect it or they may bring TSA to the counter to check the firearm.
7) Give myself an extra 30 minutes for all of this.

I was flying to Seattle on United and coming back on Alaska. I printed out the regs from both airlines and the TSA site. I read them carefully and placed them in my carry-on messenger bag in case of any issues, like everyone recommends.

I went down to Cabela's and got a Secure-It handgun case. It only costs $28 and feels a bit cheap - the metal is thin and you can pry it open with a chisel. However, it's perfect for flying. It's small (10" x 6" x 2"), padded, and has a combo lock. It meets all of the TSA requirements. I definitely wasn't going to pay $100+ for a waterproof Pelican case that took up literally 1/3 of the suitcase for this experiment.

The night before, I remembered I didn't have a separate lock for the suitcase. At 10:00 pm, I ran down to my local WalMart and got one. I finished packing. Every action was carefully planned and done to minimize the hassle for everyone involved. I dropped the magazine and emptied the personal defense rounds. I racked the slide back, ejecting the chambered round. I kept the slide locked back, chamber up and open, and placed it in the case. That way, if the agent wanted to see it, I can discretely take out the thin case, open it, point to the empty chamber, and close it up again. I put the empty magazine in with the case. I placed all seven rounds in their original box and put that in the suitcase. The rounds were buried, but the firearm case was near the top of the suitcase with a couple of shirts over it. It was out of plain sight, but I can easily get to it for the counter agent and TSA agent.

The morning of my flight, I remembered I forgot my cap, so I placed that in the suitcase. I checked everything one last time. I'm good to go.

This may or may not be relevant detail, but I was wearing a suit and tie for several reasons. First, I had a dinner banquet to go to that evening in Seattle. Second I wanted to get a Washington CHL (Concealed Pistol License there) just for kicks in between landing and the dinner. Because I would be dealing with law enforcement in getting the CPL and flying, I figured it wouldn't hurt to look respectable.

I get to Austin-Bergstrom with plenty of time to spare. I make my way to the United counter. "I have a firearm to declare," I said. "Ah," the agent said. She handed me off to another agent who gave me the form, which is about the size of an index card. The form basically declares, "I have a firearm. It's unloaded." Signing it is all the "filling in" that you have to do. I sign it, they print out tags, and tell me, "Take your suitcase and card to the TSA inspection area. They'll bring it back to us. We don't do anything with firearms anymore ever since one of our agents was accidentally shot by a gun he thought was unloaded."

The inspection area is literally right next to the United counters. I head over there. I hand the form over to the TSA agent. She takes it and my suitcase and explains that she'll be checking to make sure it's properly secured and unloaded. I unlock the suitcase for her, she opens it and proceeds to go through my items. She takes a small stack of clothes and shifts them. She takes another stack of clothes and shifts them.

Then another stack. And another.

She finds the ammo. "Here's the ammunition, but is the handgun in here?"

"Um, yeah, it should be," I said.

"How big is the case?" She asks.

"Not big at all. It's the size of a hardcover novel, but it's metal, so it shouldn't be hard to find," I told her. I shift through my messenger bag to make sure I didn't slip it in there by some mental lapse.

"There's no case in here," she says after going through everything.

Then it hit me. When I packed my cap, I shifted things around to make sure it wouldn't be crushed. I put the case on the bed. I must have forgotten to put it back in the suitcase.

She laughed, "Well, you did everything else right. The ammo is packed correctly, you declared to the right people." She added that I didn't need to declare for the ammo, took my declaration form and ripped it up. Feeling like a buffoon, I locked the suitcase and another TSA agent took it back to the United counter.

Interestingly, the agent yelled back to the original agent, "He didn't pack it." The agent gave him and me a puzzled look.

"I forgot it," I said.

The agent chuckled, and asked, "Are you still going?" which I thought was a weird question.

I said, "Of course." She then rips off the original luggage tag, prints out a new one to attach to my suitcase. Now, I was reading on some more paranoid sites that United flags the suitcases with handguns with a special code. This pretty much confirmed it for me. Why would she put a different tag on my suitcase?

The flight goes smooth, my vacation was great, my seven rounds enjoyed sitting in the suitcase the whole trip, and I'm now waiting for my Washington CPL now for future visits.

Flying back, I figured I should tell Alaska Airlines that I have ammo, even though TSA in Austin said I did not need to declare ammo. That's because on the Alaska Airlines site, they specifically list ammunition as "dangerous materials." I explained to the agent the situation. She agreed that it was better to be safe than sorry and suggested we treat it as a firearm case. I said that wasn't a problem at all. She sent me to the inspection area, which was a partitioned off area in the middle of the concourse. I went to the area, and announced my presence by saying kind of loudly, "Hello?" because the TSA agent was sitting there asleep. I explained to him the situation with the ammo, no handgun, etc. He said, "Oh, you don't have to declare that," did a quick inspection, and gave me back the form. He then took the suitcase back to the Alaska counter.

Got home, and there was the case on the bed right next to my pillow.

In summary, if you're going to fly with a handgun, don't forget to actually pack the handgun. Everyone was professional, friendly, and efficient. Procedures at both airports and airlines were identical. And next time I'm in Washington, I'll (hopefully) be able to carry.

[Beiruty]

The title should read, first time flying with Self Defense Ammo.

[DONT TREAD ON ME]

I was wondering why you put the part in there about forgetting your cap. Struck me as odd as I didn't see why it was necessary to the story. Kept reading and then it all made sense.

That really sucks. All that planning and researching and you forget it at home.

Sounds like everything was smooth and a good experience. Might I suggest actually taking the gun with you next time

[GrayGhost]

Great dry run. Now you're ready for the big time.

[ELB]

I would have been worried the whole time I was gone that THIS would be the time that a burglar would break in to my place and find the boxed gun sitting on the bed.


And this:

...She then rips off the original luggage tag, prints out a new one to attach to my suitcase. ...

is pretty interesting... does make me wonder.

[johnson0317]

That is hilarious! Your taking the time to write this up makes it seem you have the same need for self-abuse as I do. I seem to have a need to do a Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa, Mea maxima Culpa when I pull a knuckleheader like that!

Thanks for making my day a little better by sharing that story!

RJ

[MeMelYup]

I would have been worried the whole time I was gone that THIS would be the time that a burglar would break in to my place and find the boxed gun sitting on the bed.


And this:

...She then rips off the original luggage tag, prints out a new one to attach to my suitcase. ...

is pretty interesting... does make me wonder.

Me too.
"Cases will not be labeled as containing firearms. That practice was outlawed almost 10 years ago. Federal law now states: "No common or contract carrier shall require or cause any label, tag, or other written notice to be placed on the outside of any package, luggage, or other container that such package, luggage, or other container contains a firearm." [18 USC Sec. 922(e)] TSA will warn any airline that is marking cases that it is in violation of the law."

[TexasTransplant]

I would have been worried the whole time I was gone that THIS would be the time that a burglar would break in to my place and find the boxed gun sitting on the bed.


And this:

...She then rips off the original luggage tag, prints out a new one to attach to my suitcase. ...

is pretty interesting... does make me wonder.

Me too.
"Cases will not be labeled as containing firearms. That practice was outlawed almost 10 years ago. Federal law now states: "No common or contract carrier shall require or cause any label, tag, or other written notice to be placed on the outside of any package, luggage, or other container that such package, luggage, or other container contains a firearm." [18 USC Sec. 922(e)] TSA will warn any airline that is marking cases that it is in violation of the law."

Per the United agent, there is nothing printed on the tag, but it is flagged in their system as such.

[jimlongley]

I have seen a similar thing happen at Southwest and the tag never got changed. Makes me wonder if only United is doing this or are there several airlines doing it, and what we can do about that.

The barcodes on the bags are not particularly complicated, unless they have changed them recently, and it really wouldn't take a great deal of effort to recognize the difference between "DAL flight 45 without a gun" and DAL flight 45 with a gun" which it also seems to me would still represent "Labeled as containing a firearm".

And if there is nothing printed on the tag, why change it?

[schufflerbot]

oh man, that is hilarious!!

thanks for sharing that, i'll be sure to double check when/if i fly packing heat.

this is totally something i would do, by the way lol

[dcbrown]

Unless I am mistaken, Washington State is not what I would call a gun friendly state since they do not recognize my Texas CHL.

[propellerhead]

Good read. Thanks for posting.

[thorkyl]

The tag she tor off was the one that said the bag was hand inspected by TSA
The new tag was the one that said it was a non inspected bag.

I fly with mine all the time and it gets the same tag as mt tool kit bag
(skill saw, network gear, and telephony tools)

[stroguy]

So you missed an opportunity to purchase another firearm. How dare you let your ammo travel alone and not mate it up with a new friend upon arrival at your destination.

[Keith B]

So you missed an opportunity to purchase another firearm. How dare you let your ammo travel alone and not mate it up with a new friend upon arrival at your destination.

The OP would not be able to purchase a handgun out of state and posses it. You would have to have them ship it to a FFL in Texas and pick it up from them.