Flying Continental... "No Problems" (Long Post)

[Doc K]

Terminal C at George Bush Intercontinental(IAH) is under construction, so situation is A-B-normal.
Return trip was probably Normal.

IAH procedure at check in:
“I have a firearm to declare.”
I swipe credit card.
I get boarding pass.
“OK, follow me.”
75 yards to back corner to a stainless steel table
“Please put your bag on the table and unlock it. Unlock the firearm case.”
10 to 15 minutes for TSA agent to arrive.
“We don’t have x-ray, so I have to manually inspect your baggage.”
Quick look, no touch of Kimber, box of Powr Ball ammo, two empty magazines.
Everything removed from and replaced back into suitcase.
TSA locks firearm case. I sign orange tag. Tag applied. TSA zips and locks soft sided bag.
I go through security.
No problems.

Return flight:
I swipe credit card to check in.
Suitcase placed on scale.
“I have a firearm to declare.”
“Please unzip your bag.”
Firearm case remains locked and in suitcase.
“Is the firearm loaded?”
“No”
“Please sign orange tag.”
“OK”
Tag attached.
Soft bag zipped and locked.
“TSA will run your bag through x-ray. Stand over there. If they put your bag on the conveyor belt, you can go through security. Otherwise, they need to talk to you.”
Bag goes through x-ray. Bag goes on to conveyor belt.
I walk through security.
No problems.

BTW, I forgot my Minotaur holster.
I carried my 1911 “Mexican”/small-of-back for the first time ever.
No problems.

[wgoforth]

Not bad... but flying on American out of Abilene:
me: I have a firearm to declare.
She: OK, just fill this out and I'll tape it to the box
Me: You want me to open it or anything?
She: Nah, this is Texas. Enjoy your flight

[stevie_d_64]

Good deal!!!

"tag attached"???

Did they place the tag "inside" the case wherre the firearm was secured???

I haven't flown in a while, so I was curious to see if the procedures have changed...

[Doc K]

I didn’t have to fill out anything.
I signed the orange tag.
Airport personnel tied the tag to the handle of the box that my 1911 came in.
Locked firearm box went into soft-sided suitcase.(Orange tag outside of box)
The people behind me probably didn’t even notice what was going on.

Luck or procedure: My checked baggage was the fourth bag to come off a full flight.

[stevie_d_64]

I didn’t have to fill out anything.
I signed the orange tag.
Airport personnel tied the tag to the handle of the box that my 1911 came in.
Locked firearm box went into soft-sided suitcase.(Orange tag outside of box)
The people behind me probably didn’t even notice what was going on.

Luck or procedure: My checked baggage was the fourth bag to come off a full flight.

Yep, that's a change...But at least the "steal me, I have a gun in this bag" (tag) is still inside the luggage you checked in...

I guess it's still fairly secure...

[wgoforth]

My form was taped to the outside of the gun box which was inside my luggage. This to let TSA know it had been declared. No tags or anything.

[RHenriksen]

Sounds great, thanks for sharing your experience & glad it went well.

I've been emailing trip reports to the author of this page (http://deviating.net/firearms/packing/accounts.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) since he was my primary source of information (and reassurance) since I started flying w. a pistol. The more reports consolidated in one place the better!

RNH