Declaring firearm

[troglodyte]

+1 on the Nano vault or Pelican. I use both. With the Pelican I do use a cable to lock it in my suitcase.

I have flown several times with my gun and most of the time they never bat an eye and doesn't take any longer.

[ScottDLS]

Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Hampshire all recognize Texas LTC and they are north of DC. Vermont is the "original" Constitutional carry state. Maine is constitutional carry. MA, MD, NY, NJ, CT & RI are mostly beyond hope, though you can get a shall issue CT non-res permit.

[ELB]

What type of case should you use and where can you get one?

The TSA rules say hardsided locked case and cannot be pried open when locked. There are some plastic cases that are so soft that when they are locked, you can go to one of the corners and literally pry the lid up. So the case can be plastic but has to be hard enough to not allow this.

[The Annoyed Man]

Going on a trip soon & flying out of Houston using American Airlines, question I have is when checking in do I use the check in at the curb or do I go inside? Their website did not say. This is the first time flying with my firearm. Thanks in advance.

Do NOT walk up to the ticket counter, raise your voice, and say "I HAVE A GUN!!!!"

[parabelum]

All the hassle that law abiding citizens have to go through in order to excercise their constitutional right, only to STILL be in hot waters potentially due to unforeseen circumstances, is enough to make my blood boil.

My DL is valid in all States, and driving is not a Constitutional Right.
What the heck is then wrong with my CHL, as it applies to my Constitutional Right?

In the meantime, street and political gangsters just carry on as they wish....

[jmorris]

Going on a trip soon & flying out of Houston using American Airlines, question I have is when checking in do I use the check in at the curb or do I go inside? Their website did not say. This is the first time flying with my firearm. Thanks in advance.

Do NOT walk up to the ticket counter, raise your voice, and say "I HAVE A GUN!!!!"

First time I flew out of San Antonio with a firearm there was an agent out in front of the counter directing people to check in kiosks.. I leaned over and softly said "I have to declare a firearm". She turned around, pointed me at an agent at the counter, and called out "HE NEEDS TO DECLARE A FIREARM".

[jmorris]

What type of case should you use and where can you get one?

The TSA rules say hardsided locked case and cannot be pried open when locked. There are some plastic cases that are so soft that when they are locked, you can go to one of the corners and literally pry the lid up. So the case can be plastic but has to be hard enough to not allow this.

For at least one airline, you can just skip the case altogether. From the Southwest Airline's website.

"A firearm placed inside a hard-sided, locked suitcase does not have to be encased in a container manufactured for the transportation of firearms."

I don't plan on ever doing that.

[ELB]

First time I flew out of San Antonio with a firearm there was an agent out in front of the counter directing people to check in kiosks.. I leaned over and softly said "I have to declare a firearm". She turned around, pointed me at an agent at the counter, and called out "HE NEEDS TO DECLARE A FIREARM".

One time flying out of San Antonio I counted nine (9) guns that were going to be checked at the counter within 30 feet of me -- and that was just the long arms that I could recognize from their cases. I could see a couple pistols being checked when people opened their luggage at the counter to put the little declaration card in. Checking guns in SA is normal and common, really don't have to worry too much about being discreet.

[Hot Dawg]

Just got in from Colorado Springs & first time taking firearm to an airport, fyi to anybody that has never done it, your baggage will be sent over to baggage claims & will not show up on the carousel. When leaving Colorado Springs, I was sent over to TSA to check my baggage,they opened it up & took the lock box out & asked me for the key, he opened it but did not touch anything, closed it back up, then he took it to be checked in, took about 5 minutes without any issues.

[TreyHouston]

Can you not use the hard case the gun came with?

[TexasCajun]

Can you not use the hard case the gun came with?

Technically you could if the gun came in one. But those can be broken open pretty easily from the back.

[Soccerdad1995]

Can you not use the hard case the gun came with?

Technically you could if the gun came in one. But those can be broken open pretty easily from the back.

Wouldn't that apply to most hard cases? A Glock standard case would be fairly hard to break open. It is plastic, so could be cut, but would probably be simpler to just cut the lock instead. Either way, fairly hard to break open absent having some special tools available.

[loktite]

Do you consider a heavy object and a hard floor to be special tools ? :)

[TreyHouston]

Always grew up with the rule that the lock is to keep honest people honest and that if someone wants to steal something go get it either way!

[Soccerdad1995]

Do you consider a heavy object and a hard floor to be special tools ? :)

Yes, they are tools. And depending on the exact object, yes those tool will open up most hard cases, including standard Glock cases, Pelican cases, a nano "safe", etc. You may damage the gun in the process though.

I am travelling at the moment and brought a few beers back to my room last night. Problem was that they are not twist off and I could not find a bottle opener. In my hotel room, I located many tools that I could use to open the bottles without shattering the glass. I have no doubt that every single gun case can be broken into. The real question is whether a determined thief is going to have a materially harder time with one type of locked case versus another.