carry-on a stripped lower?

[delphidoc]

My son in Houston has several stripped lowers. We're travelling down there next month. Is it legal for me to fly back with a lower in my carry-on bag?

[olstyn]

Legally a stripped lower is a firearm, so my understanding is that it needs to go in checked baggage and be declared.

[willie]

I'll start. Isn't the lower, though stripped, considered a firearm, especially since buying one from a distributor requires that it be shipped to a dealer to be transferred to a customer? I say no. Why not declare them and bring them back in luggace placed in the hole.

[BehindBlueI's]

Other than the obvious issues of what's considered a firearm in your carry-on, do they belong to your son? Are you taking ownership of them permanently? As in transferring ownership of a firearm across state lines without using an FFL?



Under Federal law, an unlicensed individual is prohibited from transferring a firearm to an individual
who does not reside in the State where the transferee resides. Generally, for a person to lawfully
transfer a firearm to an unlicensed person who resides out of State, the firearm must be shipped to a
Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) within the recipient’s State of residence. He or she may then
receive the firearm from the FFL upon completion of an ATF Form 4473 and a NICS background
check. More information can be obtained on the ATF website at www.atf.gov and
http://www.atf.gov/firearms/faq/unlicensed-persons.html. The GCA provides an exception from this
prohibition for temporary loans or rentals of firearms for lawful sporting purposes. Thus, for
example, a friend visiting you may borrow a firearm from you to go hunting. Another exception is
provided for transfers of firearms to nonresidents to carry out a lawful bequest or acquisition by
intestate succession. This exception would authorize the transfer of a firearm to a nonresident who
inherits a firearm under the will of a decedent. See 18 U.S.C. 922(a)(5).

[rayrevolver]

TSA is actually helpful if you contact them. A coworker tweeted them maybe? Not sure how that works.

From what I remember, no gun parts in carry-on.

[Cacafuego]

I think if TSA recognizes the thing for what it is, you'd be in for an unpleasant experience.

[delphidoc]

Thanks everybody for the information. I was stuck on thinking about the legality of getting it on/off the plane. I hadn't thought about the part of needing to go through an FFL because I'm out of state. Shipping to an FFL it is.

[Lester Polfus]

The first rule of TSA is don't attract attention.

[DocGKR]

NO gun parts in the carry on.....they get upset about that.

[Drang]

My son in Houston has several stripped lowers. We're travelling down there next month. Is it legal for me to fly back with a lower in my carry-on bag?

TSA: What Can I Bring? (https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/whatcanibring/all)

[okie john]

Ship it, pay the fees/taxes, and enjoy not going to prison.


Okie John

[OlongJohnson]

Thanks everybody for the information. I was stuck on thinking about the legality of getting it on/off the plane. I hadn't thought about the part of needing to go through an FFL because I'm out of state. Shipping to an FFL it is.

I imagine you could still check the lowers in your luggage, and simply hand-deliver them to your son's preferred FFL, where they will then carry out the Federal requirements to transfer them. Shouldn't be a need to pay for shipping firearms, which is an expensive PITA for non-FFLs.

I'm not sure where BBI is quoting from, but this is the ATF's language:

https://www.atf.gov/questions-and-answers/qa/how-may-unlicensed-person-receive-firearm-his-or-her-state-he-or-she


How may an unlicensed person receive a firearm in his or her State that he or she purchased from an out–of–State source?

An unlicensed person who is not prohibited from receiving or possessing firearms may purchase a firearm from an out–of–State source, provided the transfer takes place through a Federal firearms licensee in his or her State of residence.

[18 U.S.C 922(a)(3) and 922(b)(3); 27 CFR 478.29]

Nothing in there about having to use a common carrier to deliver it to the FFL.

IANAL, or a cop, of course.


BTW, if your son is in the NW portion of Houston, I can recommend 10Ring.com. Good people who make transfers pleasant, easy and affordable.

[WobblyPossum]

OlongJohnson I’m reading the OP to mean that his son has the lowers and would like to give him one. That means the OP would have to take ownership of it from an FFL in HIS state of residence. The OP’s sone would have to get the lower to an FFL local to the OP. The OP wouldn’t be able to get it transferred to him through a TX FFL while visiting his son.

[OlongJohnson]

OlongJohnson I’m reading the OP to mean that his son has the lowers and would like to give him one.

You're right. Reading fail. It happens sometimes.