Delta Airlines and ammo...

[Tamara]

Flying to a 3 Gun match when I only had to take two guns because I was shooting someone's borrowed shotgun was a lot simpler. This time I've got my own gauge, which means I need to lug huge boxes of ammo that won't fit in the borrowed Pelican 1750.

Delta appears to not lose continence if the factory-packed shotgun ammo is in a soft-sided suitcase. Can anyone confirm?

[Suvorov]

By soft sided suitcase do you mean your typical nylon rollaboard (http://ww1.prweb.com/prfiles/2006/03/01/353128/CrewPilots.jpg)?

If so, then no issues, I have done it literally dozens of times. I'm sure you know about the 11 pound limit.

If you are talking soft sided suitcase as being your typical sports bag or kit bag, then I don't know for sure and apologize for wasting 0s and 1s. :(

[Tamara]

Maxpedition Fliegerduffel. (The irony is that my suitcase is designed to fit carryon specs, but because I travel with so much impedimentia that must be checked, it's never been carried on... :o )

[ToddG]

Firearms need to be in a locked, hard-sided case. Ammunition, as long as it's packaged in an airline approved manner, can be stowed in any checked luggage (other than the locked, hard-sided case that is storing the firearms).

[SouthNarc]

Fly Delta exclusively CONUS and have never had a problem with ammo in soft sided checked luggage.

[ST911]

No problems with Delta and ammo, whether in factory boxes, other plastic (reload) boxes, mags, or others.

[Tamara]

Firearms need to be in a locked, hard-sided case. Ammunition, as long as it's packaged in an airline approved manner, can be stowed in any checked luggage (other than the locked, hard-sided case that is storing the firearms).

Delta didn't beef me about the ammo in the hard case last year. (I usually wind up flying 'Murrican, and they never have, either.) If they do this year, I'm just boned; I am barely avoiding a third piece of checked baggage as it is... The stuff in with my socks and PJs and T-shirts is just a couple boxes of shotgun shells that wouldn't fit in the Pelican, no way, no how.

[ToddG]

Delta didn't beef me about the ammo in the hard case last year.

Now that you type it out, I know you're right. I got my "in the trunk of the car" rules mixed up with my "in a suitcase" rules.

I even had a go 'round with an airline clerk about this very issue one year (and the ensuing debacle got me a free upgrade to first class for the coast-to-coast flight).

Sorry for the bad info.

[Tamara]

For bonus points, I'm using Shootin' Buddy's borrowed Pelican (mine's too small) and he's been on some Tiger McKee jag, so the foam is cut for a brace of el-strippo flat-top AR's with fixed BUIS, and not a carbine and a gauge all fruited up with lasers, phasers, and windspeed indicators for playing 3 Gun in the dark...

I had to sit on the thing to close it. It took me fifteen minutes just to get all the batteries out of the things that had lithium cells in them...

[Tamara]

Fly Delta exclusively CONUS and have never had a problem with ammo in soft sided checked luggage.

I cannot tell you how reassuring this is. Seriously.

[ToddG]

I cannot tell you how reassuring this is. Seriously.

Just keep in mind that the man reassuring you thinks "ten men trying to rape you in a prison shower" is a good training exercise. Just sayin' ... :cool:

[Tamara]

*Sets alarm clock back to arrive at airport thirty minutes earlier.*

Just when I was getting a little relaxed, too.

(I love the "being there" part of travel; it's the "getting there" part they've sucked all the fun out of. :( )

[LHS]

Southwest didn't even bat an eye at loaded mags stuffed in Kydex mag pouches in the hard case along with the empty gun.

[JAD]

I love the "being there" part of travel; it's the "getting there" part they've sucked all the fun out of.

I used to spend 5 weeks in Asia, bounce through KC for a week, and go to Europe for 3 weeks, wash, rinse, repeat. I used to phrase it that I loved being places, and loathed travel.

Travel has always sucked. It used to suck a lot worse than it does now. While the whole TSA industry is a philosophical and temporal affront, electronic ticketing management, baggage handling, and ohmuhgawdbecky the iPad have made travel much more pleasant, secure, and certain than it ever was.

Now get off my lawn.

[Tamara]

Now get off my lawn.

My problem is that I flew with moderate frequency through the 80s and into the early 90s, and then my last flight for 16 years was in the smoking section of an international flight. My friends met me at the gate. When I returned to the skies in 2010, I felt like Rip Van Winkle.

There's no doubt that thing are more convenient for the pro road warrior, but I go to get a cavity filled with less trepidation than I approach a baggage counter.

(Coincidentally sent from my iPad in the secure area of IND. ;) )

[JAD]

Team Kansas drove a lot, so I only checked my heater a couple of times before 9/11, and never since. In practical terms, is it harder? If its as easy as it was, I really should be staying armed when I do the little tx and az daytrips that are my staple these days.

[ToddG]

As long as you follow the rules and don't screw up ("oops, I left a loaded magazine on my belt") then flying with a pistol in your checked luggage is extremely easy. The biggest negative is that you are forced to check luggage (and wait at the luggage carousel) for trips that would otherwise be carryon-only.

I cannot remember a time I've flown without checking a gun since the late 90's.

[nycnoob]

Tam,

You might find this useful. Its basically a reminder to "double check your work"


CIVILIAN CONTRACTORS: The Bag Dump – 30 Extra Minutes of Packing Will Save You From 30 Months in a Middle Eastern Prison
(http://www.deathvalleymag.com/2011/01/26/civilian-contractors-3rd-world-travel-the-bag-dump-%E2%80%93-30-extra-minutes-of-packing-will-save-you-from-30-months-in-a-middle-eastern-prison/)

[Tamara]

Tam,

You might find this useful. Its basically a reminder to "double check your work"


CIVILIAN CONTRACTORS: The Bag Dump – 30 Extra Minutes of Packing Will Save You From 30 Months in a Middle Eastern Prison
(http://www.deathvalleymag.com/2011/01/26/civilian-contractors-3rd-world-travel-the-bag-dump-%E2%80%93-30-extra-minutes-of-packing-will-save-you-from-30-months-in-a-middle-eastern-prison/)

Oh, my carryon gets thoroughly probulated before I pack for the flight.

(Sent from my iPad at 29400 feet, according to my plane finder app...)

[JAD]

The biggest negative is that you are forced to check luggage (and wait at the luggage carousel) for trips that would otherwise be carryon-only.
-- Ding. Most of my travel these days -- the domestic stuff anyway -- is to free states, and I really shouldn't be going about naked. It means, though, that I'll have to get a little hard case to go inside of a completely unnecessary cheap little rollaboard or duffel (or maybe not so cheap (http://www.saddlebackleather.com/Classic-Suitcase?sc=8&category=1289)) that will basically serve as camoflage. Ick, kind of.

[ToddG]

I use a large roller and simply put my hard sided airline approved gun case inside that along with my clothes and everything else. If it's getting checked, has wheels, and is the only piece of luggage I need then it doesn't really matter to me whether its backpack size or double that.

[SouthNarc]

For a single pistol in checked luggage I really like these.

http://www.gunvault.com/nanovault-200.html

I loop the cable around the exterior handle of my B&R suitcase, skinny end through the fat, end and then lock the skinny end in the vault. I close the zippers around the cable (it's small enough where they can meet) and then lock the bag with a TSA lock.

I can see instantly on the carousel if the cable is still attached.

[JFK]

For a single pistol in checked luggage I really like these.

http://www.gunvault.com/nanovault-200.html

I loop the cable around the exterior handle of my B&R suitcase, skinny end through the fat, end and then lock the skinny end in the vault. I close the zippers around the cable (it's small enough where they can meet) and then lock the bag with a TSA lock.

I can see instantly on the carousel if the cable is still attached.

+1 on that. If I am going to a match and shoot a 1911 it does not quite fit so I use up a bump....

http://www.gunvault.com/mv500-std-microvault.html

[PPGMD]

+1 on that. If I am going to a match and shoot a 1911 it does not quite fit so I use up a bump....

http://www.gunvault.com/mv500-std-microvault.html

My suggestion is to have a variety of locking cases.

Sometimes I am only traveling with one gun, other times I might be carrying five guns (Bianchi Cup). Having a case that fits the number you need without adding extra weight, or taking up extra room is very good.

I also prefer key locks. There is something about giving the TSA idiots my combination that feels wrong.

[JFK]

My suggestion is to have a variety of locking cases.

Sometimes I am only traveling with one gun, other times I might be carrying five guns (Bianchi Cup). Having a case that fits the number you need without adding extra weight, or taking up extra room is very good.

I also prefer key locks. There is something about giving the TSA idiots my combination that feels wrong.

They do not like the combos. The "rule" is it has to be a key lock. I take the battery out and use just the key and have never had a problem.

[JeffJ]

I often fly with a handgun or two and they are my completely insured and replaceable glocks and/or j-frame. So I use the TSA locks which saves me a bit of time (especially in San Antonio) and don't worry about it.

[MTechnik]

Tam,

You might find this useful. Its basically a reminder to "double check your work"


CIVILIAN CONTRACTORS: The Bag Dump – 30 Extra Minutes of Packing Will Save You From 30 Months in a Middle Eastern Prison
(http://www.deathvalleymag.com/2011/01/26/civilian-contractors-3rd-world-travel-the-bag-dump-%E2%80%93-30-extra-minutes-of-packing-will-save-you-from-30-months-in-a-middle-eastern-prison/)

I keep a separate backpack for travel, one that's different from my daily work bag. So I don't end up with a "how'd that hollow-point end up in there?" problem.