Any recent experience flying United? First time I'll be transporting my pistol. I've read TSA regs and United regs - I may just be dense but they both seem somewhat ambiguous. Can I have a loaded mag in the same locked box as my unloaded pistol?
Any recent experience flying United? First time I'll be transporting my pistol. I've read TSA regs and United regs - I may just be dense but they both seem somewhat ambiguous. Can I have a loaded mag in the same locked box as my unloaded pistol?
I keep the ammo in the original factory packaging and keep the pistol and mags unloaded in the locked box. Unless you have a ton of ammo, you should be under the limit.Originally Posted by LTC77406
In general, make sure it's a good box with non TSA locks. At check-in let the agent know you want to declare a firearm. A TSA agent will then search your stuff to make sure everything is kosher and tag it. Make sure you show up a bit early since this might take a while if TSA is slow. I also add a note with my name and phone number in case they need to reach me after I leave my bag. At the destination, I've often had the bag pulled off the regular conveyor and instead delivered to the airline luggage desk, so don't freak out right away if you can't find your bag.
In general it's not too bad in my limited experience, but just build in extra time for yourself at departure and arrival for the logistics to play out.
TSA says it's OK, some airlines say otherwise.
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I keep ammo in factory packaging just to play it safe, given some folks like to make up rules as they go along. Haven't had any issue except for flying out of PDX, I put locked case in another piece of baggage and TSA searched the bag. No idea why, never had that happen anywhere else.
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So my plan, after reading the replies, is to put the unloaded pistol and unloaded mag(s) in the locked box. Then put a factory box of HST's in the same bag, but not in the locked box. Does this sound correct? I'll take printed copies of the airlines policy as well as TSA policy. And no, I'm not flying to or through NJ or NY. Thankfully from Houston into pro 2A Arizona and flying out of pro 2A Nevada. Appreciate all the replies.
Last edited by LTC77406; 05-21-2017 at 05:56 PM.
I just put it all in the same locked box. I've never had any problem that way. I figure it's one point for the agent to get hung up on.
Not a bad idea, though you never know who you'll run into and how good their reading comprehension is. I figure the easier you make their job and go above and beyond the requirements the less likely you are to run into an issue. Hence putting the ammo in the locked box and unloading all the mags.
Good luck, you should be fine. The first time I checked in a firearm felt really awkward but my limited number of experiences have been positive so far.
If you're flying United, you may ask if you can just carry it with you on the plane...you may need it...
You have the right idea. I fly to over 25 different cities a year for work, and bring a handgun to every single one of them, except New York City. It's no big deal. I've never even remotely run into a situation where it was in any way necessary to wave airline or TSA regulations at the airline minions.
Some minor tips:
While the factory ammo box is fine in principle, apparently due to some spectacularly rough handling, I have had factory boxes split open inside my luggage, strewing rounds everywhere.
Since this happened more than once, I have gone to securing ammo in a small Pelican box, and would recommend the same to you.
Another thing I would recommend (though not strictly necessary) is to tape a clear plastic card holder to the outside of the locked box containing your handgun. Into this plastic card holder you can put your declaration, so if the TSA opens your bag, it's easy for them to see that you've already properly declared your firearm.
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Last edited by nalesq; 05-22-2017 at 02:38 PM.
Appreciate the tips. I think I've got this figured out. My small lockbox will fit my my sub-compact pistol, a mag and a factory box of ammo. So I plan to put it all in that one, hard-sided lockable box. Now just to figure out where to get the clear plastic card holder. Google will be my friend.
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