The $37 custom case

[seabiscuit]

Just got my Glock 26 (130 rounds through it so far) and was a little nervous about locking it by wrapping the included cable lock around the handle of the standard Glock case.



So I bought a Pelican 1200 case off Amazon for $37. The case comes with what they Pick N Pluck Foam, basically 1 cm square pieces of foam that extend through the height of the case (plus convoluted lid and 1" thick bottom piece).

In about twenty minutes, I plucked out the foam to fit my G26 with +2 mag extension installed, a 20-rd box of ammo, and a spare mag with the speed loader on it.

My goal was just to have a case that TSA would be OK with so that I can bring this thing home on leave and carry it there. I'd consider it a success, although it might be nice to have a little more room for more ammo and mags. My holster hasn't arrived yet, but it won't take up much space and should slide right in over the pistol.

Thoughts? Suggestions for improvement?

[Rverdi]

I'm not a fan of using pelicans for air travel, particularly smaller ones with just a pistol in them. A pelican with two padlocks on it is an attention grabber, anyone looking at it is going to assume there's something valuable in it.
A generic hard plastic gun case like the ones most pistols are delivered in with a TSA compliant lock on it, inside a suitcase that also has a TSA lock on it will get you thru in a little more low key fashion.
You also have to consider that most airlines charge for each checked bag, so you're adding one in addition to your luggage and adding another fee.

[seabiscuit]

Not worried about the bag fee since I'm military. Didn't know you could put a pistol in a case in another bag, though - that'd be a nice option.

[ToddG]

FWIW, I use a deeper Pelican for my pistols when I fly. I put the Pelican (with two solid padlocks) inside a suitcase which in turn is locked with a TSA-approved lock. TSA can see the box, see the firearms declaration, and xray the box to see the gun isn't loaded. If they want to touch the guns, they need to find me to get the key.

Over the past three years of traveling this way regularly, I've only had TSA want to look inside the box once.

[John Ralston]

What do you use for your main bag - soft side or hard side?

[ToddG]

Large wheeled soft-sided duffle.

[Kyle Reese]

This info is good to know. I might be flying to Montana next week, and plan to bring my PT M&P.

[seabiscuit]

Over the past three years of traveling this way regularly, I've only had TSA want to look inside the box once.

Dang. Brought my .22 rifle out here and had to fork over the key so they could open it in front of me and check it before they'd accept it. And the TSA dude clearly had no idea how to handle a firearm.

If you lock it and put it in another suitcase, do you have to lock the suitcase? I had to go pick up my rifle from the desk, didn't come out on the conveyor, for good reason. Is it the same if you put your pistol case in another duffel?

[jslaker]

This is actually a topic of interest for me. I'm considering moving cross country by way of airplane, taking everything carryon. I'd need a box I could put 2 or 3 handguns in without the TSA bitching, but I'm trying not to spend a fortune on what's intended to be a one-way trip.

Alternatively, I've read that you can ship firearms to yourself via common carrier across state lines without going through a FFL, so that may be the option I choose if it's more economical since I'll be crashing with a friend for the first couple of weeks on this adventure.

[ToddG]

Dang. Brought my .22 rifle out here and had to fork over the key so they could open it in front of me and check it before they'd accept it. And the TSA dude clearly had no idea how to handle a firearm.

Was it an airport where they hand check all bags? In those cases, they always open the case. But I'm always standing right there anyway, so it's a non issue.

If the bag goes on a conveyor for x-ray in the basement, I've almost never had any issues keeping the actual hard-sided case locked with two non-TSA padlocks.

If you lock it and put it in another suitcase, do you have to lock the suitcase? I had to go pick up my rifle from the desk, didn't come out on the conveyor, for good reason. Is it the same if you put your pistol case in another duffel?

Technically, no. Only the hard-sided, airline approved case is required to be locked. I lock the outer bag as a general precaution and, as I said above, I use TSA locks for that because they always open that bag... they need to see that the guns were properly declared and a written declaration tag is present.

BTW, the last four flights I took I had no handguns but brought my SIRT pistol. No one ever blinked even though I told the ticket clerk all four times that I had something that "looks like a gun but isn't a gun" in my bag.