Flying, ammo in same bags as guns

DonVathome

DonVathome

Very Active Member
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Just checking it is still permitted to fly with guns & ammo in the same checked bag by TSA and most airlines.
 
No, need to separate firearm and ammo. Ammo needs to be in locked (TSA, lock) container in checked baggage.


ride low in the saddle and stay off the ridgetops
 
The actual TSA requirements is stated as such"
  • Ammunition may be transported in the same hard-sided, locked case as a firearm if it has been packed as described above. You cannot use firearm magazines or clips for packing ammunition unless they completely enclose the ammunition. Firearm magazines and ammunition clips, whether loaded or empty, must be boxed or included within a hard-sided, locked case.
Most of them do not know their own regulations!!!
 
Thanks! I do not think I ever locked when in a separate container, in gun case it gets locked with NON tsa lock as required
 
If you transport ammunition with the firearm, the firearm is supposed to be rendered "useless" as in the bolt, slide, or action removed, etc.

TSA lock is so they can get into your case to check after it's been checked. Otherwise, they will destroy the lock. Seen it happen before.
 
You do NOT have to use a TSA lock on the gun case. I have NEVER used one. You have them inspect the GUNS in your presence and then lock the case with YOUR lock (not a TSA lock). They don’t have the right to unlock and inspect your guns outside of your presence.

If you pack the AMMO separately from the guns, or lock your LUGGAGE, it would need to be locked with a TSA lock because they don’t inspect that in your presence. And they have the right to do so outside your presence.

from the TSA site:

“Only the passenger should retain the key or combination to the lock unless TSA personnel request the key to open the firearm container to ensure compliance with TSA regulations. You may use any brand or type of lock to secure your firearm case, including TSA-recognized locks”

here is the link to the whole set of regs:

Transporting Firearms and Ammunition | Transportation Security Administration

www.tsa.gov www.tsa.gov

If you lock your gun case with a TSA lock, any employee can open it during transit. I have heard of that happening, and the result was not good for your guns.
 
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Well,
YOU may know the law.But evidently TSA doesn’t and I knowthe flight agents when you check in DONT.
I’ve have several locks removed and replaced with Theirs over the years.
And you ask them questions and nobody knows who or when or were.
 
txhunter58 said:
You do NOT have to use a TSA lock on the gun case. I have NEVER used one. You have them inspect the GUNS in your presence and then lock the case with YOUR lock (not a TSA lock). They don’t have the right to unlock and inspect your guns outside of your presence.

If you pack the AMMO separately from the guns, or lock your LUGGAGE, it would need to be locked with a TSA lock because they don’t inspect that in your presence. And they have the right to do so outside your presence.

from the TSA site:

“Only the passenger should retain the key or combination to the lock unless TSA personnel request the key to open the firearm container to ensure compliance with TSA regulations. You may use any brand or type of lock to secure your firearm case, including TSA-recognized locks”

here is the link to the whole set of regs:

Transporting Firearms and Ammunition | Transportation Security Administration

www.tsa.gov www.tsa.gov

If you lock your gun case with a TSA lock, any employee can open it during transit. I have heard of that happening, and the result was not good for your guns.
Click to expand...
Well, I suppose if you pack your ammo with your gun, then they have the right to inspect the ammo outside of your presence, don't they...
 
Nope. They have the right to inspect in only in your presence at the same time they inspect your guns if packed together.

That said I have always packed it separately. But with the Tuffpack, would prob put it in same locked case

it’s only when they don’t have a chance to inspect it in your presence (in a checked luggage bag) that you need a TSA lock on it.
 
fullcry said:
Well,
YOU may know the law.But evidently TSA doesn’t and I knowthe flight agents when you check in DONT.
I’ve have several locks removed and replaced with Theirs over the years.
And you ask them questions and nobody knows who or when or were.
Click to expand...
That may be, but I’m will never send my guns with a TSA lock on them. If they cut it, they are breaking their own rules. Not saying it doesn’t happen, but I will take my chances with my lock

Haven’t flown with guns in awhile, but next time I do, I will carry a print out of the rules.
 
txhunter58 said:
Nope. They have the right to inspect in only in your presence at the same time they inspect your guns if packed together.

That said I have always packed it separately. But with the Tuffpack, would prob put it in same locked case

it’s only when they don’t have a chance to inspect it in your presence (in a checked luggage bag) that you need a TSA lock on it.
Click to expand...
They also have the right to detain your luggage suspect to something they deem is questionable...
 
roadrunner said:
If you transport ammunition with the firearm, the firearm is supposed to be rendered "useless" as in the bolt, slide, or action removed, etc.

TSA lock is so they can get into your case to check after it's been checked. Otherwise, they will destroy the lock. Seen it happen before.
Click to expand...
Yes, they lost our guns in Arkansas and cut the locks off our case.
We had to hunt geese with borrowed shotguns. Not cool.

So, you're correct, whether they have the right or not, they will do it.

Zeke
 
We can agree on that too about some TSA agents.

But would you give them a key to your home? With a TSA lock, they have a key to your home without breaking in.

I have been lucky and never had a bad one. When I fly out of San Antonio, the TSA agent usually is interested in what I am hunting, because he/she is a hunter.
 
Then that means a checked bag of clothing is considered your home as well. If the TSA wants in, they'll get in no matter what the "law" says. They'll just get an actual LEO assigned to airport security to accompany them. They'll refer to it as reasonable doubt...

Any TSA agent I've had dealings with are nothing more than a mall cop or gate security on steroids.
 
I agree that TSA agents don't know the rules. Every airport seems to be different. I always put my own lock on the gun case and I have never had an issue. Like TX said, that's what the rules are, that's what you are supposed to do. You can put ammo in checked bags with your clothing and it doesn't have to be locked. I never put locks on my checked bags. If they want my dirty underwear they can have it and I'm not putting my Swarovskis in the checked luggage.

In the US you can have ammo in the gun case. In this case it will be locked with your lock along with the guns. The last time I flew to Canada I had to collect my luggage, go through customs and immigration, and check back in for my next flight. They made me take the ammo out of the gun case.

At my home airport they tell me to sign the card that says it isn't loaded, put it in the gun case and lock it. They never inspect anything. Two years ago I left Grand Junction and they told me to give them the gun case and the locks(unlocked) and they would inspect it and put the locks on it. At different places I have done all different things. They have made me go with them to a big X-ray machine. They have made me wait while they took the guns out and pulled all the foam out.

When I get back to my home airport my gun case just comes up the conveyor with all the other luggage. Some places I have to go to the luggage office and show ID. Sometimes I have found it sitting in the oversize luggage area.
 
Flew to Quebec for a caribou hunt in the Ungava Bay region. Left out of Abq with connecting flight in Atlanta, GA.

When we checked in at the main terminal, we opened the gun cases and had to remove the bolts on the rifles. Ammo inside the gun case had to be removed and packed separate into the other checked baggage. We opened the gun cases in front of anyone nosey enough to look over and see them. No TSA.

In Canada at the Quebec airport, if ammo had been in the gun case, it would have been "Def-Con 1". If you tried to touch the firearm as they were inspecting it, you were real close to being cuffed and hauled off - strictly hands off - and them speaking pretty much only French, or English with a severe accent, didn't help.

Before you assume you know the law, understand the other guy carries a royal flush and all you have is a straight...
 
roadrunner said:
Then that means a checked bag of clothing is considered your home as well. If the TSA wants in, they'll get in no matter what the "law" says. They'll just get an actual LEO assigned to airport security to accompany them. They'll refer to it as reasonable doubt...

Any TSA agent I've had dealings with are nothing more than a mall cop or gate security on steroids.
Click to expand...
What is your point? If you feel more comfortable putting a TSA lock on your guns, that is your right and power to you. But that is not what the regs say, and I would recommend that everyone stick up for how the regs are written. Neither of us can protect against rogue agents. those will get in whichever lock is there. I choose to believe my own lock will at least stop the casual anti-gunners.

I do like the concept of the Tuffpak disguising what is in the case. But that only maybe helps after it leaves your check in station.

As far as the original post question, even though I have never flown international with guns, I have always felt safer packing the ammo separately. From this discussion, sounds like it may be prudent to continue to do that, even though by the regs, you don’t have to in most cases
 
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WVHUNTER said:
I agree that TSA agents don't know the rules. Every airport seems to be different. I always put my own lock on the gun case and I have never had an issue. Like TX said, that's what the rules are, that's what you are supposed to do. You can put ammo in checked bags with your clothing and it doesn't have to be locked. I never put locks on my checked bags. If they want my dirty underwear they can have it and I'm not putting my Swarovskis in the checked luggage.

In the US you can have ammo in the gun case. In this case it will be locked with your lock along with the guns. The last time I flew to Canada I had to collect my luggage, go through customs and immigration, and check back in for my next flight. They made me take the ammo out of the gun case.

At my home airport they tell me to sign the card that says it isn't loaded, put it in the gun case and lock it. They never inspect anything. Two years ago I left Grand Junction and they told me to give them the gun case and the locks(unlocked) and they would inspect it and put the locks on it. At different places I have done all different things. They have made me go with them to a big X-ray machine. They have made me wait while they took the guns out and pulled all the foam out.

When I get back to my home airport my gun case just comes up the conveyor with all the other luggage. Some places I have to go to the luggage office and show ID. Sometimes I have found it sitting in the oversize luggage area.
Click to expand...
Bingo!

I have no idea of how many times I've flown with my firearms, but it is a bunch, including several to Canada, Africa, Mexico & New Zealand & probably at least a dozen domestic flights. I've used both the Tuffpak & reg. 1 or 2-gun flat cases. And the locks I've used were never TSA types. Plus, I've always packed the ammo in my checked bag other than the gun case, usually in either a cardboard factory box or an MTM-type plastic one.

As you cited, my experiences have run the gamut. Fortunately, they were mostly uneventful with nary a blip. Other than opening the flat case at the check-in counter to insert the little tag, I've only had one other inspection, which was done by TSA in Phoenix with me present. Thus I unlocked & relocked the gun case. But..I've never had one of my locks cut off. Of course, there were other type inspections for the foreign destinations that weren't airport/airline related.

One time, I flew into Kansas City to go hunt deer in southern Iowa more than 100 miles away, which we were driving. My gun case didn't make it to KC when I did but was put on a flight that wouldn't arrive for another six hours. They said "No sweat, we'll bring it to you." That night at 11 p.m. a guy knocked on the door of the place we were staying & dropped off my gun case. I killed my deer the next morning.

The goofiest that ever happened was on a fishing trip to the Yukon with no guns involved. The lodge owner had given me some obscure European cartridge so I could get the folks at RCBS to makes some dies for it. Not thinking, I stuck it in my camera bag, which always went aboard as carry-on.

At the airport in Whitehorse, I sent it through the scanner. Whoops. Fearing I might 'shoot' it with a paper clip & my fist, the guy says I can't take it aboard. Now, the Whitehorse airport then was about the size of a 7-11, and I could see my fishing rod case leaning against a wall so it could be hand-carried to the plane. I asked if I could put the cartridge in the case, which is what I did. Then I had to walk thru the metal detector and have the camera bag scanned again. In the meantime, my buddy was cracking up on the sidelines. :ROFLMAO:

One of the best tips I can give anyone is to print out the baggage requisites for whichever airline you're flying, follow them, and then carry a copy with you in case some nerd has a corncob up his butt the day you fly.
 
roadrunner, Looks like you had a lot different experience than I did. After they told me to take the ammo out of the gun case I didn't have anywhere to do it other than the middle of the floor in front of the check in desk. I had to take a rifle out to get to the ammo so there I was in the middle of the Vancouver airport with a rifle in one hand and a box of ammo in the other and no one said anything to me. After I finished switching stuff around I went back to the check in desk and the lady said give her the duffle bag and take the gun case to this other guy. That's all there was to it.
 
roadrunner said:
You first...
Click to expand...
Politely make them play by their rules.

I would recommend to anyone who travels with guns to not use a TSA lock on their guns.

My guns are my most prized possessions and I will try and protect them to the letter of the law.

Ammo (present Covid situation aside) is much more replaceable. So do what feels right to you on that. Since having ammo and firearms together makes some people/agents uncomfortable, I have no issue with putting it in another bag

If you pack Your ammo separately and you want to lock it, you HAVE to use a TSA lock
 
Let's make it a little more confusing. You need to check with the airline you are going to be flying. Even within the US an airlines rules could be more restrictive than the TSA regulations. I think it was Air Canada that got me.
 
Sorry if info incorrect for domestic flights. Have flown internationally several times and regulations state ammo has to be in separate bag from firearm and to use a non-TSA lock on gun case. Never had a problem following these rules.

Agree, not unusual for TSA agents not to know regs.

from the "Heartland of Wyoming"
 
Went through the TSA precheck check point this May. I have precheck and uou can carry frozen meat as a carry on. I informed the first mall cop I mean TSA agent that I had frozen gator sausage in my carry on and offered to take it out. He told me no don’t worry about it you have precheck.

After going through the metal detector the idiot flagged my bag because he thought my sausage might be a bomb.

The supervisor was at least nice once I told him I told the moron at the scanner I had sausage in the bag and offered to take it out because it was sausage sticks.

The supervisor ripped the TSA agent I told this to initially a new one for causing undue being a moron. I laughed about it, and the supervisor was like yeah idk why he’d flag it as a possible bomb when you have precheck and offered to deviate from the precheck policy and send the sausage through on its own and he ordered you not to do so.

Needless to say I’ve had some real morons working security at TSA. I’ve also met some very nice TSA members who probably tell their buddies bar stories about the morons they work with haha
 
I almost forgot the only really frustrating incident I ever had at an airport. It happened with a dipsy blond Delta gal at the check-in counter in Phoenix.

I was leaving to hunt the Ohio muzzle-loader deer season, and I had one of the original Knight rifles (see photo) in my case. I signed the little card and opened the case up on the counter so she could 'check' it. She asked me if it was unloaded, so I said 'yes' & pulled back the plunger. She looks and says, "Well why is there a bullet in there." while pointing to the breech plug that holds the percussion cap. I explained it all to her, but she insisted on calling in her supervisor. Luckily, he knew a bit more than she did & said I was good to go.

1630590164690.png
 
They are not real bright sometimes. In Houston at IAH, I actually had an agent require me to take the "bolt" (aka breech plug) out so it could be looked thru, to verify it was empty!!!!
 
While ammunition is currently allowed inside of the gun case by TSA for USA travel, and sometimes also by the airline. if the airline employees on duty think otherwise you may have a timing problem. Having the rules with you is a good idea but a delay caused by a disagreement could delay progress enough to miss a connecting flight.

If there is a question or disagreement, smile and be respectful when stating your case. That works vastly better than arguing.

I fly with my ammo locked inside of a small a hard case, inside of my locked check-in luggage. Both with TSA locks. My bag always gets inspected (they leave a card inside of the luggage) but there has never been a problem.

My firearms are locked with a non-TSA lock, with extra locks inside just in case the original locks are cut.
 

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