Air Travel With Firearms

With the busy summer travel season starting, it seems an opportune time to discuss the various laws, regulations and best practices for commercial air travel with firearms. Many readers of this magazine are likely familiar with the process of traveling by air with firearms, but it's always good for even us experienced travelers to think about how we plan and pack before we travel. After all, making a simple mistake by missing even a single cartridge case in your carry-on bag can result in, at a minimum, long delays and a missed flight and may even result in expensive civil fines.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recommends a process for passengers traveling with firearms called prepare, pack and declare. That is, prepare by knowing the laws and rules for traveling, pack in compliance with those rules and declare any luggage with firearms at the airline ticket counter.

The most important thing to remember when packing for air travel with firearms is that anything firearm related must be packed in checked luggage. This of course includes firearms and ammunition, but also includes firearm parts, magazines and even inert firearm training replicas. I've even heard of some travelers having trouble traveling with novelty items, like keychains that look similar to firearms.

As a general rule, if it's a part that works with a firearm or looks like a firearm, then it's probably best to put it in your checked bag. The only exception to this rule is optics. Riflescopes, spotting scopes and binoculars can go in your carry-on bag. .....