Flying with a Suppressor

[LocoGringo]

I'll likely be traveling from Tennessee to New Mexico for a school and will have weekends off. A co-worker who is going with me is from New Mexico and we both enjoy shooting long range. I'm lucky to get a 500 yard range, so New Mexico will surely be a challenge. My rig includes a suppressor, so I'm wondering how I'm supposed to transport this suppressor legally. Do I check it with my rifle or am I supposed to carry it with me for carry-on? Will the airline allow me to carry-on since it's a 9.5" metal tube? If you don't know the answer, do you know where I can go and find out? Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

[shooterDrew]

I would be absolutely shocked if they let you carry that on. I would say almost certainly it would need to be locked in the case with your rifle. I've flown with handguns only but if you go to your specific airlines website they will have info on what they require for checking bags containing firearms and accessories.

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[BrianKr]

I'm pretty sure the NFA rules state that it's supposed to be with you, but tell the TSA that! I'd go to the TSA website and look for info.

Can you ship it to yourself at the destination? Do the rules even allow it? ATF would know and I bet they have a contact number at their website. Anything that small won't cost much to ship and you can insure it. Maybe I'm wrong in this, but I trust UPS, FedEx, and USPS more than baggage handlers and the airlines. I ship lots of stuff weekly and problems are few and far between.

[steviesterno]

check with the ATF directly. You have to file in advance before you leave the state with your can, so make sure you do that, too. is it still good enough to shoot without the can? Seems like too much hassle.

[Tom S.]

Good luck checking with ATF and their user unfriendly website. This however should help, and it also has a link to the needed form: http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2012/08/foghorn/ask-foghorn-legal-considerations-for-traveling-with-a-silencer/

EDIT: Well crap, their link for the form doesn't work. Sorry about that!

DBL EDIT: Here's one that should work: https://www.pdffiller.com/1516-atf-f-5320-20-Form-532020---Bureau-of-Alcohol-Tobacco-Firearms-and-Explosives-ATF-Bureau-of-Alcohol-Tobacco-Firearms-and-Explosives-Forms-and-Applications--atf?gclid=CLyiwa_NhswCFQcKaQod7BgATA

From what I've read online (yeah, I know) ATF will accept this form for suppressors even though it specifies firearms.

Edited April 11, 2016 by Tom S.

[fishsticks]

check with the ATF directly. You have to file in advance before you leave the state with your can, so make sure you do that, too. is it still good enough to shoot without the can? Seems like too much hassle.

My understanding is that no ATF notification is required for interstate travel with a suppressor. Personally, assuming suppressors are legal at the destination I'd lock it in the case with the rifle and a copy of its stamp and check it through as normal.

[fishsticks]

Good luck checking with ATF and their user unfriendly website. This however should help, and it also has a link to the needed form: http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2012/08/foghorn/ask-foghorn-legal-considerations-for-traveling-with-a-silencer/

EDIT: Well crap, their link for the form doesn't work. Sorry about that!

DBL EDIT: Here's one that should work: https://www.pdffiller.com/1516-atf-f-5320-20-Form-532020---Bureau-of-Alcohol-Tobacco-Firearms-and-Explosives-ATF-Bureau-of-Alcohol-Tobacco-Firearms-and-Explosives-Forms-and-Applications--atf?gclid=CLyiwa_NhswCFQcKaQod7BgATA

From what I've read online (yeah, I know) ATF will accept this form for suppressors even though it specifies firearms.

Even the article linked above says no form needed for suppressors.

[Tom S.]

Good luck checking with ATF and their user unfriendly website. This however should help, and it also has a link to the needed form: http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2012/08/foghorn/ask-foghorn-legal-considerations-for-traveling-with-a-silencer/

EDIT: Well crap, their link for the form doesn't work. Sorry about that!

DBL EDIT: Here's one that should work: https://www.pdffiller.com/1516-atf-f-5320-20-Form-532020---Bureau-of-Alcohol-Tobacco-Firearms-and-Explosives-ATF-Bureau-of-Alcohol-Tobacco-Firearms-and-Explosives-Forms-and-Applications--atf?gclid=CLyiwa_NhswCFQcKaQod7BgATA

From what I've read online (yeah, I know) ATF will accept this form for suppressors even though it specifies firearms.

Even the article linked above says no form needed for suppressors.

I agree, but TSA is TSA. Which is to say uneducated about a lot of stuff. May be he could tell them it's musical instrument.

[fishsticks]

Good luck checking with ATF and their user unfriendly website. This however should help, and it also has a link to the needed form: http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2012/08/foghorn/ask-foghorn-legal-considerations-for-traveling-with-a-silencer/

EDIT: Well crap, their link for the form doesn't work. Sorry about that!

DBL EDIT: Here's one that should work: https://www.pdffiller.com/1516-atf-f-5320-20-Form-532020---Bureau-of-Alcohol-Tobacco-Firearms-and-Explosives-ATF-Bureau-of-Alcohol-Tobacco-Firearms-and-Explosives-Forms-and-Applications--atf?gclid=CLyiwa_NhswCFQcKaQod7BgATA

From what I've read online (yeah, I know) ATF will accept this form for suppressors even though it specifies firearms.

Even the article linked above says no form needed for suppressors.

I agree, but TSA is TSA. Which is to say uneducated about a lot of stuff. May be he could tell them it's musical instrument.

And I agree that the TSA agents at the gate may not always be the best informed. Which is why the traveler should be. For purposes of travel a suppressor is treated as a firearm, not an NFA item. NFA items requiring a 5320.20 are called out on the form and include "machinegun, short- barreled rifle, or short-barreled shotgun is required under the provisions of Section 922 (a)(4), Title 18, U.S.C., and Section 478.28, Title 27, CFR"

Perhaps a copy of this page (https://www.tsa.gov/travel/transporting-firearms-and-ammunition) from their website printed out with the following definition highlighted in addition to the aforementioned copy of the tax stamp would help.

United States Code, Title 18, Part 1, Chapter 44, firearm definitions includes: any weapon (including a starter gun) which will, or is designed to, or may readily be converted to expel a projectile by the action of an explosive; the frame or receiver of any such weapon; any firearm muffler or firearm silencer; and any destructive device. As defined by 49 CFR 1540.5 a loaded firearm has a live round of ammunition, or any component thereof, in the chamber or cylinder or in a magazine inserted in the firearm.

[vixty]

It's my understanding that transporting a suppressor doesn't require paperwork unless transporting through a state which outlaws them.

[Dranoel]

I would be shocked if you walked through the TSA checkpoint with a device that has powder residue on it and didn't end up in handcuffs.

I would be researching this very seriously with TSA, FBI and any ATF.