Flying with Homebrew Ammo

[Gun Geek]

From what I can tell about flying, ammo can be in checked baggage but it must in origninal manufacturer's packaging or something like that.

Going to shoot some rifles soon and I was wondering what packaging would be accepted. Would those Dillon or Frankford Arsenal boxes work?

Geek

[Patrick Sweeney]

I've used or seen just about everything: MTM boxes, re-used factory boxes stuffed with reloads, foam rubber cushioned packing boxes and even faux manufacturers labels on bullet boxes.

Basically they don't want loose ammo rattling around in a Crown Royal bag, tossed in your luggage.

My trick for the last two World Shoots was simple: I took colorfully-printed bullet boxes, stuffed them full of my reloads, taped them shut, applied printed "lot number" and "Custom Reloads by ...." labels, then shrink-wrapped each box. No rattle. No way to open without leaving evidence. Customs just took one look and went to the next item on their clipboards.

[lynn jones]

as long as your bullets are in a box, dillon or whatever, you will be fine. check your shooting bag for loose bullets. this is a no-no and they will get confiscated.

lynn

[Flexmoney]

I like the printing off a "custom" label idea.

[reneet]

From what I can tell about flying, ammo can be in checked baggage but it must in origninal manufacturer's packaging or something like that.

Going to shoot some rifles soon and I was wondering what packaging would be accepted.  Would those Dillon or Frankford Arsenal boxes work?

Geek

YOu made it, so whatever box you put it in is the manufacturer's packaging. As long as it doesn't allow the cartridges touching (loose in a box), no problems.

[Gun Geek]

OK!

Sounds good.

I'm going to print this out so when the Delta or TSA pin heads get a wild hair, I can tell'em you guys said it was OK.

Kidding aside, thanks for the input. What I was testing for was that others had tried it and gotten in trouble. Doesn't seem to be the case.

I completely understand (and agree) that keeping the rounds from touching is probably a good idea.

Thanks!

Geek

[uscbigdawg]

As long as they are not loose, you're fine. Just watch your weight of ammo as sometimes you get nailed for carrying too much and then you have to find the FedEx/UPS station at the airport.

Rich

[ErikW]

If you dumpster-dive for some factory boxes, you can avoid potential trouble and you don't have to deal with empty boxes.

[shred]

I've done the 'My custom ammo' label thing a time or two. I don't think it's ever made a difference, but it might someday.

[kevin c]

Just watch your weight of ammo as sometimes you get nailed for carrying too much and then you have to find the FedEx/UPS station at the airport.

The one year I went to the Nationals on the opposite coast, I flew out first with the guns and match ammo, and my wife came out later, bringing my extra ammo. The airline said the ammo was overweight, and she had to leave some behind, in the custudy of the airline.

When I flew back, I went to the airline desk and asked for the ammo. Naturally, they couldn't find it. I called later, and was told that it probably went to the airport police range for use there. I cooly told them that, first, it was private property, and second, it was custom loaded ammunition designed for a custom chambered gun, and that the ammo was likely to blow up if used. I got it all back the next day, and I am sure it was more the last point than the first that made the difference.

[BDH]

Just so everyone knows..... flying back from the Summer Blast I was asked the following by the Ticket Agent (as a part of my 'I need to declare an unloaded firearm')...

"Do you have any ammunition?"

"No, I shipped it out here, and shipped the remainder back".

"Good, because we are really catching some grief from TSA over the ammo containers. It used to be that as long as it was in a factory ammo box, it was okay. Now they are saying that it has to be factory ammo only, and in it's original factory packaging".

I am not saying that special labels, shrink wrapping the boxes etc., will not work. All I am saying is that this was some pretty specific info to come from a ticket agent....

[PhilTerry]

I flew back from Summer Blast with the two boxes of remaining ammo - my reloads in old re-cycled white boxes. I "showed clear" to the Continental Ticket Agent signed the orange tag and the bag was not even opened for further inspection before it was loaded on the plane!

[BDH]

I "showed clear" to the Continental Ticket Agent

Did you fly out of Richmond? If so, maybe a difference between Continental and Delta??? Or maybe a difference between two people behind the counters.....

Curious if you got called into the little TSA closet???

[BSeevers]

Curious if you got called into the little TSA closet???

What happens in the closet?

And do they have one in Gays-Port?

[BDH]

What happens in the closet?

And do they have one in Gays-Port?

I'll tell ya about it at Rayner's this weekend....

[PhilTerry]

I flew out of BWI on Continental. As I posted earlier the checked bag was never re-examined after I closed it following check-in. I have one of those "tell-tale" TSA approved locks which indicate if they have used their master key to open the bag for re-inspection.

I was a little surprised, all the other flights I have taken I have hand-carried the checked bag over to the TSA guys for inspection prior to it being loaded on the plane.

Recently they seem more interested in the ammunition weight then any of the firearms. I usually carry 300, 200-grain, 40S&Ws which is about 1 pound over the 11 pound limit but I have never had any problem, an odd comment maybe that it is a little over, but by that time I have usually engaged whoever seems to be the head guy in conversation about competitive shooting and how there seems to be some difference of interpretation of the FAA regulations etc. etc. The differences are interesting - I have orange tags from two different terminals at IAH which give different rules, Terminal C tags say 11 pounds per checked passenger, Terminal B tags say 11 pounds per checked firearm!

[shred]

The deal there is the "11 lbs" rule is an Airline-specific rule for domestic flights. Some do 11-lbs total, some 11-per-gun, and a couple (Horizon, Alaska) allow much more. So, from the TSA point of view, all you're doing is breaking an airline regulation and not a law (although there might be a law about breaking an airline regulation or something).

The downside is if the airline refuses your ammo, you're screwed, since you can't even point at a law to back up whatever you were wanting to do. Bring a printout of the airline rules as well.

[BDH]

I flew out of BWI on Continental. As I posted earlier the checked bag was never re-examined after I closed it following check-in.

Phil, just so you know, here was the drill at Richmond.... TSA 'Supervisor' takes me and bag into special area... TSA dude says 'wow! Nice piece. Is it unloaded?' Of course I respond 'yes' (but they never check it). I go to throw the firearms declaration tag into my hardsided and soon to be locked pistol case. He stops me, and says, 'no, you do not want to put the tag in with the gun as you intend to lock that case, correct?' 'Yes, I intend to lock the gun case'. 'Okay, here is how we do this then.... your gun is unloaded, so you can now lock your gun case (hmmm, exactly HOW did he know it was unloaded? Because I TOLD him so??? ). We lock my hardside pistol case. TSA dude: 'Okay, now we are going to put your locked pistol case inside your big suitcase, and we will just throw the declaration tag in that suitcase'. 'Okay, but I thought that it HAD to go with the gun??' 'Well, the reason we do it this way is that if someone opens your big suitcase, they will NOT have to open your hardside gun case because they will find the declaration'. 'Okay, makes sense to me'. We close down the suitcase with my range bag, and now locked hardside gun case inside it. TSA Dude: 'okay, now you can LOCK you main suitcase'. 'But I thought that all bags had to remain unlocked for TSA inspection?' 'Well, normally that is the case, but in this case, I have already cleared that bag, so no one will be looking inside it until you open it at home'. 'Cool, that makes me feel good. I appreciate your help'. I locked my outside suitcase, put on my neon yellow luggage strap and away I went.....

Of course I get back to Cincinnati only to find out that they DID search my bag again!!! Forunately, I had set the combination lock to 000 since we are not allowed to lock out luggage, so they at least tried that before breaking the lock. The GOOD news is that apparently they inspected my suitcase, range bag etc., but because the firearms declaration was loose in the suitcase, they did NOT break the locks on my gun case....

Never a dull moment, but overall a much better experience than in the past...

[PhilTerry]

Brian - the advantage of the new TSA "approved" locks is that they have code number on them which tells the TSA guys which of their master keys will open it - they come as standard keyed locks or as combinations and some, like the one's I have also come with a "tell-tale" window which indiates if they have actually been opened by the TSA. They sell for about $9.95 a pair on www.skymall.com.

[Gun Geek]

After starting this thread (and getting the weight advice) I called the carrier I was going to use on this trip (Delta). I got 2 answers - 11lbs period, and 11bs per firearm. So I'm still working the issue. I just love this kind of confusion.

This story you folks will appreciate: I got one guy who said I couldn't check both the firearm and the ammunition - once I picked it up at baggage claim, I could load the gun and start shooting up the place! I told him that the guns were rifles and this was a hunting trip (shooting rats in Montana). He then said that was even worse - I'd have a 11lbs of assault rifle ammo ready to use in the terminal!? At this point I asked for the guy's supervisor. After we talked about and didn't relsolve the 11lbs only or per issue, I told the guy to send me the official complaint form about the first pin head's unhelpful behavior. I will fill it out.

I didn't tell either of them that while one of the rifles was a bolt gun, the other was indeed one of those evil assault rifles. A heavy barreled, big glassed AR makes a great rat shooter.

2nd story about the TSA closet. I got nailed one day by the little bomb sniffer thingy so I got to go into the closet. They wiped my suitcase down with the patch put it in the machine and (though I never saw it) it registered positive. They took me to the a little room with a table and a couple of chairs and a big, obvious video camera. They asked me to strip to my shorts. Didn't ask for an explanation and wouldn't listen when I tried to explain. Yes, I couldn't resist - I mooned them and the camera when I took my pants off . AFTER they searched me and all my clothes (took about 20 mins) they asked for an explanation. My first reaction was to say that since they didn't find anything no explanation was needed, but I thought the mooning clearly indicated what I thought of them. I told them that I hand loaded ammo in my basement, and kept my suit case in my basement. probably got a little powder on the suitcase. There were lots of suspicious looks and one comment about "why would anyone make bullets in this day and age?" They let me go, and since I was originally early for the plane I still made it with plenty of time to spare.

PS:

Suitcase is not kept near the reloading gear any more.

[rwmagnus]

You guys have hit the nail on the head, it all depends on who you get at the check in counter as well as TSA. Most every trip I take a pistol with me and it's always different. America West out of Orange County is always a thrill. Just show up early and go with the flow. They have been known not to allow plastic reload boxes as regs say factory ammo and box. My alum pistol case goes inside a roll-a-long suitcase and inside that case are range accessories and ammo. One agent would not let me put the ammo inside the roll-a-long saying it had to be in a separate case from the pistol. I made a suggestion the alum case was one case and the roll-a-long was another but it didn’t fly with her or her supervisor so the ammo went in my cloths suitcase. Neither of them knew much about guns or their own regulations. Since then I've never had a problem. Just show up early.

Checking for loose rounds is a great idea. after checking everything in on a flight I was going thru security emptying my pockets of keys, change etc just to find a straggler .45ACP round from the previous nights competition. I declared it to the agent and you would have thought I was handing him a bomb. He freaked out and called his supervisor. She asked why I had a round of ammunition, after explaining the situation she said her original thought was that "I must be really good to only bring one round with me", LOL. She had a good sense of humor.

Flying out of AZ you know it's the "Wild Wild West" cause they are so cool about it and IMO follow the pretty book closely. Unlocked gun case, inspect chamber, close and lock, ammo wise they are pretty cool but it is suppose to be OEM box and factory ammo. Usually not an issue as I've shot everything up by then.

1. Be early.

2. Be polite.

3. Be prepared (Print the airlines policies out ahead of time.)

[rboudrie]

The most unusual TSA comment I received was at the Providence, RI airport when the younger of two baggage screeners asked the older one what the procedure was for the gun he saw when doing a manual inspection of the gun case. The older TSA agents response was "It's got the declaration tag so it's OK. That's an SVI but I usually build on Caspian frames myself." No, I did not recognize him.

[shred]

I got into a GSSF conversation with a TSA screener once. He was all up to shoot the next match.

One good thing to come out of all of this is the TSA folks seem to know the rules and regs (as well as basic gun handling) better than most of the "I got trained on this once, I think.." airline counter people we used to deal with.