Pelican Travel Cases

[standles]

Hello All:

Before I get started I have searched and gone through the links from other threads but have not found the info I was hoping to garner.

My daughter and I will be traveling by Airline with firearms (FIRST TIME) to training first week of October.

I need a case to transport the pistols in. There will be two open guns (STI with cmores) and 2 limited guns. I would like to get all 4 in one case with thier respective mags. Pretty much settled on Pelican and have been looking at cases4less.com.

My question is what model number do you folks like/use for your personal transportation of firearms. I looked at the 1510,1520,and 1420 but not sure whether I can fit 4 comfortably. I also don't want to but 40 acres when 1 would do

Any suggestiions ??

Also any opinioins on colors? I was thining Bright Yellow

[shred]

You might check with your airline and make sure they allow 4 guns in one case-- some officially don't (though they rarely care). The pelican laptop briefcases with foam are great for 2 guns, but too small for 4. 16"x10" or so fits a couple open guns nose-to-nose, so you'd need to double-layer it, and then there's no room for magazines.

Here's a pic of a 16x10 case demoing my cable-lock-the-gun-to-the-outside-bag mod.

[carinab]

What ever the case, I would be certain it fits inside of my normal luggage. Even if that means buying two smaller cases. Some airlines insist the gun declaration paperwork go on the outside of the hard sided case. And a case traveling by itself with a sticker on the outside is an invitation for theft.....just my NSHO.

[smokshwn]

+1 on Carina's post. I put my pistols in a small case dedicated to each pistol which then goes into my regular luggage. A pelican (or any other high $ case) on its own screams "Valuable %*&$ in here, Steal me".

[blackdragon]

I ship with a huge Pelican Case, It has stickers all over it! For my money thats the S@$t. Those guys tryed top cut my Pelilocks off, only got one!

Ivan

[vincent]

The latches on the Storm cases are easier to open.

For 4 handguns I would look at a double rifle case with wheels.

[Kimberkid]

Sorry to sorta drift this thread, but a friend of mine has 3 of the Pelican Double Rifle cases he asked me to peddle for him a bit ago. I couldnt find anyone local and I have no need for them. They had been used to transport small, highly expensive sound/audio gear. The catch is that they have no foam. If anyone wished to buy them I am sure they could be had at a good price. PM me with an offer if anyone is interested.

[standles]

Ok here is the end result

I purchased the Pelican 1550 case in silver. I also purchased a cable lock to implement shreds excellent idea.

Thanks for all your info and the help in my decision process.

steven

[mpolans]

What ever the case, I would be certain it fits inside of my normal luggage.  Even if that means buying two smaller cases.  Some airlines insist the gun declaration paperwork go on the outside of the hard sided case.  And a case traveling by itself with a sticker on the outside is an invitation for theft.....just my NSHO.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

IIRC, putting the declaration tag on the outside isn't just a bad idea, it's also a violation of Federal law. I believe the regs specifically require putting the tag inside the case to prevent the whole "steal me" thing.

[standles]

Well the trip is over. I am happy to report that there were no problems with travel to or from Phoenix. I had the Pelican 1550 inside my luggage.

On the trip out I told the Delta counter person that the checked bag contained unloaded and cased firearms. The counter person only asked if they were unloaded, locked and whether I had any ammo. I told him I had 400 rounds in hard plastic boxes with individual cells. He handed me a red tag and told me to sign and put it in with the guns. He never even looked at the case.

On the trip back the Delta lady at the Phoenix counter asked to see them. I opened the case and told her I had chamber flags in all guns. She said "what is that" I told her then she asked to see one. I asked " Are you asking me to physically remove one of the pistols and rack the slaide to show you clear?" She responded yes but when I picked it up out of the foam she said "Oh I see what you mean. here sign this tag and lock it back." I then took it to TSA and informed them of the cased firearms. They opened it saw the flags and then locked it back.

All in all a very uneventful trip as far as flying with guns was concerned.

May all your trips be as uneventful

Steven

[Mistral404]

Steven,

You were lucky to experience the folks in Phoenix. They are probably the best trained. I suspect because there is so much competition there, they see alot of guns traveling.

Southwest trains their people better than anyone I have ever experience. They have never failed to ask to show empty. Most other airlines are not as well trained. I end up having to explain to them what needs to be done.

[syme71]

What's the process after you declare the firearm and place the declaration tag inside the case, do they instruct you to go to the TSA screener? In my experience, when you check-in a bag at the counter, they weight it on the scale then place it on the conveyer belt behind the counter.

My biggest concern is that I will not be around when the TSA screens my bags and they come across my gun case inside the bag. I would imagine that they would itch to cut the giant padlocks that I will have on the case. How would they know that they shouldn't have access to it if the declaration tag is inside? Per the TSA advisory, "Access to the declared firearm must be restricted, with only the passenger possessing the key"....

[shred]

If the TSA machine is out in the lobby like many are, they usually make me take the gun bag there, tell them it's got declared firearms in it, then wait until it goes through, in case they want to open it up (usually they don't unless there's a big stack of ammo all in one place)

If the TSA machine is behind the wall.. it varies.. sometimes they haul you back there to stand in a designated no-touching-zone while they open up and look at it, sometimes they just say 'hang around for a few in case they need to call you', and about 50% of the time they don't.

It's always worth hanging around by the check-in counter for a few minutes anyway just in case. Also prominently label the outside of the gun case if it's inside another bag with "CALL <YOUR NAME> AT <YOUR CELL #> BEFORE OPENING"

Note that TSA officially now says the airport self-check-in kiosks are no-nos for checking guns. Before I knew that, I did it anyway w/o problems.

[standles]

Shred hit it on the head.

Outgoing they sent my bag into the depths of "behind the counter".

Coming back I took it to TSA after checkin. They asked me to wait and when they wanted to check it they asked for the key. I told them it was TSA combo locks and she said "Oh in that case you didn't have to stay here... Have a nice flight sir".

I did tape a note to the pelican case with my cell number, flight itineary, and instructions to call the cell if they needed me.

Seemed to be slick has cat ..... well you know the rest.

Steven

Edited November 11, 2005 by standles

[syme71]

I told them it was TSA combo locks

Wow, you're a brave guy locking your valuable toys with TSA locks. I just can't shake the vision in my head that those TSA master keys have already fallen into the wrong hands. I live in NJ and frequently travek through Newark on busines. The TSA agents thay have on duty don't strike me as competent or honest. Did you at least do the cable lock to the case mod?

[CSEMARTIN]

I just recently went through the whole ordeal of travelling with firearms. I spent an enormous amount of time reading the 'rules'. I found it interesting that most of the people (including TSA) working in the airport have no idea what the 'rules' are. Lucky for me, I brought printed copies of the 'rules' with me. Surprisingly, I had more trouble in Texas..... While getting ready to go through security at MBS in Michigan, one of the TSA guys saw my Dillon Precision shirt and replied, "He's a shooter, he's o.k.! Come on through". Coming back from San Antonio was a different story. My luggage was searched, and the lock was cut off my bag when I received it back at MBS. Incidentally, it is illegal for TSA to cut a lock off of a bag with a declared firearm in it without making an attempt to contact you so you can be present during the bag search. They had my home phone, cell phone, pager number, e-mail address, flight and seat number, etc...

The next time I fly with my boys, I'm going to pay extra for insurance. One of these days, those retards are going to screw me up.

[standles]

The outside may have had TSA combo locks but I DID have the guns threaded with High Tensile steel cable and a lock that only I knew the combo on.

as for insurance.... Make sure you can document (ie receipt or bill of sale) the cost of all the firearms and accessories. I was told (FWIW) that they do not take your word for value and only will refund up the cost minus depreciatioin up to a set limit / bag.

Steven

[Hank Ellis]

Last year wife and I took a trip to Roatan, Honduras for a little scuba diving, R&R, and uhmm.. private time.

One of my pieces scuba gear is a pony bottle. It's a 13cu/ft cylinder with its' own independent regulator. Its use is for an emergency. If any number of things go wrong or the primary equipment goes kaput, switch to the pony and make a normal ascent. Cheap insurance. Hope it's money I've wasted. Another piece is a gas analyzer for checking Nitrox mixtures. Electronic gizmo that might raise an eyebrow to an inspector.

Shipping a pressurized vessel is considered HazMat and the way aound it is to empty the cylinder and remove the tank valve. No big deal. Knowing that the TSA will want to verify that the tank in inert, as well as the gas analyzer being what it is, I requested a hand inspection prior to check the bag in. Wanted to be there to observe and answer any questions.

The TSA guy gladly took the bag to the screening area, took a look at the TSA approved lock, and bellowed "Has anyone got the set of approved lock keys!". 10 minutes elapsed and the keys hadn't materilized. I motioned TSA over and asked him if I gave him the combination if he would open it. He had that look that he wasn't supposed to to that but he was going to do it anyway just to move this process along. 30 seconds later the bag was searched, sealed and sent on its' way. The TSA guy was truly helpful and courteous but it's no secret they don't have their sjit together.

Shreds solution is the hot ticket. Pack that case in your normal luggage. Place full contact info including cell number in the gun case as well as the regular bag. Ask for a hand inspection. Never been turned down yet. Do your homework and bring copies of the TSA regs and any applicable HazMat regs.

Overweight bag charges can be assessed if the weight is over 50 lbs. so spread the heavy stuff around between your two allowed checked bags.

I'll tell you another story sometime when I went to Arizona to do some skydiving and plinking. Bringing parachutes and guns on the same flight got a couple people nervous. I don't understand why.

[BigDave]

I've got a $100 gift card to burn at Cabela's and they have a Pelican AR-15 case (so they bill it) with these dimensions,

Encore/AR-15 Rifle Case - 44-1/2" x 16" x 6-1/2"

I'm sure it is big enough for my 20" AR/A2 stock. But, would it be big enough for the AR and the Benelli w/ 19.5" barrel/pistol grip, both in the same case at the same time?. I'm thinking it would be, but I'm not near either one so I'm hoping that someone with experience with the case might be of some help or had a review of the case.

TIA

[kschwan]

I too am looking for a case that I can transport my 20" AR and Benelli shotgun in. The biggest Pelican case is 13.5" wide inside, that is cutting it very close and I thought about cutting the foam and turning the Shotgun standing up but that looks like it will not work. Does anybody have any ideas?

Khan

[Shooter Grrl]

http://www.pelican.com/cases/cases.html

#1750 CASE

Unbreakable, watertight, dustproof, chemical resistant and corrosion proof. These are some of the features of this Pelican Protector™ Case that offers total protection for your equipment. It is made of Ultra High Impact structural copolymer that makes it strong and durable. Its exclusive 1/4" (6.4 mm) polymer o-ring and ABS latches seal perfectly and includes an automatic purge valve for quick equalization after changes in atmospheric pressure. It has transport wheels for better handling. Your equipment can fit into the high density foam of the case for total subjection and protection against impact, vibration or shock. A nameplate (included) can be personalized (engraved at additional cost).

TEMPERATURE RATING MINIMUM

-10° F (-23° C)

MAXIMUM

+210° F (+99° C)

DIMENSIONS

INSIDE

50-1/2" x 13-7/16" x 5-1/4"

(128.3 cm x 34.1 cm x 13.3 cm)

OUTSIDE

53" x 17-7/16" x 6-1/16"

(134.6 cm x 44.3 cm x 15.4 cm)

LID DEPTH

1-3/4" (4.4 cm)

CASE DEPTH

3.5" (8.9 cm)

This one holds an AR with an Acog, Benelli with pistol grip, and two pistols (open and limited). I purchased ours at the recent gun show for $120.00.

[kschwan]

Shooter girl thanks, this is the one that I am thinking of ordering, but I was afraid that I would not be able to fit my AR with scope and Benelli in the same case. My shotgun does not have a pistol grip. so it should fit.

Thanks