Traveling with Multiple guns

[Boomstick303]

Not sure if this is the correct Forum for this question, so please move if required admin.

 

I have also used the search function and looked at a couple of applicable forums and could not find the answers to these questions.

 

I will be flying to Alabama for the USPSA 2 Gun Nationals.  I intend to fly with my PCC and two Carry Optics guns.  I guess this would be a question more geared towards multi-gun and three gun competitors.  I understand people who shoot these types of matches typically drive due to the heavy equipment requirements, but for those big ballers who fly, can you give me an idea of how you pack up and fly with all of those guns. I have two trains of thought.  PCC in pelican rifle case, and another pelican case that would carry my range bag and pistols.  Most airlines cap how much ammo (usually by weight) you can check with a firearm so my thought is I can carry more ammo and not have to ship ammo if I choose to use two Pelicans.  I can load my cloths and other travel essentials in with the guns.  I would prefer this method because of the ammo issue and for protection of optics this seem like the best option.

 

Or pack all of the guns in one Pelican being the Rifle Pelican, and only checking one "bag" that contains guns and ammo.

 

I understand that different airlines have different requirement for traveling with Firearms and since I fly exclusively on Southwest Airlines (so far at least) this would be the airline I am most interested in learning about.   I have read their firearm requirements and it does not seem like they have a limit on how many bags you can check that contain firearms as long as all of the their protocols are adhered to.

 

Also do you do anything special in regards to protecting optics.  I have some ideas, but new ideas and things I may not have thought about are always welcome.

 

Thank you in advance.

[motosapiens]

we flew to the world speed shooting championship a few weeks ago (on southwest) with 2 rifles and 4 pistols for 2 people, so about the same amount of stuff. I shipped most of the ammo because it is cheap and reduces the hassle, but if you are shooting 9mm, you can probably bring it with you on the plane without too much trouble.

 

If it were me, I would put probably put all the guns in the rifle case, and pack the ammo in my other suitcase or ship it. Note that you can carry ammo in your regular suitcase, but you'll want to keep an eye on the total weight. If your guns are packed properly and surrounded by foam, the optics should be safe.

[Boomstick303]

48 minutes ago, motosapiens said:

shipped most of the ammo because it is cheap and reduces the hassle

 

Preference on who you have ship ammo?

 

Thanks.

Edited May 18, 2021 by Boomstick303

[walter hornby]

OK for most airlines you are allowed 2 bags with each bag not exceeding 50 pounds and 11 pounds of ammo.  your ammo cannot be packed with the gun.  When i traveled I would put the guns into one suitcase and the ammo in the other with my gear and i would pared my gear down so my suitcase was at 50 pounds.  I would distribute my clothes between the two bags again keeping in mind the 50 pound limit and my carry on.  The nice thing about carry on is you can have two bags like a backpack and a briefcase so a lot of clothes in the backpack and briefcase had my tablets and other small items.  With a PCC i would put the rifle and pitols into a rifle case and if i had any weight allowance left i would put gear and/or clothing in with it.  In my suitcase i would put gear and again depending on my weight allowance clothes.  I would probably use a propers on board suit case so i would know that it would fit in the overhead and pack my clothes in there and then in my briefcase i would put my tablet and other small items.  Do not try to put gear or ammo into your carry on.  I had a friend who tried to fly with her mags in her carry on.  she was escorted back to luggage to put them into luggage (:extra charge since she had already sent two bags down the chute.)

 

I hope that helps.

[motosapiens]

1 hour ago, walter hornby said:

 your ammo cannot be packed with the gun.

 

that has not been my experience, although some airlines may have such a policy. TSA and southwest don't have any problem with packing ammo in the same case as the gun, and we have done it for every trip.

 

You can also carry on your competition belt/holster, but we didn't.

 

1 hour ago, Boomstick303 said:

 

Preference on who you have ship ammo?

 

I use UPS because the customer center here in boise is always super helpful. It cost me $16 to send 20-ish lbs of ammo to talladega, and they thoughtfully even provided the appropriate marking sticker that replaces the old ORM-D one. Note that it has to be a real UPS customer center, not a ups store, but if you are smart you ship from a real UPS customer center anyway because it's half the price of the UPS store franchises. I understand you can arrange to have them pick it up too on a normal UPS route, but I haven't done that.

[MikeBurgess]

If you can fly Alaska Airlines take your ammo, they do not limit it by weight just your 50lbs per bag, I have never had my ammo weighed when flying other airlines but I may have fibbed a bit when asked about it once. I did have to open a pistol case once because the 400 or so rounds lining the bottom of the case blocked their x-ray machine too much.  In the end checking guns and ammo is way less intimidating than most imagine it to be, but you can and do run into counter help that is un clear on what they are supposed to do, on 2 occasions I have been asked to show clear at the counter (with a hundred people in line behind me) once was just a revo once was a full 3 gun setup, I just go along with what they ask and so far no issues.

[SGT_Schultz]

22 hours ago, walter hornby said:

 your ammo cannot be packed with the gun. 

 

That depends entirely on which airline you're using.  A few don't allow it, most do.  TSA has rules about how ammo can be packed in the same container that the gun is in, follow them and you won't have a problem.

 

But your blanket statement is flatly incorrect.