Gun case question

I have never traveled on a plane with a firearm and have a question. I have a gun case that has four positions for locks. I bought a a set of four master locks that use the same key. Is that OK to use? With all of the rules that TSA has I want to make sure there is no problem. Thanks in advance for any replies.

That'll work fine. If you are going with a fellow hunter, give him a set of keys. Other than that, can't emphasize enough to NOT use TSA locks on gun cases.

I've gone back and forth over the issue of locks for Gun cases
Last year the TSA wanted the owner to have the only access (read no TSA locks)
Just a few months ago they changed that to TSA approved locks or your own.
Just last week I called the TSA at the airport I'll be flying out of...The Supervisor stated they prefer you use TSA Locks.
Quote: "when we need to inspect your gun case if you have your own locks we will attempt to contact you and have you come to our office to unlock your case." "if we can't get ahold of you to unlock your case we'll be forced to cut off your locks."
So take an extra set of locks or hope you hear the announcement on the Airport PA? Or Use TSA Locks and pray? Also Master Lock now has heavy duty TSA Locks for Pelican Cases
I'm taking two sets of locks TSA and my own and I plastered my Cell phone # all over my case.
We'll see how it goes in 9 days?

My best advice is call the TSA Supervisor at the Air Port you'll be checking your guns in and ask him/her directly how they want you to pack and secure your case. Give them your name and the date you'll be flying just to be sure.

Also keep in mind if you have connecting flights the TSA at those air ports could very well want to inspect your case again...there are no rules saying they only get to check your bags once. Every time your bags pass from one air plane to another they could be pulled again for screening.

What you have will be just fine!

Fred Gunner said:

I've gone back and forth over the issue of locks for Gun cases
Last year the TSA wanted the owner to have the only access (read no TSA locks)
Just a few months ago they changed that to TSA approved locks or your own.
Just last week I called the TSA at the airport I'll be flying out of...The Supervisor stated they prefer you use TSA Locks.
Quote: "when we need to inspect your gun case if you have your own locks we will attempt to contact you and have you come to our office to unlock your case." "if we can't get ahold of you to unlock your case we'll be forced to cut off your locks."
So take an extra set of locks or hope you hear the announcement on the Airport PA? Or Use TSA Locks and pray? Also Master Lock now has heavy duty TSA Locks for Pelican Cases
I'm taking two sets of locks TSA and my own and I plastered my Cell phone # all over my case.
We'll see how it goes in 9 days?

My best advice is call the TSA Supervisor at the Air Port you'll be checking your guns in and ask him/her directly how they want you to pack and secure your case. Give them your name and the date you'll be flying just to be sure.

Also keep in mind if you have connecting flights the TSA at those air ports could very well want to inspect your case again...there are no rules saying they only get to check your bags once. Every time your bags pass from one air plane to another they could be pulled again for screening.

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You're looking to get your firearm stolen with TSA locks, either here or your stops or destination. Everyone and their brother has keys for them. They are functionally worthless, about as secure as a zip tie. If you are concerned that the locks would be cut off, hang around the area where they are sent through the oversize baggage machine or near where you check in and make sure with either the gate agent or TSA personnel responsible that your gun cases are either good to go or need to be opened. I and others have used this method to make sure all is well and that the gun case has been cleared to load.

Hogpatrol said:

hang around the area where they are sent through the oversize baggage machine or near where you check in and make sure with either the gate agent or TSA personnel responsible that your gun cases are either good to go or need to be opened.

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That's a good idea...provided you have enough time to clear security check point and get to your gate.

Ah the good old days after 9/11 when I could bring my firearms directly to the security screeners they inspect the case I lock it they placed a sticker showing it was checked and Done no worries.

Fred Gunner said:

That's a good idea...provided you have enough time to clear security check point and get to your gate.

Ah the good old days after 9/11 when I could bring my firearms directly to the security screeners they inspect the case I lock it they placed a sticker showing it was checked and Done no worries.

Click to expand...

Still like that at Atlanta after getting your rifle after an international flight and then checking it back in for your next flight.
At Dulles, the TSA checkers are right by the ticket agent counter and you aren't any more than ten feet away from them when they are checking your gun case, fairly seamless operation both places.

When I flew out of Denver 3 years ago the ticket agent walked me to the TSA firearms check in the terminal. TSA had me unlock my rifle case, inspected the firearm, and then had me relock it. The ticket agent then took the case back to her position and sent it on it's way.

When I came back through Dulles I picked up my case and went through the customs check. Then took it over to the belt line and the TSA checker just waved at me and said all was OK.

Really quite simple both directions.

The only place I've ever had "issues" is Philly. Different every time. Check in, "Need the keys"? "No". I wait five minutes. Guy comes back. "I need the keys". Wait another five minutes. "You're good to go". Next time they have a table set up near the oversize baggage x ray machine. They ask for and get the keys. I watch them check the bag, all ok. Next time, they take the case. "Need the keys"? Yes. Wait five minutes. Get my keys back. "You're good to go". If you have a thin skin, suffer fools lightly or get upset over wasting time and the bureaucracy, better take an antacid beforehand, at least at this airport. It's a "wholesale" operation and one of the worst rated ones in the country. You better know what the hell to do. There is no helpful salesman to shepherd you through the process.

I would get a 2nd set of locks and place them inside the case with a note to use them if they cut the 1st set off. Also I required them to open the case where I could see what they were doing. The 1st trip in San Francisco there was no problem and they inspected it at the front counter. The 2nd trip they started to take the case away and asked for the keys. I informed them that I had to be present so we went into the back and they opened it where I could see but was not allowed to go into their work area. All other places that it was opened they did so in front of me without asking.

I had a second unlocked lock inside of my gun case and when I went through the inspection and closed the case the agent told me that I had left the lock inside of the rifle case. I told her that it was a just in case lock. She did say that it was a good idea.

Hogpatrol said:

suffer fools lightly or get upset over wasting time and the bureaucracy, better take an antacid beforehand,

Click to expand...

Exactly and I'm flying from Vermont thru JFK...so my own locks on the case and an extra set plus a set of TSA Locks in my carry-on as back up with my cell # on100MPH tape on the case...Because it's my first Safari and my only DG rifle?

Fred Gunner said:

Exactly and I'm flying from Vermont thru JFK...so my own locks on the case and an extra set plus a set of TSA Locks in my carry-on as back up with my cell # on100MPH tape on the case...Because it's my first Safari and my only DG rifle?

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Unless you have some convoluted flight itinerary, you should be able to check them all the way to your destination.

Fred Gunner said:

Exactly and I'm flying from Vermont thru JFK...so my own locks on the case and an extra set plus a set of TSA Locks in my carry-on as back up with my cell # on100MPH tape on the case...Because it's my first Safari and my only DG rifle?

Click to expand...

Like Hogpatrol, it your luggage is checked all the way through you will be fine. Also if you are flying South African Airways you can have the gate agent check and make sure that all of your baggage is onboard the plane. It will give you a little bit of piece of mind on the flight over.

I am flying Delta. Indianapolis to Atlanta to Johannesburg, and then reverse on the way back.

Fred Gunner said:

That's a good idea...provided you have enough time to clear security check point and get to your gate.

Ah the good old days after 9/11 when I could bring my firearms directly to the security screeners they inspect the case I lock it they placed a sticker showing it was checked and Done no worries.

Click to expand...

Still like that in most airports - including within the last eighteen months - Austin, Atlanta, Houston, Washington Dulles, and Dallas. Either stood by the gun or outside the screening door until cleared. In each case they expected me to have personal - not TSA - locks.

No TSA key? Forgot your combination? Picking TSA locks, in seconds.

JimP said:

Also if you are flying South African Airways you can have the gate agent check and make sure that all of your baggage is onboard the plane.

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Excellent info thank you!

I’ve gone both ways. Last month I flew ATL-JoBurg using TSA locks with a set of conventional locks as backup. My rationale may be flawed, but I figure if someone is going to steal my guns they are probably going to take the whole case. I can’t see them walking around the baggage area with a rifle. I have also had TSA jimmy the locks off an americase that had been pre-inspected and tagged as cleared. That probably tilts me toward the TSA locks. FYI TSA has a master key for any lock (bolt cutters) as do the baggage handling areas. If someone wants to get in your gun case they will regardless of what locks you use.

A baggage handler in Portland, Ore., has been accused of stealing six guns from air travelers' checked luggage over a two-month period, authorities said.

Deshawn Kelly, employed by a contractor firm at Portland International Airport, was arrested Tuesday after investigators found all but one of the guns reported stolen at his home, FOX 12 Oregon reported.

Court documents show the first report of a stolen gun dates to Aug. 19, when a Glock was reported taken from a checked bag headed to Phoenix.

One victim told the station he put a lock on his luggage for his American Airlines flight to North Carolina.

He said the bag went missing and the airline found it several days later. However, the tags had been switched and the handgun he packed inside was missing.

Once police suspected Kelly of stealing the weapons, they used two luggage bags as bait to catch him.

In the first operation, police checked a bag with a replica gun inside on Sept. 11 and determined Kelly was the employee who most likely took it. Six days later, police said, they sent through another bag with a fake gun and Kelly was seen taking that bag and a passenger’s bag with a firearm inside and later putting them back.

The police bag had damaged locks and appeared as if someone had tried to pry open the locks off of the gun case.

Authorities searched Kelly’s home Tuesday and he confessed to the thefts that day. He later said he stole the weapons to provide for his son and the boy’s mother, the Oregonian reported. He said their electricity had been cut off and they were about to be evicted from their home, the paper said.

Kelly, a convicted felon, did not work for the airport, but was employed through a third-party company, Professional Business Providers Services.

He told court staff that he had been fired from his job.

He faces multiple charges, including six counts each of first-degree theft and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

He was released with a scheduled court date of Oct. 10.