Flying with a Firearm

Traveling by air with a firearm sounds like it might be tricky even if it shouldn't be. Here is my account of traveling from Oakland,CA to Casper, WY with my AR-15. Hopefully it will help anyone thinking of making a similar trip and encourage others to travel WITH firearms. It is perfectly legal to check a firearm when traveling by airlines. I had read over the minimal regulations made available by Transportation Security Administration (TSA), my airline (Delta), and Oakland Airport. They all said the same thing which I encourage you to read but which can be boiled down to 1)it must be unloaded and 2)it must be in a locked case. It seemed way too easy so I also checked with a coworker who has traveled with a rifle to hunt on the east coast. He assured me it was, in fact, just that simple and that he was never hassled.

I bought a Pelican Stormcase just for the trip. These are hard cases and maybe a little more fancy than needed but I wanted to be safe with regulations as well as keep my gun safe from any rough handling. Also in the case were two empty CA legal 10round magazines. The case has 6 clasps and at least four holes which could be fitted with locks. I locked the case with one key-lockable padlock.

We arrived at Oakland airport with what should have been ample time to get boarding passes (we had already checked in online) and make it to our gate. We got in the "special check-in" line. A delta staff member checked with us to see if we really needed to be in the special line. I explained I had a firearm and the staff member said "Oh! Ok. You definitely need to be in that line." When it was our turn, the Delta counter clerk checked in my travel companion but when she found out I had a firearm to check, she literally told me someone else would have to help me. She instructed me to just stand to the side. She told another clerk that I needed to check a gun and she left. I patiently waited for over 15 minutes. Finally, I was motioned over to the counter and the clerk rudely said "So you have a gun? How are we supposed to do this?!" She proceeded to have me sign the unloaded firearm declaration and then told me we needed to go to the TSA booth across from the Delta counter. As we approached the TSA booth, this clerk asked if the case was locked. I said yes. She said the one lock wasn't going to be sufficient. Trying to remain polite and calm, I mentioned that the regulations make no mention of multiple locks. She rudely passed me over to TSA pointing out that I only had one lock. The TSA officials asked me to unlock the case. I did. The TSA agents wiped the case for explosives, checked to make sure it was not loaded, and closed the case. They asked me to lock it. I did and they began trying to pry it open while locked (which they could not). They called over another TSA supervisor. She looked at it while they tried to pry open the locked case and told me one lock would not be sufficient. Alarmed, I asked what I was supposed to do. I was instructed to go to the nearby airport giftshop and purchase another lock. I ran to the shop and bought the only locks they had- a 2 pack of combination locks. Then I ran back to the TSA booth. I put a total of three locks on my case to appease Oakland TSA. They then told me I was free to go but I told them I was never issued a boarding pass. Apparently, the check-in clerk must verify with TSA that all is sufficient before issuing a boarding pass. So I had to go get the rude Delta clerk again. She gave me my boarding pass and told me I had better hurry to my gate. No kidding! I ran to my gate. The whole process took approximately 45 minutes. Upon landing in Casper, WY, it was humorous to see so many rifle cases come out of the luggage carousel.

The return leg of my trip was unsurprisingly very different. Casper airport, to be fair, is far less crowded. The Delta staff there were not bothered by my having to check a firearm. I am sure it is something they have done a million times (50 times by noon of that day alone according to a TSA official). The Delta clerk calmly gave me clear instructions to unlock the case and had me sign the unloaded declaration. I was then instructed to take it over to the TSA area. The TSA agent was not busy and asked me to relock the case. I did. He took it and told me to wait for a sec in case they have any questions or need to unlock it again. I stood in place for about one minute and the agent gave me a good-bye thumbs up.

An interesting thing to note upon my return to Oakland airport- While waiting for baggage at the baggage claim carousel, I saw the "oversized luggage" door slide up only about three feet. A pair of hands tossed in my rifle case. The sliding door closed. There sat my rifle on the floor of Oakland airport unattended.