Man, are you asking for problems...Go over to AR15.com and those guys can point you in the right direction...
I recommend one of these...
I don’t have any guns...lost them all in a terrible boating accident...they went straight to the bottom...
Do yourself a favor...have a local licensed dealer ship your stuff to another licensed dealer at your destination. Much cheaper than the lawyer’s fees you will incur to get your stuff back after it is impounded or confiscated or “lost”...not to mention all the BS you will have to go through to take the stuff on the plane with you.
Get very clear and complete instructions from the airline that you’ll be flying and get to the airport as easrly as you can. Bring the written instructions with you as the agent you get may not have a clue.
Personally, I would suggest that you ship them UPS or FedEx. Your guns are easier to insure that way and you won’t have to worry about theft by ramp personnel or TSA crooks. They are much more likely to arrive safely and your predeparture time will be much less stressed.
Break ‘em down. I always break my shotguns down and never have a problem. They will ask you to hang around after you check your guns until TSA clears them. I figure if they are broken down less likely they will want to open up and have a look.
Some airports make you present ID to pick up your firearms, at others they will just come out on the carousel so be prepared either way.
Also, don’t transport them in something that screams “FIREARMS” like a Browning or Colt sticker on it. I have a plain Americase.
Theft from TSA agents is the only real problem.
Years ago a good lock and NOT using a gun case which had ANY gun mfg logo on it would be good enough.
I’m not sure I’d fly with one with all the theft problems.
Definitely check with the airline. Believe it or not, lots of people do this every day and it won’t be foreign to them at all. Alaska Air is probably the best in this regard.
Shipping the ammo from one dealer to another sounds like a pretty good idea. Then again... you might just consider buying ammo when you get there. You could even pre-arrange an order with a gun shop so they have it all ready (and in stock) when you arrive.
go to the website of the airlines you are traveling on, print out the instructions for flying with firearms, take them with you to the airline ticket counter
I generally put my Sigma into its hard case and lock the case. I usually put the mags in their cases inside the hard case as well. I then put the case into my luggage and lock that with a bike lock. Satisfies the “double-locked and ammo in closed container” requirements of TSA and most of the airlines. And I plan for the extra 45 minutes for the Thousands Standing Around to figure out how to deal with somebody who actually declares his weapon and follows the rules.
Colonel, USAFR
Pelican 1200 carried a Beretta 92F and a S&W .38 with a 2” barrel nicely.
Carried one box each of 9mm and .38 in original box, in the same suitcase but not in the gun case.
Don’t ship the lower without declaring it as a firearm. Legally it is the firearm.
Buy the ammo online, if you can get some in time, and have it delivered to where you’ll be needing it?
As for shipping ammo, one idea could be to order more ammo online and have it shipped there instead of paying to ship ammo you’ve already paid for or buying ammo at a gun store there. Just an idea, I know it is expensive nowadays but you might get a better deal online than at a local gun store.
Oh, also... if you plan on taking a bag on the airplane that you’ve taken to the shooting range a lot, be sure to wipe it down real good with a cleanser because of all the gunpowder residue.
Good luck Joe!
Go to the tsa web site, and print copies of this out
http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/assistant/editorial_1666.shtm
firearms must be in a hard sided case. You may place a small hardsided pistol case inside a larger soft sided case, but the only case that can be lock will be the hardsided case.
You may use a hard sided case as the only case, in which case, the case must be locked with your own lock.
firearms must be declared at the counter, and you must show they are unloaded.
Easiest way for this - pass a cable lock through the recever and out the side ports of any firearm, then use the cable lock to lock the firearm to something else in the case.
Purpose for this? so if someone cuts your exterior lock, they will have to spend some extra time trying to cut the interior lock if they want to steal something.
When you get to the counter, declare the firearms, show they are unloaded. ask for the paperwork declaring the firearms.
you’ll be given some slips of paper, fill it out.
the paperwork goes inside the case with the firearms.
no identifying paperwork that there are firearms in the case can be added to the outside of the case.
depending on the iq of the tsa screening things, you’ll get yelled at either way, but...
you walk with the cases to tsa with the cases locked. the tsa examines the contents, while you stay with them until they finish examining the case (through the xray machine). they may ask you to unlock the case to look inside, or yell at you for not having the cases unlocked before bringing them to the tsa. stay until they lock it back up.
you’ll walk the cases to the tsa, and they will tell you to leave them there to screen. wrong. show them the regs that say you stay until the cases are examined, and that they have to be locked before you can leave.
and yes, there are a lot of firearms stolen from baggage, even when they are locked.
suggestion for a case - get a hardsided, locking, golf club case. less obvious as a gun case.
Ammo - for 11 pounds, you’re probably over the limit for the airline limit on ammo. check with the airline. tsa says you can bring it, just leave it in its original packing.
some ammo is plentiful again at walmarts, so you should be able to find 223 easily. maybe 9 and 40 also. if you want to ship, do it from a ups hub or main office, not a branch.
it must be marked orm-d and comply with dot regs - see this thread from rec.guns
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.guns/browse_thread/thread/19d7801d425d6c8e
toward the bottom is info on hazmat training.
Would look into the FFL shipping for the insurance purposes-sounds like a good idea.
That being said, I have flown with Handguns from TX to NY and back with no problems-had everything printed out, guns fieldstripped in the case and did what they said with the ammo. Applied any locks after inspection. Cases were the simple lockable type, even used a SW purchase case one time.
They were the few times I followed the two hour prior to flight time recommendations in case there were any hitches. Was lucky and had no problems-thought NY would be a hassle, but there was none.
If you have an address to ship too, and can afford it, order on line and have it shipped to that address. Try to time it so you arrive at about the same time as the ammo. That is what I would do about the ammo problem. I will leave it to someone else to talk about the gun problem.