Well I'm going to NC this weekend, called Delta, they say it's fine to come with the AR as long as it's declared, checked, and locked in a case. I'm even allowed to take 10lb of ammo with me... Hope it all goes well, I'll let you know if anything odd happens. The customer service person I spoke with was even extremely helpfull... Go figgure.

Good luck.
I just can't help but think that this is going to turn into a sad story.
just my paranoid speaking out.

I've had great luck with Delta and firearms.They've always been very friendly and allowed me to bring quite a bit of ammo along.Never a problem at the airport.

ITS A TRICK!!!!!![peep]




Seriously though have them fax you some signed information about it so when you get up there to declare it the lady or homosexual ticket agents wont freak out. Also on that information which was signed (hopefully), have them put the contact information of the person who sent it to you so that TSA and the POLICE dont gang rape your ass as your trying to check in.

For what it is worth...

I have checked handguns many times in the last 10 years.  The TSA is no more freaked by them than the regular employees were before 9/11.  It is a good idea to take a print out of the rules with you when you show up.  You never know.  

They are stressed out by magazines in guns now.  Make sure they are out of the gun.  Also, I had one inspector all stressed out by a can of RemOil.  

Haven't tried the AR on a flight yet...love to hear how it turns out.



BTW...I am a white male...

Just plan to arrive a bit earlier than normal. Make sure it is unloaded, no mag in the mag well, and in a locked case. Might not be a bad idea to remove the bolt/bolt carrier, like bolt gun flyers do with the bolts in their guns.

You may need to ask the ticket agent to get their supervisor. That is about all. You will not need to bring anything in writing.

TSA and airport police will give you NO problems as long as it is unloaded.  

oh. I thought he meant with hang gliders.

Al Pacino and Robert De Niro both ran by a Delta MD-11 in the movie HEAT at LAX.

I just flew from El Paso to Las Vegas with an AR and an SKS in the same rifle carrier.  In El Paso they wanted to see the weapons at the check-in counter and the guys then took it behind doors and locked it up.  In Vegas they wanted the carrier locked and they x-rayed it while I was there.  SWAir lets you carry 11 pounds of ammo.

This summer I made two trips with guns.  ElPaso to Orlando with pistols.

Lubbock, TX to Atlanta with a 1911 and an AR.  Both on Delta.  No problems at all on both trips.

At both airports, everyone thought my AR was "cool."  I am pretty sure that they thought I work for some super-secret, tactical unit of the govt.  No, I didn't tell them anything to make tham think that.  They just acted that way.  I appreciated their friendliness and repsect, but I didn't save the free world on my trip, like they seemed to think I did.

I just opened the case, they looked at it, I signed the tag, locked the case and was on my way to the TSA.  At Lubbock, the TSA looked at it also.  In Atlanta, they left it shut and XRAYED it.  I locked it when it came out the machine.  

When I got to Atlanta from Lubbock, they held my bag and rifle case in a sectioned-off area until I came to get it.  They also asked for my baggage claim ticket to match it.  I aked why, they said cause it's a gun.  I asked the kid how he knew.  He said they just assumed it when they see a case like that(it was a Pelican).

You'll be fine with your gun(s).

Monty

I would also consider separating the upper and lowers.  Make it a lot easier to show it's unloaded.  

Tell them your kid broke it and your taking it to the rifle hospital for emergency surgery.  If they know better they'll laugh, if not you may win sympathy points.

Either that or a look of disgust, since they didn't get the joke and now they think you let your kid play with a [shock][b]SEMIAUTOMATIC MACHINEGUN!!![/b][shock]

Thinking of flying with mine, and have a couple of questions.

1 Will the X-ray machine hurt the Tritium in my ACOG ?

2 I have a suppressor on my AR. I always carry my form 4, but will that really freak someone out ?

Thanks,
Scott

I used to work at an airline as a baggage handler and ramp worker.  I've seen several firearms go through including an M-60 machine gun.  We never thought anything of it.  We had to tag them as firearms and they were never left unattended unless they were locked up in a room.  They never went on the conveyor belts either.  We had to walk them down to the baggage area.  If they were inbound we had to match them to the customer.

On a separate note, did you know that a body of a U.S. military person has to be flown in a luggage compartment by itself with no packages or luggage.  The body also has to be pointed head forward.  Civilian bodies get treated like regular cargo.  This was the policy at America West.  I don't know if it was followed by all airlines.

I think removing the bolt and/or seperating the upper from the lower is a bit much.

I have never had an airline employee actually ask me to show them that the gun was unloaded.  They just want to see it, period.  Makes little sens, but that's the way it goes....

Leaving Orlando, they didn't even want to see it.  I signed the declaration slip , and the agent tied it around the handle of my pistol case.  The case went back into the big gear bag, and that was the end of it.  I never even opened the case, or unlocked it!!

BTW,

Leaving Luboock, for Atlanta, a few weeks ago, I "learned" something!!  The TSA and Delta said it was fine for my gear bag to be unlocked, as long as the pistol case inside was locked...hmmmm.  I went ahead and locked both.  They thought it was a good idea, but not necessary they said.

Don't go overboard here.  Just act calm and normal, and be POLITE!!!  They should reciprocate in turn.  Don't ask to see a supervisor until there is a problem.  It just insults the agent(s) when you walk up and ask for their sup. first thing.  You just lost all respect and any edge you had.

Delta is, by company policy, very gun friendly.  They are also very LEO/Mil. friendly.  They have no problems with people flying with guns.  They also recognize that other airlines have been asses about it in the past, and they want to go after that business.  They have mine!!

YMMV

Monty

Had a guy tell me once you could "recharge" Tritium sights via exposure to X-ray. "Got a buddy at a Hospital? Ya could charge these right up." One of the top ten stupid things I've heard at gunshows.

Tritium is just a radioactive form of Hydrogen -as we use it in gunsights, Tritium gas is mixed with a phosphor so it glows.  It will not, in any practical way, be effected by x-rays.

Ive had little issue lately checking firearms, AR or otherwise, with the airlines. Much better than it used to be. Although I am deflated to hear that baggage handlers recognize Pelican cases as "gun boxes". Then again I guess any nice heavy duty cases is going to be assumed to have something worth protecting in it. Least now, no indication that its a firearm can be attached externally.

Luck
Alac

Alac,
Never heard that one.  I guess that is just
more of the bullshit you hear at gun shows.

Thanks for the advise,
Scott

Flight down went without a hitch. The declaration tag now is locked inside of the case that the gun is in. The ammo went in my normal luggage which had to remail unlocked in case of it needing an inspection. Funny thing is that yes they didn't put the case on the conveyor, they opened up this "garage door, and slid it out onto the floor instead (lucky I noticed the door opening). There she sat all by herself :(... Well, went shooting, did some riding, had a blast (rented some pistols too). Due to some delay issues with my flight back, I had some concerns with myself (and my luggage) making the connecting flight at the same time. So I gave my bud a quick course in the care and feedign of the rifles, and left them in NC for him to play with. He'll bring them back to me when he drives up for Xmas. I figure that this is better then having them flying around the country and getting possibly lost. Funny thing is that they would have been fine, as my flight was so messed up I wound up on another flight on Monday instead. Oh well.
Peace
Rusty

PS I got more funny looks for the motorcycle helmet I was carrying around in a cloth bag. I didn't want it bounced off the tarmac by a handler accident, so I carried it on. The security guy asked me if it was a laptop... and the Xray person had to stare at it for a few seconds before she could figgure it out (she even backed the belt up to take a second look)... Gotta wonder what they were thinking.