Ryan gives the all the insight you need when it comes to traveling with firearms and ammunition including flying and driving out-of-state.
DRIVING & FLYING WITH FIREARMS
– 2 episodes ago (17) was about shipping firearms
- My recommended method because it’s easier than traveling or flying with your firearms
- If you get your FFL (easy to do with RocketFFL) you can ship them easily
Driving with Firearms:
- Peaceable Journey Law
- Part of the Firearm Owners’ Protection Act
- Allows you to travel interstate, on an occasional trip, with your firearm in your vehicle without being forced to worry about rules and laws in the states you pass through.
- Still required to respect the laws of the state or city where you’re at.
- Only applicable to you if the firearm, and your possession of it, it legal in your starting and destination states.
- In between, you must keep the firearm locked in a container separate from the passenger compartment. Either in the trunk or locked away from you and separate from the ammunition in SUV’s.
- Doesn’t guarantee you won’t be hassled by local law enforcement.
- Most important: Applies to the firearm being in your vehicle, the trip being an occasional one and you must be passing through the states.
- Not applicable if you make the trip regularly, you’re stopping to sight-see or visit businesses or if you’re staying at a hotel. Must be passing through.
- Stopping for restroom breaks, gasoline or a drive-through is acceptable.
FLYING WITH FIREARMS:
- Permissible but rules must be followed.
- Make sure you’re going to be at an airport in a place where it’s legal to have firearms. Always be sure of your departure and destination state laws.
- When checking your bags, you must declare you have a firearm but that you are not going to carry it on you or have it in your carry-on bag. It must be in your checked baggage.
- Fill out the tag or form they will provide you, which you’re signing to confirm the firearm is unloaded. Often, they’ll ask you to verify this fact.
- Place the form or tag in with the gun.
- Despite these rules, the interactions you have with each gate agent, airline or TSA person can be different.
- Best advice: go with the flow. Do not argue, just follow their instructions.
- Goal is not to be right, it’s to stay out of trouble & get to your destination.
- Recommendation: Print out the TSA’s rules (click here to open their website)
- If you encounter someone who says you can’t travel with a firearm, show them.
- Firearm must be locked in your baggage (*Please note that I said carry-on baggage during the show by mistake. I meant to say checked-bagged.*)
- Locked in a hard-sided container which includes plastic, just not soft.
- Handguns: Best in the case it originally came in.
- Rifles: A hard case such as a Pelican (click here to check out options)
- How it needs to be locked depends on the airline and/or airport.
- Typically, one padlock in the factory plastic box is sufficient.
- Sometimes, they test to see if it can be pried open on any side.
- Be very careful to get a nice hard-sided case that cannot be pried open.
- Make sure you have padlocks in every hole available for them on your case
- Do not use TSA locks.
- Cases must be locked so only you have access to the firearm.
- Be prepared to argue this in some instances.
- This is a situation where the TSA rules handout comes in handy.
- TSA approved locks compromise the security of your firearm.
- Using a TSA lock allows access by someone other than you to the firearm which is against federal law.
- They’ll have you sign a declaration that it’s empty; make sure it is.
- You may be brought to a separate screening area:
- They’ll swab the case down.
- If they ask you to open it, do so, but maintain possession of the key.
- Never give them your keys to walk away with.
FLYING WITH AMMUNITION:
o The rules just say ammunition can’t be loose.
o They prefer it be in the original cardboard box, not in a high-security case.
o It may also be in the magazine.
You can have an unloaded handgun locked in a case with a loaded magazine.
o Despite the rule, you may occasionally be asked by an agent to separate the ammunition from the firearm.
Always comply with their request and place the ammunition box loose in your bag.
– FLYING SUMMARY:
o Keep in mind you’ll have different experiences every time.
o Use your judgement and follow the rules as best you can.
o Research ahead of time and ensure you know the state laws.
Please check out my latest project, Mayday Safety. We’re hoping it helps keep kids and schools safer. The mobile app is out and free so please download it! RocketFFL course sign-ups have been very high which is great! Please know that the course isn’t just about the application process, that’s just one chapter. It goes through all the background information and considerations you need to know to apply correctly and get set up the right way the first time.
Great news on the ATF compliance course, Jackie & I made a lot of progress on it last week so it’s coming soon!
Info@ryancleckner.com