Kathi,

Can an air traveler take ammo (in proper ammo boxes) in a duffel bag packed with clothes as checked luggage?

Or does the ammo need to be in a hard sided suitcase?

Also, is it necessary to have the ammo in a locked metal box (cash box) inside of other luggage, or does it count if the suitcase/duffel bag has a lock on it.

Please assume DELTA/SAA. Thank you.

I am not Kathi, but I hope this helps. Here is the TSA's page on transporting firearms and ammunition. Note that the firearms and ammunition can be packed in the same locked container (gun case). TSA site

The following link takes you to Delta's site. Scroll down the page to the section on Shooting Equipment. Please note the following:
"Rifles
One rifle case containing:

* two or fewer rifles (with or without scopes)
* one shooting mat
* one small pistol tool kit
* noise suppressers
* 11 lbs. (approx. 5kgs) of ammunition
Delta's page

One thing more. I suggest that you print the pages I provided links to and have them in your posession when you travel. If one of the people you encounter tells you something different, you will have the information there to back you up. If you do decide to take your ammunition separately, it must be in a locked container which may be packed in your duffle or other luggage.

Though it may help no amount of printed website pages will get you past a ticket agent ....even if those pages are from their own sight.... unfortunately they have the power to decline most anything even your ticket.
Better is to be polite ask to see an actual airline employee (rather than temp hired to do the ticketing) manager, state your case then comply with their wishes.
Much easier to be flexible than correct at times!

500 with all the safari treking you claim I'd think you'd know the regs inside and out by now!

In RSA I had a SAA employee make me put ammo in guncase When checking in at Joberg....When I went to the police station to clear up my import permit as I was leaving they made me remove my ammo...It was hand delivered to me in Atlanta by a SAA at the luggage pickup going thru customs..

Mike

I've used duffel bags when flying to africa a few times, but will on my upcoming trip use one of my Zarges case instead. Made of aluminium, it's dustproof, virtually waterproof, and also airport worker proof. With 2 padlocks, no one can hassle me with ammo regs etc. This particular one holds 42 liters, and is big enough for the stuff I need for 2 weeks down in Zim. It seems to me that a lot of guys bring more stuff with them then is needed, and a super-sized duffelbag makes it easier to get "sloppy" with the packing IMO.

what good are locks on any luggage other than your gun case? TSA tells me to remove mine or risk having them cutoff with every flight I've taken since 9/11.
I travel alot often I take my shotguns if wingshooting or sporting clays is to be found near my destination. I always transport my shotguns in and lock my SKB Golf Travel Case with the keys that were supplied when I bought it,keeping a spare in my wallet after airport checkin. But the ammo is placed in a $10 Wally World cash box locked inside of an unlocked wheeled duffel bag from Cabelas...I've had the locks cutoff whenever I placed a small padlock on the duffel.
** what good is a lock on a fabric duffel anyway?? Anyone with a Leatherman can be in it in 10 seconds if they wish to.Wyn

quote:

Originally posted by wynwood:
what good are locks on any luggage other than your gun case? TSA tells me to remove mine or risk having them cutoff with every flight I've taken since 9/11.

Hey, anyone such as you who has allegedly shot 19 cape buffalo, including 2 of them with a 45-70 in Zimbabwe during World War II (as you said on another forum; sorry to bring up your past ), would know that you can have your bag screened by TSA and then lock it. Or you can use TSA locks which the TSA can get into. Or you can place substitute padlocks inside your suitcase on top so that TSA can replace the locks if they cut yours off.

Just look at all the wonderful solutions there are to this problem.

Erik,

I use a Tuffpak (even though it does not have a padlock ) and a Pelican kind of like this (but no foam):



However, I take a 2nd bag as well and split my ammo up between the two. That way in case one gets lost, I will still have some ammo to use.

So, rather than purchasing an extra suitcase, I was considering taking along a duffel bag with extra clothes, half my ammo, some snacks, etc.

Most airlines require the ammo to be in a locked hard container. It doesn't say the bag itself has to be a hard case. A locked ammo box inside should suffice though I have no experience within the USA itself.

Other than the USA most countries advise locking all bags. A slashed duffel also helps with the insurance claim.

Erik,

whats the weight and dimensions of your case empty? Thanks. Al non-US hunters have to keep within a lower maximum or pay excess charges. Sometimes inevitable. I met an Aussie proctologist in Italy who was going mountain climbing in Sicily. His philosophy was it is inevitable to pay excess charges for some activities if flying. But you probably know how to travel light.

quote:

Originally posted by 500grains:

quote:

Originally posted by wynwood:
what good are locks on any luggage other than your gun case? TSA tells me to remove mine or risk having them cutoff with every flight I've taken since 9/11.

Hey, anyone such as you who has allegedly shot 19 cape buffalo, including 2 of them with a 45-70 in ZIMBABWE during World War II (as you said on another forum),

Hey 500 wounder if he knows ZIMBABWE wasn't Zimbabwe durring WWII?

The problem today is, the rules change with every shift on the ticket counter, since 9/11. HLS has everyone confused, especially at airports! It used to be a NO NO to put your ammo in the same container as your rifles, it used to be that the ammo had to be in a seperate locked container, and it used to be that you had to hang a firearms tag on the outside of your gun case,And when I went to work for the AIRLINE I retired from,in 1996, after 31 yrs, I used to travel with my rifles in soft cases, checked with the pilot in the cockpit, and pick it up at the door of the plane on arrival! I USED TO build rifles in our machine shop in our hanger on the airport!

All that was "USED TO BE"!

Once again in his haste to try and make trouble 500 has once again misrepresented the facts i posted from another site.
I have killed my buffalo dating back t WWII era.True
HIS words about me killing them during WWII in Zim are not mine...mine were in response to his question of where I killed them with a 45-70 and a longbow. To which I replied in Zim.
HE FAILED to mention I killed the majority with a 458Lott, and a a 404 Jeffery

quote:

Originally posted by NitroX:
Most airlines require the ammo to be in a locked hard container. It doesn't say the bag itself has to be a hard case. A locked ammo box inside should suffice though I have no experience within the USA itself.

Other than the USA most countries advise locking all bags. A slashed duffel also helps with the insurance claim.

Erik,

whats the weight and dimensions of your case empty? Thanks. Al non-US hunters have to keep within a lower maximum or pay excess charges. Sometimes inevitable. I met an Aussie proctologist in Italy who was going mountain climbing in Sicily. His philosophy was it is inevitable to pay excess charges for some activities if flying. But who probably know how to travel light.

NitroX,

The case weighs 4.7 kg empty, and is 60x40x25cm big. A hard case like this is besides the locking factor, also a good idea IMO as things inside won't get crushed. I've had contents in some duffel bags that looked like they had been stomped on by the baggage guys.

Wynwood,

I don't know about in the US, but travelling the rest of the world with a duffelbag without any kind of lock on the zipper is asking for trouble. As most people who travel much are aware of. In many places in the world, especially in the 3rd world, airport personel will empty valuables out of such unlocked bags in a second... And proving that your stuff's been stolen without a cut or rip in the duffel bag is going to be virtually impossible. A lock doesn't mean that they can't cut the duffel bag open, but it will take more time, and be more obvious than the badguy just unzipping a bag, helping himself, and then zipping it up again.

As 500grains pointed out, there are many simple ways of getting around the TSA problem.

there are indeed many solutions to TSA created travel problems. But does anyone really think TSA will replace your locks with those extras you have placed in your case 100% of the time...or that the same Leatherman that slits open a CANVAS DUFFEL with practiced hands can't open a plastic box or alum. case with as much ease?
Trusting on baggage handler's honesty is a fools game I agree, and travel locks from TSA are just a few bucks.
I hold fast to the theory that if I must get a high dollar item to another country or back here to the USA I ALWAYS send it Fed Ex or the likes,insured. Having at times with a trusted safari company sent my equipment ahead.The trouble is most companies don't wish to have the responsiblity of holding those items (bows,etc.).

quote:

or that the same Leatherman that slits open a CANVAS DUFFEL with practiced hands can't open a plastic box or alum. case with as much ease?

I guess Leatherman has come out with a new metal cutting chainsaw version that I haven't seen... And the Pelicase is not something that is easy to cut into either. Both these MilSpec cases can take a lot more beating than you might be aware of.

As for sending equipment ahead of you by FedEx or simular, instead of bringing them on the plane, well that's something I doubt many hunters will ever do...

quote:

Originally posted by wynwood:
Once again in his haste to try and make trouble 500 has once again misrepresented the facts i posted from another site.
I have killed my buffalo dating back t WWII era.True
HIS words about me killing them during WWII in Zim are not mine...mine were in response to his question of where I killed them with a 45-70 and a longbow. To which I replied in Zim.
HE FAILED to mention I killed the majority with a 458Lott, and a a 404 Jeffery

Not so,actually. When asked what year you shot 2 buffalo with a 45-70, which you previously stated was in ZIM, you said, "world war II era". ANd you also said that you killed 2 buff with a bow.

But on http://www.go-on-safari.com you posted that you had only been on 1 safari, and that was for plains game only in Namibia.

It would be much easier to keep all this straight if you just told the truth.

hey super sleuth where on earth did you get from that post I was only on 1 safari in my lifetime???? Thge subject of that thread was PG and Namibia but apparently you missed that.
Unlike your 1 ele that you have shot and reshot then rereshot so many freaking times that it made you an internet authority on eles in your own mind!! I've been there often thruout my life both hunting while on business retreats and on my own safaris.
I will defer to your(self proclaimed) holiness most anyone whom reads this AR site knows you for what you are ...a royal pain in the ass trying to convince all that will swallow your spew your word is the final word on all Africa especially DG.
so while you sit there in front of your laptop with your hand down your pants drooling for another go at some poster on "your" forums I will not longer entertain you....bugger off asswipe...or growup!

wanted to add all this comes from a poster too cheap to pay Observer fees of $175/day thinking the company should put up his observer for free just because they're elated the great ele slayer 500 Grs is in camp................good God the vanity he has.

I ordered two 100 round MTM ammo cases that will hold everything from 22-250 to 375HH from midway for $8 and change apiece; added a $2.50 hasp from Home Depot to each one with some nuts & bolts after some minor alterations to the plastic with my Dremel tool; and I now have two very nice, very lockable hard cases suitable for shipping ammo. I can pack up to 200 rounds in two relatively small boxes that meets the TSA requirements for a lockable, hard container. My son and I are going, so we get one apiece.

I learned long ago that locks are to keep honest people honest. They are delaying devices, and if mine is locked and yours is not, guess who is going to get opened? If you really don't want it stolen, put it in your carry on, if it is permissible. You can't put scopes, bolts, etc in your carry on. Kudude

500 grs
I have been to Africa several times and all I have used is a Filson duffel with ammo in MTM ammo boxes. I have flown KLM and SAA with absolutely no problems. My last trip to Tanzania in 2004 was the first time my ammo was weighed. I flew out of IAH.

As I understand the TSA regs you can ship your ammo in the same locked hard case as the guns. I divide my ammo between the gun case and my rolling suitcase. I put the ammo in the rolling suitcase in the Walmart petty cash box recommended by Terry B. many many years ago. I then, in addition to locking my gun case and keeping the only key to it, put black zip ties on my rolling suitcase after I have informed the airlines check in counter that I have ammo in the rolling suitcase. Or, I let the baggage inspectors know that the rolling suitcase has ammo and request to zip tie it after they have either inspected it or it has gone through their machine. The machines are right out front of the check in which makes it convenient to let everyone know. In any event, the zip ties are for my protection and don't seem to bother the inspection personnel like the locks do.

Kathi...I have sent you two E mails re: safari travel. I have yet to receive an answer.
Did you ever get one?
Mims

Mims,
Sent you a pm.......

Kathi
Have not received a PM

I dare say that the smallest number of rounds for a rifle I have ever taken to Africa was fifty. I would be hard pressed to get a 50 rd ammo box in my gun case after two rifles, tools, slings, etc. I have previously placed my ammo in MTM cases in my luggage; however, it now seems necessary to lock your ammo in a hard case before hand.

In that regard, as mentioned above, I bought a MTM 100rd case, added to it a simple hasp, and bought a lock. For about $12.50 USD, I have a lockable hard case. I'd draw a diagram, but it is really simple: one MTM case, mark out your hasp outlines, cut a space for the hasp to fit, and put it together. Kudude

I have the Pelican 1200 case. It will hold 5 factory boxes of .375 H&H easily or 4 .458 size boxes with foam removed. Easily lockable and very durable.

http://www.cases4less.com has good prices on all Pelican products.

Regards,

RCG

There is little doubt Pelican makes a great case, but most I've seen are heavy for their size. Heavy case equates overweight charges very easily.
The Walmart petty cash box holds 3 boxes of 300 Mag ammo (60 rounds) with ease and leaves enough room for a cased multitool such as Leatherman and a small rifle cleaning kit also. Is lockable to meet regs and costs under $10.