Gentlemen,
As I stand in the booth all day selling my Tuffpak cases I am asked many times which lock to buy. We offer both on two of our cases and so here goes how I see both sides of the coin.
If you use the 3 digit combo TSA lock that allows TSA to insert their key in the side and unlock the lock without you having to give them the 3 digit combo then they can do so if necessary even if you are not around. If you were at your bording gate and did not hear your name called to come back and unlock your case then supposedly your case could be re inspected by them without you being there. Supposedly the case would be sent on to your destination. This will not happen with a key lock case.
Some of us (me included) do not want TSA to get into that case without us being present. I have a friend in AL that would like to know where his Swarovski binocs are to this day. It is assumed that the fell out during TSA inspection and being as they did not have his name on them that TSA is just going to hold them until he notifies them they are his (ho-ho-ho)..No I don't know why he put them in his Tuffpak instead of his case in the overhead like most of us would. Still, he has no binocs. My attitude is that if you are going to long term borrow from me then do it while I am trying to watch you.
It is my problem if I do not hear some page for me while standing at the boarding gate.
While in Reno I did hear one man say that some type TSA lock he knew of split apart and therefore was worthless. That was not on a Tuffpak. The fact that the TSA type lock does have the key hole in the side for the TSA key to go in does leave room for a problem it seems to me.
Tuffpak uses a heavy duty type TSA lock and it has a light that goes from green to red if the lock has been opened so you will know that someone has opened it without you being there.
The lock is still not as well protected by the protective ribs on the lid as the round key lock is as you have to have room to move the combo lock around some.
What do you the customer buy?
If I sell 100 cases a day then I can tell you that it still is a 50/50 split.
In the beginning when we first came out with the TSA lock it was 98% TSA lock but now a year later it is 50/50.
I guess you could say that eveyone has now tried the new cafe in town and has gone back to eating in their favorite ones.
Some buyers are under the mistaken impression that a TSA lock is required but that is not true. Every Tuffpak case has the printed TSA rules from their website inside the case.
Some say they worry about losing a key. Our key locks have two keys and I suggest you put one on a dog tag chain around your neck. If you lose that one then the hunt will most likely become unimportant anyway as most likely you lost your head!
Well, that is both sides of the coin as I know it.
I just returned from the Ovis / Gand Slam convention in Las Vegas. Mark Bansner Rifles and Empire Rifles were there with their fine guns in Tuffpak cases and Stephen Bindon of Trijicon came by and added his company name to the ranks of Tuffpak users. Accurate Arms from VA. says they will soon join the ranks so that is good news.
There were many nice rifles for sheep hunters out there and plenty of places to book a sheep or goat hunt.
In a conversation with Mark I asked what was the caliber he chambered the most and he said 300WSM and the 300 Ultra Mag. He said it was about a dead even heat between the two. He said he did very few small calibers but that 243 or 22/250 would be the two most popular that he did.
This convention will be in Vegas for the next two years. This was convention #4 for Ovis/Grand Slam.
Better tomorrow!

plus - how many bad guys do you suppose have gotten their hands on a TSA key by now

Hello Harry,

We spoke at Reno about the TSA lock legalities. I still use the original Tuffpak as well as a few friends and have never had a problem.

Last week I went to Customs to get a 4457 Form filled out and a TSA Agent was in the customs office so we had a while to talk.

He told me to read the TSA regs. Only the owner of the firearm is to have the key. His opinion was the TSA lock is not proper and you should not be able to check the case on the aircraft. To quote him " doen't you think Terrorist has TSA Keys?" What they will do with a Hunting rifle I do not know.

Scary thing was I asked him if he would allow one through TSA Security and he said "maybe" Whatever that means.

What Tradewinds said. Only the owner of the gun case is to have a key.

John

I prefer the TSA locks. With the indicator to show if a case has been opened.

I have some keyed TSA locks, btw. But prefer the combo since you can't loose a combo.

JPK

by now any baggage handler worth his salt has copies of the TSA keys.

but how exactly does TSA or anyone expect a terrorist to get in the baggage hold of an airplane to secure a gun to hijack it. And what type of plan would that be. Hmmmm... Ahmed, let's hijack flight 7455 to Seattle. I'll crawl into the luggage hold and see if some hunter checked a rifle and used a TSA lock. Damn... all the gun cases has non-TSA locks. Oh well, maybe the return flight to o-hare will have one.

And if the plane is on the ground then who cares. Most of us would laugh at him, duck, and watch the fireworks as properly armed folks take him out.

But I wonder if some sort of localized pager could be incorporated into a gun case (a 200 yard range give or take). Pager goes off if the case is opened. So at least you know when you are being ripped off. You could even set some sort of timer so that it powers down about when your flight should leave.

TSA locks on luggage, keyed locks on gun cases.

On my one and only trip to Africa I used 3 TSA combo locks with the red flag\green flag option and 1 non-TSA combo lock on my Starlight 2 rifle wheeled case. The single lock had a different combination from the TSA's just in case crooks had access to a stolen TSA key. Such a scheme set my mind at ease.

I figured if TSA had to get back inside after the first inspection, they could use their key on the TSA locks and a bolt cutter on the last lock. Then the case could go on its merry way with just the 3 TSA locks installed. A spare non-TSA lock was inside along with copies of my 4457 form for the return leg, if needed. It wasn't.

Butchloc,
The keys to Tuffpaks are not alike and I have never had one that would unlock another case (unless you ask us to key them alike which we can and do) so I doubt there is some crook about with all the keys necessary to do that.

quote:

Originally posted by onefunzr2:
On my one and only trip to Africa I used 3 TSA combo locks with the red flag\green flag option and 1 non-TSA combo lock on my Starlight 2 rifle wheeled case. The single lock had a different combination from the TSA's just in case crooks had access to a stolen TSA key. Such a scheme set my mind at ease.

I figured if TSA had to get back inside after the first inspection, they could use their key on the TSA locks and a bolt cutter on the last lock. Then the case could go on its merry way with just the 3 TSA locks installed. A spare non-TSA lock was inside along with copies of my 4457 form for the return leg, if needed. It wasn't.

I like this set up! Great idea that I will pirate.

Thanks!

JPK

I still do not see the need for TSA locks.

If you stand there while TSA physically inspects your case, hands you back the key, and puts their little sticker on it, why in the world would they have to open it again?

Bloudraad and a tree snake for the oke that opens my gun case when im not there

quote:

Originally posted by Will:
I still do not see the need for TSA locks.

If you stand there while TSA physically inspects your case, hands you back the key, and puts their little sticker on it, why in the world would they have to open it again?

Sticker Falls off.

quote:

Originally posted by Will:
I still do not see the need for TSA locks.

If you stand there while TSA physically inspects your case, hands you back the key, and puts their little sticker on it, why in the world would they have to open it again?

I don't know, but mine has been opened after I watched it get closed up. (all the stuff was in it when I openned it and put back where it belonged, btw.)

JPK

quote:

Originally posted by JPK:

quote:

Originally posted by Will:
I still do not see the need for TSA locks.

If you stand there while TSA physically inspects your case, hands you back the key, and puts their little sticker on it, why in the world would they have to open it again?

I don't know, but mine has been opened after I watched it get closed up. (all the stuff was in it when I openned it and put back where it belonged, btw.)

JPK

Your Guns or just bags have been opened after going through TSA?

Last trip, Sept to Oct '06, duffle was opened on the way to Africa, guns were opened on the way back. Flight was Dulles - Jo'burg - Harare and return in the opposite direction. (So the gun case wasn't closed by TSA, but by me, in Zim, but the duffle was inspected, really ammo box and contents, by TSA in Dulles and locked in front of me.)

I've been wondering if TSA has personnel in foreign countries since then, or if they check bags coming in too. Maybe a Dulles phenomenon because of the proximity to DC?

Nothing missing on either occasion, but my duffle was a mess inside. Ammo was in a TSA locked container in my duffle, btw.

JPK

I had a duffle gone through in AMS. It had TSA Lock. Nothing missing. I never had a gun case opened. A friend comming back from Canada had a problem with a connecting flight. He was on the aircraft and they called him to the Gate Agent. She had him go to the ticket counter. The Ticket Counter had him go with a baggage handler down under the terminal to a office with a TSA Agent. He had two gun cases and said there was no tag that they had been inspected. Asked both guys to open the cases. My friend said it was a joke. The guy opened the lid and closed it in about 1 second. They both missed the flight.

He told my friend they (TSA) where never supposed to open a gun case without the owner present. He confirmed what the TSA Agent in Tampa told me that the owner is the only one to have a key. According to the TSA Agent I talked to said if you use TSA locks you have a 50/50 chance it will not make it on the Plane.

The point of all this is it is a crap shoot and all depends which Ticket Agent, which Ticket Agent, and which TSA Agent that happens to be on duty.

It just seems to me it should be real easy to set up consitant rules.