during travel bolt in the rifle or out?

I leave mine out

Out.

X3

In. Talked to numerous custom gunsmiths over the years and they all said they ship with it in.

Safe travels...…….LL

If it’s in, less likely to ding your stock or get lost during an “inspection”.

More likely to have issues with the scope going out of whack, IME.

Easier to take it out and securely package it.

Makes it instantly obvious it’s unloaded.

Mine has always been out. Always wrapped in padding and stowed in a separate check in bag. Whenever the rifle/s was inspected I was never asked to also show the bolt.

I always take mine out. The bolt handle is a pressure point and if the case is dropped just right you increase the chances of a cracked stock.

BTW C Boddington alway recommends taking the bolt out when traveling with bolt action rifles. At least in all the books/articles I’ve read.


I’m not sure having a bolt ( or any gun part)in regular checked baggage is entirely legal.

BH63

I ship mine with the bolt out but if you do this you better know how to manually re cock the bolt incase it releases.

Not a good idea to put it in a separate piece of luggage, doubles the probability that it will not make it or get lost. And TSA has done some stupid things, and one of them is putting your rifle back in the guncase but forgetting to put the bolt back.

When shipping via UPS, always take it out as the bolt handle will poke through the side of the box.

When shipping in a hard-sided case I don't think it makes any difference at all from a safety perspective. A rifle can be unloaded with the bolt in place.

When flying I put the bolt in the side pocket of a Boyt canvas case, inside my Tuff pac, customs boys in Atlanta prefer the bolt out.

I made a road trip to Texas last week for an Axis hunt. I used an aluminum KMP case in the back of my pickup,_ left the bolt in.

quote:

Originally posted by rglenz:
When flying I put the bolt in the side pocket of a Boyt canvas case, inside my Tuff pac, customs boys in Atlanta prefer the bolt out.

I made a road trip to Texas last week for an Axis hunt. I used an aluminum KMP case in the back of my pickup,_ left the bolt in.

+1

Out in a cutout in the same case.

OUT. Much safer that way as the bolt exerts a pressure point on the case.

Always out, usually wrapped in a rag in a shoe in my tufpak. Was advised by George Caswell at Champlin that being dropped on the bolt handle can crack the stock.

OUT unless you are a moron.
Use the lock as well.

interesting question.

i travel with bolt out, i wrap it in a padded pouch and place it in the side pouch on my soft case.

now a story for you. on my last African safari in '16, TSA could not determine if my rifle was unloaded, it was packed as indicated above. therefore the local police were called to make an inspection of my rifle. this took about 1 1/2 to 2 hours for them to arrive and make the inspection. the officer left shaking there head.

so i can see it both ways, it comes down to who is working that day.

Always in.

Call me a moron but I have never removed mine and never had any issues. I generally travel with two rifles in one case and don't have a lot of extra room. It also is a check to make sure the bolts are in my rifles, i.e., not left at home and the correct bolts.

This does remind me of a story. Back in my Army days when I was flying commercial with an M-16 to the All Army matches in Ft Benning, GA. I had orders to carry the bolt on my person (the rifle was capable of fully automatic fire). No sweat going through security at the Anchorage airport, but on my return the security person looked at my orders and said, "Honey, I don't care if you is the president of the United States, you aren't taking that past security."

I went back and checked it in a box.

My 1SG when I was a Co Cdr came from Delta Force. He said he had a card that authorized him to carry his suppressed MP-5 on a plane. I asked him if he did that often; he looked at me in his always modest manner and said, "Only if we thought we would need it when we got to where we were going." In the early 80s I knew he was in Beirut a lot.

SOP for me-

Bolt Gun
Bolt: Out, padded, same case
Scope: Off, padded , same case
Ammo : separate locked case

DR: barrels Off, Scope Off, (if any), Red Dot off

Bolt out. I've shipped 100's of rifles and have had only one broken stock. That was early on when I was leaving the bolts in. Sure, UPS probably was a little to blame, but the fact the bolt was left in caused a pressure point when they drove over the case with a fork truck.

Always out. Friend arrived with me in Canada bear camp and when he removed his rifle (with bolt IN) he discovered his stock was cracked completely through. Fortunately we had a spare rifle for him to use on the hunt.

A friend of mine went on an elk hunt and when he got to camp his bolt handle was broken somewhere on his journey.
He advises everyone to take their bolt out.

My Tuffpack came with a bolt size zipper pouch that clips to a D ring in the top of the case. With the bolt out the rifle slips out of the soft case that stays in the Tuffpack more easily for security inspections.

However, ditto on knowing how to recock the the bolt with the bolt out of the rifle. Not that difficult to do but should learn at home not on a trip.

I take the bolt out, and wrap it in a cloth and put it next to the rifle.

Out

quote:

Originally posted by Dangerous Dave:
during travel bolt in the rifle or out?

Out

Never thought about it....it belongs in the rifle...UNLOADED!! That's the same question as: Do you ship your Double Rifle Assembled, or broken down??
I have always carried my bolt rifles complete, never really thought about it....NEVER a problem in 14 trips, and MANY more in US and Canada>>>
Cheers,

Guys,

Regardless of the possible damage to your rifle by leaving the bolt in there is the issue of the rifle being obviously unloaded if the bolt is out when it gets inspected. I saw a US Customs agent visibly relax when he saw the bolt was out upon inspecting my guns. People do arrive back in the US with one up the spout!

Mark

OUT. All bolts are stored in an attachable bag attached to the inside of my Tuff Pak. My bolts are each double wrapped in a pair of old clean socks, ziplocked and identified on the outside of the small ziplock, and then placed in the attachable bag which is marked with tape that says "rifle bolts"(Tuff Pak has an attachment ring installed inside of the case for the bag). I have been asked on nearly every one of my 15 African Safaris and in travelling to Mexico and Alaska by the inspection agents if the bolts are out of the rifles. Easy peasy.

.


Tavel with a double and solve the problem.




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quote:

Originally posted by Dangerous Dave:
during travel bolt in the rifle or out?

I place mine in a ziplock bag, press air out. Then put that down a pair of thick shocks. Placed against the extra foam strip away from rifle, that come with SKB case. Can’t move or cause damage.

I am 90 percent sure Delta and it’s partners require bolt out.

I have only done it a few times, but bolts wrapped in a hand towel and stuffed in a sock within a TuffPak. I think that idea came from reading things here.

Out, and attached to sling with 2 heavy zip ties so it doesn't get separated from rifle.

Out, in a small soft pistol case

quote:

Originally posted by Charlie64:
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Tavel with a double and solve the problem.




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That begs the question, assembled or in two parts...

Easy answer.

I leave the bolt in the gun where it belongs.

I have always left it out. I was always afraid that damage could occur if the gun case was dropped hard enough and on the right spot.

……..……………………………………. OUT........................ of the action but in the case with the rifle but padded!

I take the bolt out as well. I did have one instance where the bolt slipped from its cutout under the foam. Brief moment of panic when I opened the case in RSA.