Did a little surfing on this site before posting and couldn't really find an answer.

Looking for some advice. Traveling to Colorado to hunt PD with my daughter. We have two rifles and 1000 rounds of ammo.

Probably will mail the ammo but should I travel with the rifles or try and mail them as well?

Less hassle at the airport.

Just looking for some comments/suggestions..

Thks.

Just go online to the airline you will be on, the information will be there, somtimes tricky to find. It is really not that complicated. Study their rules, somtimes when you get to the airport you will find yourself dealing with employees that don't know what to do. Some airlines let you put your ammo in with the rifle, others don't. But either way, it is no problem. You will need a lockable hard case for the rifles. Remember to smile and be paitent. I always give myself an extra hour arriving at the airport with firearms.

Its my understanding that USPS will not take ammo. They will do guns, and you can mail them to yourself in care of someone at your destination.

UPS has done ammo before, but I had no joy with fed ex last fall.

Make sure that you don't break the ammo weight limit for your airlines (5kg is the international limit, but some airlines differ domestically.) The comment on checking with the airline you are using is good.

UPSing your ammo may be cheaper than flying with it due to weight, but other than that there is likely no advantage to shipping firearms and ammo.

You'll need a good hard case like an SKB or a heavy gage aluminum or similar to hold your guns when traveling by air. You will need to present the case to the airline check-in agent who will need to inspect to see that the guns are unloaded, after which you will sign a tag to go inside the case stating that the guns are unloaded. You will then take the case to the TSA agent (who may not even wish to look inside it) and after the TSA agent approves it, you will lock the case and retain the key.

TSA regulations allow ammunition to be carried in the same case as the gun. I'm unaware of any domestic airline which has a rule otherwise (some foreign airlines require ammunition to be packed separately). However, most do limit you to 5kg (11 lbs) of ammunition.

All of that being said, now that most airlines are charging extra for checked baggage, it may be more economical and less hassle to simply ship your guns to "yourself" in care of your outfitter. Since you are doing this with your ammunition, it is little extra difficulty to do so with your guns.

I advise using Fedex, which seems to be both easier to deal with and take better care of your packages. Give your local Fedex office a call, tell them you wish to ship a firearm, and follow their instructions on where to take your guns. It is best to always save the cardboard container your guncase came in for shipping instances such as these. An alternative is to buy a new, inexpensive foam-lined gun case which will come in a cardboard box specifically for shipping purposes. Lots of gun dealers do exactly that.

After your hunt, your outfitter will need to do the reverse of this to ship the guns back to you.

I HATE flying with guns. Afraid of loss and damage.

I would drive to Colorado.

I would drive to Zimbabwe, if there was a road.

The problem with Fed Ex is that they will require that the firearm be shipped to a FFL holder. Also, when shipping ammo, it must go ground and be marked "ORMD" because it is considered hazardous material.

The best bet is to drive if you are carrying more than 5kg (11 pounds) of ammunition.

There was a very good test on about 10 hard cases in a gun rag a year ago or so. I will find it and post a link but some of the best cases that we all think are bullet-proof didn't fare to good.

As a matter of fact none performed 100%.

garyn

On NA hunts I'm sending my rifles ahead via USPS. Cheap and works great. Not having to deal with rifles while flying is great. You should be able to UPS the ammo no problem. Experiences vary depending upon the UPS personel encountered.

Mark

Just picked up a SKB double case and it appears to be very sturdy and capable. Talked to UPS and they gave me all the appropriate markings for the ammo, can't exceed 66#. Does not require special Haz Mat handling.

So will mail ammo and carry the guns...

Now looking for some musical instrument decals to place on the outside.

Ashame we must go to these lengths.

Went to Quebec two years ago and my single rifle case had a four inch gough in the side...

That experience is worth another post, They were going to take my rifle on the return trip because I couldn't prove I owned it...

quote:

Originally posted by garyn:


Now looking for some musical instrument decals to place on the outside.

Throw me a bone here....what are these for?

Drive to Colorado, this way you, your guns and ammo get there with no hassle. All you are looking at is a couple of tank fulls of fuel for the car and a night in a Hotel. Unless you have time problems. I live in CT and if I don't have to cross an Ocean to get to were I want to go, I drive. And this from a long time professional pilot.

garyn,

Go ahead and ship the ammo since you're bring what will likely exceed the 11 lb weight limit.

Bring the guns on the plane as normal. I do this about a half dozen times a year, with minimal problems. You'll find Colorado is a very gun friendly location to fly into and out of. I would guess that you might be flying to Denver, which you shouldn't have any problems. Now, getting out of California might be a different story!

Good luck and I hope 1000 rounds is enough for you. You can easily shoot that many rounds in a dumb town with plenty of targets in a single day.

quote:

Originally posted by N E 450 No2:
I HATE flying with guns. Afraid of loss and damage.

I would drive to Colorado.

I would drive to Zimbabwe, if there was a road.

A man after my own heart! If I had time I would take a boat and then overland to my destination in Africa!

quote:

Throw me a bone here....what are these for?

Ted. The anti-gun baggage handlers are less likely to smash a guitar case than a gun case, hence the music decals

quote:

Originally posted by garyn:

quote:

Throw me a bone here....what are these for?

Ted. The anti-gun baggage handlers are less likely to smash a guitar case than a gun case, hence the music decals

What happens if they don't like guitars and perfer pianos?

I think most know the difference between a quitar case and a gun case, unless you have some kind of weird looking gun case!

quote:

Originally posted by graybird:

quote:

Originally posted by garyn:

quote:

Throw me a bone here....what are these for?

Ted. The anti-gun baggage handlers are less likely to smash a guitar case than a gun case, hence the music decals

What happens if they don't like guitars and perfer pianos?

I think most know the difference between a quitar case and a gun case, unless you have some kind of weird looking gun case!

Fact: baggage primates do not discriminate. They treat all passengers' belongings exactly the same (like shit, that is). Don't kid yourself that they'd be more gentle to a musical instrument than a firearm. Seriously.