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I have been reading through the various airline baggage allowance 'directives' and am a little confused when it comes to determing the total weight you are allowed. For economy passengers, the baggage weight appears to vary between 20 and 23kg. Then there is the issue of 'bulky sporting equipment & musical instruments'. Obviously, firearms must be transported in a locked, full flight type case. However, reading the rules about skis, surfboards and golf bags/clubs, I am unsure whether the rifle and gun case weight is included in your 'general baggage weight allowance' or, since you have to pay an additional fee of between £50 and £100 each way, your rifle /gun case is separate / additional to your weight allowance. For those who fly regularly, going hunting etc, can you help me? I found it difficult making 23kg when I did a hypothetical packing list for a nominal 8.5lbs rifle, 15.4 lbs gun case, a Mystery Ranch style backpack, a 0 F rated sleeping bag etc. In fact, I was about 3.5 kg over the limit, what with clothing, secure ammo box etc, etc. thanks. | ||
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each airline is different, call them and ask Mike Legistine actu? Quid scripsi? Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.  What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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....and when you decide, print out their regs. the day of or day before you depart and bring it with you to the airport. I've read on these pages of many airline employees not know their own airline regulations/rules!!!!! Robert If we can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people, under the pretense of taking care of them, they must become happy. Thomas Jefferson, 1802 | |||
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I've never flown internationally with a firearm, but I've flown many times domestically, and on different airlines. My rifle case carries two hunting rifles and two full boxes of ammo. With locks and in the as-shipped condition, it weighs 47 lbs, just shy of the 50 lb maximum. It goes in as just another checked bag. It costs if I fly anyone but Southwest here in the States. On Southwest, there is no fee for a second checked bag. The airlines have never given me much flack when I travel with this rifle case. Sometimes it arrives on the regular baggage carousel and sometimes they deliver it to the oversize claim. I check both. My other checked bag is our hunting equipment and clothes. I find I usually have to put my boots and a couple of other things in my carry-on backpack in order for this suitcase to slip in under the 50 lb limit. BTW, this bag usually has the clothing and equipment for two people. Don't know if it helps or not, but that's been my experience. | |||
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On most transatlantic flights (at least on the carriers I have flown with of late: Delta, Northwest, Lufthansa, Air France etc etc), the weight of your firearm and case is indeed a part of your "standard" weight allowance - mostly 50 lbs, if you fly "monkey class", as I do. Any "firearms handling fees" I have come across have not applied towards fees for overweight luggage. Please don't ask me what the pupose of the fee is, in that case?? These days, most US airlines also stipulate only one piece of checked luggage, so checking a gun case and a bag separately normally also qualifies you for an extra fee on that account... Some airlines may be willing to waiver this in lieu of the firearms handling fee?? I hear you about the difficulty of staying below 50 lb luggage allowance when you travel with outdoor equipment and a gun... That is one reason I mostly travel with my Blaser R93. The takedown case slips inside the duffle bag avoiding the fee for the extra checked piece of luggage. And the takedown case is lighter than a regular size gun case, saving on weight in the process. This system is a bit harder to work with at Customs (unpack gun...), but other than that works a treat. To save weight, travel wearing your hunting boots (remove on plane), jacket etc, maximize what you pack in your handluggage (no ammo, though, airport security don't take too well to ammo showing up on the x-ray of your handluggage...  ).- mike ********************* The rifle is a noble weapon... It entices its bearer into primeval forests, into mountains and deserts untenanted by man. - Horace Kephart | |||
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The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Hunting American Big Game Hunting Baggage weight allowance & firearms
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