Good morning all, it has been a few years since my last trip to Africa. I have used a Tuff-Pak for the past couple of trips loading the gun in a softcase along with boots, jacket, etc...It has worked very well.

But...I know that times are a changing so I am curious if airlines are still OK with a Tuff-Pak and packed with a gun and extra items. I am flying United to J-Berg and then on to Pemba, MZ.

I appreciate any insight you may have,

Jim

I flew last October from San Francisco to Dar es Salaam with mine. No issues at all.

Make sure you stay under the 50 pounds limit.

Have a copy of the airline baggage rules with you. Most airlines do not have issues with other items in the gun case, some do.

Ask your travel agent.

I have moved on from TuffPack due to TSA not allowing me to repack the case. They take everything out and then just shove it back in. Now, I use a Pelican case instead.

Yes, a Tuff-Pac still works fine.
I always ask politely if I can repack mine and lock it myself after the inspection.
So far, so good.

quote:

Originally posted by bwanajay:
Yes, a Tuff-Pac still works fine.
I always ask politely if I can repack mine and lock it myself after the inspection.
So far, so good.

Like Andy, I switched to a Pelican case because the idiots in San Francisco airport wouldn't let me in the TSA area to repack it myself and when I got to Africa all my stuff was jammed inside the case.

The only place I had a problem wih a Tuff pak was in Moscow last year. They made me empty it out completely of my clothing etc,. and allowed the rifle to rattle around in its soft case!

Its a bullk case but its a great case!

quote:

Originally posted by reddy375:
The only place I had a problem wih a Tuff pak was in Moscow last year. They made me empty it out completely of my clothing etc,. and allowed the rifle to rattle around in its soft case!

Its a bullk case but its a great case!

This is the reason that I never purchased one for travel. They are great cases but just not for firearms. I also believe that with the ever increasing regulations with air travel and firearms, the days of using the tuff-pack are numbered. One other thing is that with all of the stuff in the case and the use of scanners, again with all the stuff, there is the possibility of the agent not having a clear enough view of it and that’s initiates what happened to Fjold and reddy. Not worth the risk, at least to me.

JP


Formerly JPaul

I have used mine on the trip to the Selous last October and to Ethiopia this March and no issues except at TSA where they do make you empty the case. However, like Jay they have begun to let me repack. It is handy to reduce the size of your bags... if not for the ammo issue, I could travel with a Tuffpak and a carry-on when heading to Africa!

Still use mine regularly.

thank you all for your replies, seems like I should be good, I like the fact that I can pack extra stuff along w/ the gun and soft case. take care and hunt hard!

+1 for the Tuffpak! Took mine to Canada last month and picked up one of their soft sacks, had the soft rifle case zipper side up and aligned with the sack’s zipper, so TSA inspection and repacking was a breeze. Just zipped both the soft case and Tuff sack up, slid it back in the hard case, and was on my way.

It was nice to travel with one less checked bag and the look of the Tuffpak is a bit more incognito than other cases

I bought one of the Pelican Air cases that I am planning to use this Summer. I'm hoping to get away with having a single checked bag for clothing and my rifle.

It is big enough to hold my clothing/gear as well as my double while its broken down. A smaller Pelican case will hold my ammo. Mine does not have the TSA locks, but provisions for my own padlocks. Idea is to keep my iron-sighted double in the soft SKB takedown case inside.



Anyone see any issues? I'm flying Delta and Airlink.

Check regulations for Airlink. They might require the firearm to be in its own hard case.

will do Tanks, thanks for the heads up

What locks do the regulations require? TSA for everything but guns and non-TSA for the gun.

Been using the Tuffpack for 16 years now and never an issue. I only have my guns in soft cases inside the pack. I have never put anything else in there with them.

Tuff-Pak did great August 2021 on Ethiopian to Zim.

I’ve been using mine since 2005 with no issues.

I'm in SA as I type this and I brought the Tuff pak along without any issues.