Wife and I are flying to Florida for a quick hunt and I wanted to take a .308 with suppressor. Hadn’t heard of anyone having issues and couldn’t find anything special on TSA website, so packed a copy of tax stamp, just in case. No issue with American Airlines ticket agent, she had no clue, and TSA guy told me they had no special rule or guidance and that he personally had no issue, but added that there are TSA personnel that go strictly by the book and if the “book” doesn’t give guidance then there might be an issue. Easy out of DFW, will see in a few days how it works out of Florida.

If your silencer is on a non NFA firearm (legal barrel length, et. al.) you're good. If it's on an SBR then you have some hoops to jump through.

Silencer Central says:

Your silencer is an NFA (National Firearms Act) item and no paperwork or forms are required when transporting suppressors across state lines. For other NFA items, “the registered owner of a destructive device, machine gun, short-barreled shotgun, or short-barreled rifle needs authorization to lawfully transport such items interstate” per the ATF. If you are taking any of these items outside of your home state an ATF Form 5320.20 must be approved prior to travel.


Yes, flying with a suppressor is likely to be legal, just know a few simple points. At the airline’s check-in desk, declare the suppressor and check the case with the desk attendant. The firearms case (note: a hard-sided container with locks on each available eyelet is required to check firearms) that contains the suppressor will be grouped with the checked bags and stowed in a section of the plane with luggage and cargo. The suppressor cannot be brought into the cabin in a carry-on bag.

I flew with one earlier this year through Atlanta, J’burg and Polokwane. No one ever looked at them. I did have a 4457 for it and my tax stamp paperwork just in case.

quote:

Originally posted by Sniper:
I flew with one earlier this year through Atlanta, J’burg and Polokwane. No one ever looked at them. I did have a 4457 for it and my tax stamp paperwork just in case.

Same… I asked this question last year flying from TN to TX
No issue at all. They couldn’t have cared less

The danger these days is always catching a moron or rogue TSA agent