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Trenton G. Twining
# What sort of information does the Firearm Declaration Form (SS-161)
# require?
# The travel agent told me that it must be completed before a firearm
# will be
# accepted by the check-in baggage counter.
IIRC it is your declaration that the gun is unloaded. The airlines have
no one competent to check a gun to see if it is loaded.
Free men own guns - www(dot)geocities(dot)com/CapitolHill/5357/
Yep. You just declare that it is unloaded. BTW, you must also -show-
them that it is At least I've had to. It's no big deal.
If you refuse to sign it, the gun won't go on the plane, and who knows
what else might ensue.
Whatever you do, don't try to sneak a gun in checked baggage without
declaring it. The doo-doo will get very deep, very fast should you try
that.
J. Del Col
Of course, my preference would be to fly on airlines that don't go
anywhere near the US - and now that Air Canada and Air NZ operate direct
Auckland-Vancouver - that's possible...
W
You declare the gun is unloaded. Copy goes into luggage. You need to
contact your airline. There are other specific requirements and limitations
on ammo.
Of course, in Canada and New Zealand there isn't much of an issue about
travelling with firearms, as both countries are actively abolishing the
class of people who might do such things.
True, neither country has gone as far off the deep end of gun-banning the
way the UK and Australia have done; but they're well underway. The
provincial governments of Ontario and Quebec (the main population centers)
are busy working to have all handguns banned nationwide, although other
provinces are pushing back.
Personally, I've found that with the post-9/11 security measures, firearms
owners are treated with far more courtesy and professionalism than before.
No more shrieking twits at check-in calling in a panic for a supervisor!
-- Mark --
http://staff.washington.edu/mrc
Science does not emerge from voting, party politics, or public debate.
Si vis pacem, para bellum.
# EVERY piece of
# baggage on EVERY commercial flight in the USA gets x-rayed in at least 2
# planes, and computers scan all these x-rays for anything resembling
# firearms or parts of firearms... (well, that's what he said to me) and
# the bag's baggage number is compared with the records that would
# indicate whether or not a firearm was declared - no prior declaration,
# the bag is opened and the owner of the bag is called aside, also to be
# 'examined'.. Not worth the trouble - do the paperwork...
Total BS.
They don't have the scanners, resources or intelligent people to man all
those
"Checks".
They barely can X-ray the bags ONCE.
I recommend visiting the airlines website and printing their policies
regarding firearms and bringing it with you just in case. Get to the
airport at least 90 minutes before your flight - you will be waiting
to talk to an agent while most other folks use the automated ticket
machines. I don't fly a lot, but I have flown with handgun(s) three
times without any major problems. This past summer I flew out of San
Francisco and after declaring the firearms and signing the form, a man
said "come with me". He took my bag and we went upstairs to a room
where TSA contract workers searched the bag by hand. This was a HUGE
duffle bag with four bicycle panniers (saddle bags) in it - you see, I
had been on a bicycle trip from Seattle to San Francisco for the last
month and this bag contained most of what I carried with me, so it
took awhile. Picture the TSA person....
Opening a compartment on a pannier and finding a nylon drawstring
bag........
Opening the nylon bag to find a stainless steel cookpot with
lid........
Removing the strap that held the lid on the pot and removing the lid
to find a second pot nested in the first pot........
Inside the second pot is another nylon drawstring bag......!!
Inside that nylon bag is a very small stove.
Then she tried to put it all back together............ I was glad I
had arrived at the airport nearly 3 hours early!
The really stupid thing about all this is I had another checked bag
that they didn't look twice at, but the bag that contained a gun had
to be searched. Oh well, it was San Francisco after all. Kansas City
and Pheonix were no problem.
"Total BS.
They don't have the scanners, resources or intelligent people to man all
those
"Checks".
They barely can X-ray the bags ONCE."
I suspect that 'planes' in this context is a mathematical plane,
as in X-Y axis kind of thing.