Flying to Alaska - Any issues bringing a firearm?

[Scoundrel]

I may be flying from Washington State to Alaska for a week next month.

I just checked permit reciprocity. Alaska honors the permit(s) I have.
I just checked the Alaska Airlines website. The procedure for checking a firearm and ammunition seems pretty straightforward.

Has anyone on this forum made this particular trip? Any concerns I should be aware of?

[otium]

Have done it with a .338 rifle from CO to AK for a moose hunting trip. I had no issues on either side of the trip.

You should not have any issues as long as you don't try to go through the security check point with it or violate some other obscure local laws in regards to carrying goes... like New York or some other 2nd unfriendly state.

I put the rifle, obviously unloaded, in a hard-side/sturdy lockable gun case, locked it up and put the ammo in a separate container in another checked bag I had.

Brought it up to the check in counter to "declare" the firearm as part of my checked baggage, got the tag, filled it out and attached the string to the trigger guard and put it in the case, then locked it back up again. I kept the key.

A lot of folks can be on edge now a days, so I'd probably not just walk up and say "I got a gun", but rather say something like, "As part of my checked baggage, I'd like to declare a firearm".

Depending on value of your weapon you may or may not want to insure it as well.

I suspect if you don't get free checked bags, you will probably have to pay the stupid bag check fees many airlines have in place today - both ways.

Have fun in AK, it's a great place to visit.

[wyntrout]

"I would like to declare an UNLOADED FIREARM for my checked baggage."

DO have proper locks and a hard case for the firearm. I had a combo-locked steel micro-vault type gun case that I wound the cable around the suitcase's steel spine before securing it in the micro-vault. The lock for the outside of the luggage should be a TSA approved lock. They WILL open that one and look for the red or orange UNLOADED certificate that should be placed with, but not inside of, the hard case; but the lock on the hard case for the pistol should NOT be TSA openable, and nothing goes on the outside of the luggage to indicate that there's a firearm inside.

I've made ONE round trip flight to Durango, CO, and had missed flights and had to spend the night in Denver and our luggage got to Durango on time before us. On the way back home we made a flight and the luggage didn't but it was sent by courier to our home about 4 hours or so after our original arrival. It's a little unnerving, but it all worked out. On that one trip I had all kinds of ignorance on the part of the temporary check-in clerks... trying to put a tag on the outside of the luggage and trying to put the unloaded certification INSIDE the locked hard case! I carried copies of the TSA regs and the relevant airline ones as well. You have to know what's correct. Be early at check-in. Late is not good. I put my cell phone number on the airline luggage ID tag on the outside in case they needed to get in touch with me.

Any ammo should not be in original boxes and cartridges not visible, and any in the magazines should be within holders. I used a separate dry box to hold my ammo, in boxes and in mags in holders.

Unless I do something really unusual and fly to California or the North East, I'll carry my CCW again.

Wynn:)

[Scoundrel]

It's been a LONG time since I've flown.

Should the firearm case be a separate luggage item, or can it go inside a larger suitcase?

First, I'd rather avoid paying an extra $20 for a separate luggage item. Also, those micro gun vaults have a lot of mixed reviews, including how easy they are to crack open, and they kind of scream "I have a gun inside me". Wouldn't want to miss one on the carousel even for one revolution.

What's the deal about a TSA approved lock that they can/will open? Last time I flew, I used some green plastic tamper-evident thingies and some zip-ties to hold my luggage closed. If there's a gun case inside my luggage, I guess it makes sense that they'd want to verify that it was there and had a tag on it when they see it go through the x-ray machine that I assume all checked luggage goes through. So how do I give them a key to the external luggage, and where do I get a TSA-approved lock?

[GROTMAN]

I may be flying from Washington State to Alaska for a week next month.

I just checked permit reciprocity. Alaska honors the permit(s) I have.
I just checked the Alaska Airlines website. The procedure for checking a firearm and ammunition seems pretty straightforward.

Has anyone on this forum made this particular trip? Any concerns I should be aware of?

Have no advice about about your firearms. but based on on the news yesterday would highly recommend making and taking your own sandwhichs for the flight. :) Have a good trip..would like to go there one day.

[wyntrout]

I put a steel "micro vault" inside my softsided bag. The suitcase will suffice if it's "hard sided", but I haven't seen any real secure looking hard sided luggage these days. Most have soft zippers, anyhow. TSA will open your suitcase, though, no matter what kind of lock is on the outside, but if the signed unloaded certificate is with the hard case inside and it's securely locked without a TSA lock, you're good.

Here's my original post on this with pictures:

http://kahrtalk.com/showthread.php?t=2143

Wynn:)

[dkmatthews]

I've had great luck using a Pelican case for my handguns -- locking the Pelican inside my checked bag. My post on flying with firearms: http://kahrtalk.com//showthread.php?t=13103

[muggsy]

I flew to Alaska once. Man were my arms tired when I finally got there. Next time I'm taking a plane.

[dkmatthews]

I flew to Alaska once. Man were my arms tired when I finally got there. Next time I'm taking a plane.

But how did you manage taking your firearm with you??? :D

[Scoundrel]

Anyone have input on whether to put the unloaded magazines inside the locked box or outside in a separate box? That Mac guy puts them in a separate container but others say they put them in the locked box.

Seems to me as long as they're unloaded, should be fine inside the box.

[dkmatthews]

Inside shouldn't be a problem if they are unloaded.

[Scoundrel]

OK, this should do the job then. Plus a cable lock to the spine of my luggage.

I removed all but 13 rounds from that ammo box to lighten it up. That way I don't need a pack mule to bring along a little extra personal security.

[dkmatthews]

That looks perfect. Enjoy your trip!

[wyntrout]

The airlines may have stiffer requirements, but here's the TSA's:

http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/assistant/editorial_1666.shtm

Wynn:)

[Scoundrel]

Got that one, and the federal code, and the requirements for the airline i suspect will be used. Printed in triplicate - one set in the locked box (on top of the gun), one set curled up in the handle outside the box, and one set in my pocket.

[Scoundrel]

In all of the stuff I have read on this, I didn't see anyone mentioning the need to provide serial numbers to TSA or the airline.
Do they ask for this? What is included in the form you fill out to declare the firearm?

It seems odd that the government would miss this opportunity to run serial numbers through a database of stolen firearms.

But, if it were an issue, I am sure I would have seen someone talk about it in a forum thread by now. I can just see some numbskull unlocking the box and pulling the gun out to look at the serial number because he can't remember it to put it on the form.

[wyntrout]

I never even thought of serial numbers, but it would be nice to have those handy in case of theft and you needed to prove ownership. I can always access mine online from my insurance at USAA. It effectively doubles as my "database" covering just about everything but ammo/ Like the Cuban cigars, the insurance company won't buy a series of unfortunate explosions... or whatever for losses!

Wynn:)

[dkmatthews]

The declaration isn't a FORM as much as it is just an orange tag that you sign. The tag is pre-printed saying the firearm is unloaded. Serial numbers are not recorded on the tag and TSA doesn't even look at the gun. TSA just wants to make sure the gun is locked in a secure container and that you and the ticketing agent have declared that it is unloaded.

[muggsy]

but how did you manage taking your firearm with you??? :d

aiwb

[Scoundrel]

OK, so here I am in Alaska, and I have my CM9 and a NAA mini-revolver with me. Here's how it went:

1. I stripped and packed up the CM9 as indicated in my previous post, and also stuffed the NAA in that case. I removed some of the 9mm ammo from the cardboard S&B box, pulled the cylinder out of the NAA, stuffed it into a tiny ziploc bag, and stuffed it into the cardboard S&B box. So technically, it was inside a fiber container that is specifically designed to hold ammo.

2. I went to Sea-Tac (Seattle-Tacoma) International Airport.

3. I told the airline guy at the check-in counter that I wanted to declare an unloaded firearm in my checked baggage. He didn't blink an eye. He handed me this slip of paper (which is a carbon copy thing with two copies) to sign and date:
http://kahrtalk.com//attachment.php?attachmentid=6265&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1345186954

4. I signed and dated it, and then he split it in to the two copies, had me tuck one into the handle of my hard case, and stapled the other to my boarding pass. Then he sent me over to a TSA inspection station which was about 20 paces from the check-in counter.

5. The TSA inspection guy was very pleasant. I showed him the slip of paper, and he said "Oh, another one!".

6. The TSA inspection guy asked me to open my suitcase. He did not want me to open the gun case.

7. The TSA guy rubbed a little thumb-sized slip of paper all over the inside of my suitcase, including all of the pockets, and then fed it into a little machine, which said "Beep." and spit the paper back out.

8. The TSA guy rubber-stamped an inspection tag (below), and tucked it into the handle of my gun case along with the declaration slip:
http://kahrtalk.com//attachment.php?attachmentid=6266&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1345186962

9.The TSA guy kept my suitcase. He placed it right next to another suitcase that contained a firearm, and told me he'd take care of it from there. I asked him if it would come out of the luggage carousel on the other end of the flight with the rest of the luggage, or if I would have to do anything special to retrieve it. He told me I'd need to ask the airline that question.

10. I went through the security checkpoint and boarded the plane without incident. I forgot to ask the lady at the gate about the luggage thing.

11. I did ask a flight attendant, and she looked at me a little funny, but went to go try and find the answer to my question. She made a phone call, talked with her co-workers, and then came back to tell me she still did not know the answer, but that I should go to luggage claim, and if it didn't show up, I should ask an Alaska staff person in the terminal about it.

12. I got off the plane, went to the luggage claim area, and retrieved my suitcase, which showed no external sign of being messed with or "special" in any way (Note: My suitcase had one of those TSA-approved locks with a master key hole so that any two-bit thief who has obtained a black market copy of the TSA master keys can steal stuff out of my luggage without leaving any obvious sign).

13. I went into the restroom, opened the case, assembled the CM9 and the NAA, strapped the CM9 to my ankle with a Galco, and strapped the NAA to my hip in a Leatherman pouch, right behind my cell phone pouch (open carry but hidden in plain sight).

14. Thus armed, I wandered over to the rental counter to get a car and picked it up from the garage, which also went without incident.

I expect the return trip to go just as smoothly, especially considering I'll be departing from Alaska, and they're more laid back about guns here.

[dkmatthews]

Congrats on a smooth experience, Scoundrel! Best wishes on the return!

[Scoundrel]

So far so good on the return trip. I'm at the gate now. Couple of minor differences:

1. This time the Alaska person stapled one of the declaration tags to my checked baggage receipt, not to my boarding pass, and
2. The TSA guy did not put an inspection tag in my suitcased this time.

[Bawanna]

A few guys here fish in Alaska and depending on which area they go to they carry handguns in the brushy areas or shotguns in the open areas where they can see bears a long way off.

Alaska Airlines didn't charge for rifle cases or fishing pole cases as extra luggage.

They usually have one large box similar to your with 4 or 5 handguns and they never have an issue.

Like you say, gun's aren't as scary up in the Last Frontier.