Well, Srigs has my Rami holster ready and AZ is cool with my MN permit . . . so I am thinking I'd like to carry down there. I have of course read though pages 137 - 139 of Joel's book, but now have a few additional questions:

Does the hard sided case have to be a stand alone piece of luggage or could something like this:
That Cabela's advertises as be stored inside a larger piece of checked luggage? Would that have to be hard luggage too?

This will be my first time on an airline with a firearm. Has anybody flown Southwest with a firearm & do you have any tips or advice?

I have been reading up on AZ carry law, but any additional advice for one we get to destination would be great too.

That kind of case will do just fine. You can place it in a larger piece of soft-sided luggage, but they expect you to lock that up as well. I use a TSA-compliant lock for the outer case.

Check in at the ticket counter, and state "I have an unloaded firearm to declare". The ticket agent will fill out an orange tag and call the TSA over to verify that the weapon is unloaded (With a semi-auto, I usually leave the slide locked back and magazine out. This simplifies things enormously). The orange tag then goes into the firearm case with it, and everything is locked up again. In MSP, the agent usually asks you to wait around for a minute until the luggage goes through the machine, and then you're good to go. It's really not a big deal for them.

Make sure and package ammo in its original box (can be packed in the soft-sided luggage, doesn't have to be in the firearm box).

Triple-check yourself to make sure you don't have any ammo or magazines before going through security. That was apparently a BIG problem at PHX airport last weekend, due to the NRA convention.

As to AZ, it depends where you're going in the state as to what to do and where to go. Shoot me your itinerary and I'll give you some ideas. As to carrying, the main difference from Minnesota is stay out of bars and restaurants that serve alcohol by the drink (package stores, 7-Elevens and the like are OK). There's a bill to address that in the State Senate right now, so hopefully this will be changed soon.

Keep in mind that every airport does the firearm check differently.

Some have you show the clerk, some have you show the TSA. Sometimes the airline just throws the suitcase on the belt, sometimes they take you to have the bag hand inspected by TSA.

Sometimes they say you're good, then break open your bag later anyway.

Flying is my last resort means of travel.

Minneapolis to Phoenix, a week from today, seems we do have a layover someplace, but we are sticking with the same airline . . . so I anticipate only having to deal with luggage at the two ends and not in the middle. If I am wrong about that, I will be very careful to follow Joel's advice on page 139.

Yup. If I wasn't so poor and the tickets so cheap (hard to argue with free) we'd be going on a family road trip or skipping the event altogether. I am still worried they are going to turn me away (no fly list) because of my political views and such (nothing criminal, just stuff that offends Holder and friends). Unfortunately, you can't find out you are a "no fly guy" without attempting to.

We'll be spending most of our time in Glendale AZ.

Just for kicks, and your firearm's safety, keep in mind that once the inspection by the agent has been completed, that orange article inserted, and the case locked, NO ONE gets to open that firearm case again, except you. Use TSA compliant locks on the outer, soft luggage.

Keep something TSA-shutout on the firearm case itself. They don't get to finger it around behind the scenes after its gone through the machine and left your sight.

SultanOfBrunei wrote:



"It" being the firearm itself, of course. Sorry, that wasn't as clear as I would have liked it to be.

I understood, I just wanted to reiterate that point.

TSA compliant lock is something I have heard mentioned, both in this thread and a fair bit of my reading. Where do I get one locally?


Oh, just another plug. . . . now that I have felt how great the holster Srigs made for me feels & how well it conceals, I definitely want to pack that for AZ.

Macx wrote:



Target, in the travel and luggage section.

Yeah, thats how Southwest does it. You will only deal with TSA on the two ends.

I'm assuming you've seen this http://www.southwest.com/travel_center/guns.html.

Thanks - I wonder if the soft luggage can have TSA compliant locks or if they mean Bold is mine. Well, that is something a phone call can probably fix. Course my soft bag is probably not going to have much but baby clothes and my clothes in it, besides the hard box for the firearm . . . diaper bag is a carry on. . . .

Yes Macx, that is what they mean.
I flew with two handguns to Vegas for Front Sight in March. I stuffed them both in the hardcase that came with my 1911, with a $5 dudley combo lock on the outside. That was placed inside my zipped up luggage, and off it went.

No fancy portable "gun vaults" and cables, no cheesy TSA locks, just a handgun case and holsters placed in among my underwear.
It's really no big deal. Don't blow it out of proportion.

Now, what is much more difficult is flying with my son. They pulled us over to the side, and some old guy checked every one of my son's bottles with some kind of sniffer machine, while looting through the rest of his diaper bag, like my 15 month old was some kind of spy they had just never seen before, but knew that he was up to no good.

Carbide's son...

At the risk of thread drift, here's my favorite Stewie quote:

"The ruptured capillaries in your nose belie the clarity of your wisdom"