Declaring standard capacity magazines during air travel

[swinokur]

you could be called back if it alarms. TSA should not cut the locks off but by FAA guidelines it will not go on the aircraft until the alarm is resolved to TSA's satisfaction.

so nothing is ironclad. if it alarms, it won't go on the aircraft until resolved.

but it's never happened to me if that helps.

 

[Brooklyn]

But as the wisest amongst us have noted...traveling with a firearm is the ONLY way you can travel with LOCKED luggage that no airline employee or TSA agent can open.

Some folks traveling with unique or highly valued possessions employ with an oversize firearm case with an actual firearm inside and room for lots of other stuff. Again, this technique locks EVERYBODY out but you.

This is what Hi-Points are for. $185 locked-luggage insurance policy.

TSA does breach locks. I have proof. They used a standard Jimmy... Which in this case disabled the lock. I intend to upgrade my locks..

They do check... And some of them steal. It's a given. And yes it was a firearm case..

One day we will find out how many guns go missing this way..

Use high grade locks.. That's has plenty of time to pick locks...and baggage handlers..

 

[Medshot]

Is there any legal effect (OTHER than going past a capacity restriction) of using grip extensions? I recall seeing somewhere that they are illegal in MD as they modify the capacity as opposed to it being above-capacity by default...or something...maybe I'm imagining things.

 

[CypherPunk]

Again, Maryland restricts the offer for sale, sale and transfer of certain capacity magazines.

There is no law prohibiting typical possession.

IANAL

 

[Medshot]

Again, Maryland restricts the offer for sale, sale and transfer of certain capacity magazines.

There is no law prohibiting typical possession.

IANAL

I've been searching all over trying to figure out where and when I heard that...maybe I'm just off my rocker a bit.

 

[rseymorejr]

Why not UPS or FEDEX them?

 

[swinokur]

why spend the money. it's legal to fly with them if you follow the rules.

and it's free.

 

[BeltBuckle]

I have 8 x 12-round capacity handgun magazines to take with me via air travel on a nonstop flight from location A to location B where possession of these magazines is completely legal. I am not traveling with a firearm.

TSA regulations are quite clear that firearm parts need to be in checked luggage. No problem. However they are not clear what the protocol is when traveling with no firearm. Does anyone have practical experience in this matter, and if so, what have you done?

Here are the TSA regs with relevant excerpts highlighted ...

The safest path, which will require me to get an appropriate travel case, seems to be putting the magazines in a hard container secured with a lock (not a TSA standard lock, but a something more secure) and declaring them. This seems silly, given there is no firearm, but perhaps those of you who have traveled with just empty magazines in your checked luggage have been warned by TSA that they needed to be declared, packed differently, etc.

Again, I will be putting the mags in checked luggage when I travel; I just want to know if it has to be in more secure luggage and declared at the counter.

Lot of good comments in this thread, but it doesn't need to be as complicated as some would make it.

Yes, you can put your mags in a locked case suitable for firearms inside your checked bag, but (and I have done this many times) a simple cardboard box inside your checked bag would also suffice for empty mags. You can also carry ammo, with or without a firearm, in checked baggage this way. Firearms MUST be in a locked case, and declared, as noted. Not so for empty mags or ammo. Again, I've done this in all permutations, many times, into and out of PRMD. I've even brought mags back from out of state in my checked bags in nothing but the plastic bags they came in, undeclared. Never had a problem.

 

[fidelity]

An update. I traveled back today. I was purposefully oblique earlier as I didn't want to definitively indicate being out of town on a public forum, even if putatively anonymous.

I checked in the locked hard case at Chicago O'Hare without an issue (picture below of case after arriving home). O'Hare has given people serious trouble if they've had mags in carry on. It's also in Cook County which has a 15-round mag limit. My mags were smaller capacity, but because my travel originated outside of Cook County where there aren't restrictive mag laws, I would imagine that FOPA would be protective if they were larger. My flight destination was Reagan National (situated south of the Potomac River in Arlington, VA).

My initial counter agent called a more senior UA agent at the baggage check counter who inquired about the exact contents, confirmed that they were empty mags with no firearm or ammunition, but never asked the view them. I asked if I should take the locks off or could pack the mags in a separate bag, and she said no, what I had done was preferable. Because they were just mags, the case was checked in as odd size but with no additional sticker or other markings.

As it turned out, our luggage was amongst the first off the conveyor belt in Reagan. On the shuttle bus back to the car, my wife was texting friends for dinner plans. When done, she said that they had made arrangements in DC. I gave her a look and said "seriously" nodding at my case. The dinner was quickly rescheduled to Bethesda, so I could drive a VA to MD path avoiding DC. David Gregory, I am not.

 

[swinokur]

Did the airline put that small sticker on your case?

When I flew back from Vegas last September with a pistol, they put on a small sticker with a number on my bag. That number matched the number on a paper form United had printed out and given me a copy of that said I had checked a firearm. I had never seen this before and I have traveled from Vegas with a firearm many times before. Something new I guess. They only did this on the leg from LAS to IAD.

I didn't complain as it was only a number and didn't violate the Federal rule on no outside markings indicating a firearm was inside.

 

[fidelity]

That's just a redundant baggage ticket sticker. They take it from the main tag that they put on the bag (which has a few of these small sized stickers that can be affixed elsewhere). It was done at check in and with the three different bags that we checked. It's been protocol on flights that I've been on for years. I assume that it's a precautionary step in case the main tag gets pulled off accidentally in a conveyer belt, etc.

The one difference between handling of this checked item and our other checked bags was that there was handwriting on the main baggage tag that was absent on the others. This didn't happen at the check in gate. It's either a big O or a zero. It could simply mean that it is "odd" sized or that it passed a screening.

 

[swinokur]

ok-good to know.

 

[zaphod07]

If you are that concerned about it disassemble it and transport as parts

 

[ericoak]

I'm not convinced that flying with magazines is any different than mailing them to yourself legal wise. In both instances you surrender control/possession in one state to a third party, they transport it for you, and you pick it up in another state.

 

[fidelity]

I re-took direct possession of the mags in VA where it would have been legal for me to mail mags for pick up. This was an option that I considered. However taking them with me on the plane was faster so preferable. While on the plane, they were secured with locks that the TSA or handlers can't open without picking or cutting them and I maintained possession of the keys.

I think the uncertainty is whether mailing >10 rd capacity mags to yourself in MD is legal (MD attorneys on this board have suggested not to). Not that anyone would know unless the package broke open in transit here.

 

[HeatSeeker]

I think I will just buy magazines from places I can drive to.

 

[Mike]

Lot of good comments in this thread, but it doesn't need to be as complicated as some would make it.

Yes, you can put your mags in a locked case suitable for firearms inside your checked bag, but (and I have done this many times) a simple cardboard box inside your checked bag would also suffice for empty mags. You can also carry ammo, with or without a firearm, in checked baggage this way. Firearms MUST be in a locked case, and declared, as noted. Not so for empty mags or ammo. Again, I've done this in all permutations, many times, into and out of PRMD. I've even brought mags back from out of state in my checked bags in nothing but the plastic bags they came in, undeclared. Never had a problem.

When it comes to ammo, in addition to TSA regulations, it is necessary to also check with the airline you're flying (web site at least) with regard to shipping requirements. Each airline has the discretion to make its own requirements, including banning ammo shipment.

 

[swinokur]

and ammo weight as well. Many airlines allow 11 lbs. Some allow much more (Alaska Air 50 lbs.)

check airline web site before travel

 

[Pinecone]

If you ever have anything missed from a bag, report it to TSA.

They DO follow up, and the screening areas are under CCTV surveillance. But the video is not retained forever, so report it right away.