24
Sep
2006
Packing heat: Ensure your checked luggage arrives safely by packing firearms
Posted by: Mark Ashley

63189446 aa7926f656 Packing heat: Ensure your checked luggage arrives safely by packing firearmsThe increase in checked luggage, a side effect of the ongoing War on Moisture, leads many to fear that their bags will be lost. And it’s a legitimate fear, of course. So how do you minimize it?

Pack a pistol in your luggage.

Bruce Schneier links to a discussion on a photographer’s blog, in which high-end equipment owners discuss their options. The solution is brilliant:

  • Weapons (including starter pistols, which don’t require a permit since they don’t fire bullets) must be declared by the passenger and packed in checked luggage.
  • Thereafter, the suitcase is given priority handling by TSA and the airline, since no one wants to be responsible for letting a weapon fall into “the wrong hands.”
  • Therefore, putting a gun in your suitcase ensures that your luggage will be handled carefully, and will certainly reach its destination. It’s essentially like sending your suitcase via registered mail.

(image)

Categorized in: airlines, airport security, guns, luggage, security
4 Comments

4 Responses to “Packing heat: Ensure your checked luggage arrives safely by packing firearms”

  1. BoonDoggie Says:
    September 24th, 2006 at 10:28 pm

    Well, except not so much.

    I travel with firearms all the time, and while they haven’t been lost (yet) it is not uncommon to hear tales from trap/skeep shooters about lost guns.

    Also, there is nothing on the outside of the case to indicate that there is a firearm inside.

    I seal my guns with zip-ties (pink!) and they are rarely opened – less often than my checked luggage with shaving cream in it.

  2. Troy Hayes Says:
    February 22nd, 2008 at 8:41 am

    If there’s no outside tag on the suitcase indicating a firearm is inside, how can the suitcase possibly receive special handling once it leaves the initial check-in? Could it be that Bruce Schneier has just been fortunate?

  3. Showdown at Concourse C: Should you be allowed to carry concealed weapons at the airport? » Upgrade: Travel Better Says:
    July 2nd, 2008 at 10:48 pm

    [...] – Packing heat: Ensure your checked luggage arrives safely by packing firearms – Feeling safe? Armed pilot discharges pistol in [...]

  4. jason Says:
    November 1st, 2008 at 11:43 pm

    It is against policy to mark luggage to indicate the presence of a firearm. Airlines are not allowed so your luggage will not receive special attn.

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