Gun Cases (split from general interest thread)

[Deviant Ollam]

Re: Gun Cases (split from general interest thread)

could stick inside and attach to my suit case frame.

i find your approach innovative and think it may be just about the only way i'd trust someone with a "smaller" gun case inside of another suitcase. would i trust it for all my stuff? not really... because (a) it's still allowing people to fuck around inside your luggage and not protecting the rest of your belongings and (b) you leave yourself open to some douchebag saying that the cable lock "isn't necessary" because it's not securing the smaller case "shut".

I live in possibly the worse city/airport for luggage theft(Philadelphia).

the worst airport in the nation for gun thefts is LAX, followed closely by ORD, SEA, and MIA, PHL and EWR are among the worst up in our region, however... that is correct.

for my 1911

i compliment your excellent taste in firearms, sir.

Cases 4 Less

indeed. Zac mentioned them in my LayerOne talk and ever since then i refer people there, too. best pricing i've ever come across.

[noid]

Re: Gun Cases (split from general interest thread)

I have a 1490 for my GSG-5PK and its pretty damn slick. Would definitely be good for a 1911 and accouterments. As with all my cases I go with the unofficial DEFCON supplier Cases 4 Less. They should give us a discount with the amount of Pelican cases DT buys.

[xor]

Re: Gun Cases (split from general interest thread)

I'm looking for a recommendation on a travel case for my 1911. I guess Pelican is the way to go but which one?

xor

Ideally I would like to get a case/safe/bag with a cable that I could stick inside and attach to my suit case frame. This would allow for inspection as well as make it difficult to separate the two items. Of course I live in possibly the worse city/airport for luggage theft(Philadelphia).

1400 series looks reasonable unless folks advise otherwise.

[Deviant Ollam]

Re: Gun Cases (split from general interest thread)

So is the case(manufacturer) that pistol came in ok to travel with in my locked soft suitcase?

it may be allowed on some airlines, but it's a royally awful idea and opens you up to huge fucking headaches, not to mention increased risk of gun theft.

there is more the answer to this than meets the eye (and even more than is properly conveyed on my web site at the moment, i confess)

let's break it down...

1. manufacturer gun cases are often hard plastic.

2. on occasion they have small lock built-in (and it's always a super shitty combo dial or wafer lock in these rare instances) but more typically they can simply accept a padlock via some little loops of plastic. almost no manufacturer gun case is secure in the least in my opinion. the reasons are twofold...

* there exists almost no way to properly lock a small pistol case... either the little "loops" are too small to accommodate a heavy padlock or, more commonly, they can be snapped or cut right off

* the cases themselves are too flimsy to withstand rough treatment and too small to avoid being smuggled out of an airport baggage area in someone's clothing or within the small bags that most TSA screeners and luggage throwers are permitted to carry into work.

3. it is possible to use a small Pelican case or other similar hard case if you want to put better locks on something and make it resistant to opening, but i still don't trust people to not simply take the case away totally if they can get into an item of luggage.

now to address what i believe is your specific plan...

4. putting a gun inside of large luggage that is hard-sided and properly locked with a high-security padlock is the best plan. not only do you know the gun will be there when you arrive at your destination, you know the rest of your stuff hasn't been fucked with.

and now the real critical point...

5. if you are using a small gun case just to help secure and protect the firearm within your larger luggage item, i strongly recommend making certain that this small gun case cannot be locked in any way.

why is that? this avoids problems if you get a bone-headed airline agent or TSA person hassling you during check-in. on occasion, airlines will attempt (wrongly) to insist that people need to lock up only the firearm and not their main luggage item. once in a while, staff will go so far as to tell a passenger to remove their luggage's outer lock and secure it simply on the inner case (like a small, manufacturer's gun case) inside of what is now an unlocked bag.

fuck that. the reason i only fly with my handguns in soft-sided pistol cases or in totally non-lockable pistol cases is to ensure that no dirtbag in a uniform can ever attempt to order me to lock just the firearm.

so be mindful of that. if your small gun case has little padlock loops, it's best to cut them off. and arrive at the airport with that inner case not locked up at all. make sure your outer case (the luggage itself) is reliable and secure and lock it up tight... that's the best way, in my opinion.

i would strongly recommend that you reconsider the plan you expressed above. get proper luggage and lock the outer case only.

remember... the bulk of firearm thefts during air travel happen to guns in small pistol-sized cases. not necessarily because these cases are broken into (even though that surely happens a lot for the reasons i stated above) but simply because the cases are totally obvious and easy to steal in and of themselves.

[xor]

Re: Gun Cases (split from general interest thread)

So is the case(manufacturer) that pistol came in ok to travel with in my locked soft suitcase?

xor

Never mind found my answer on your handy dandy web page. :-) The answer is yes for my airline.

[Deviant Ollam]

Re: Traveling with Firearms

As part of my "Flying with Firearms" research, i've gone through all of the web sites of US-based air carriers and analyzed how their worded policies conform or differ from the basic federal standard. Many of our domestic airlines have additional rules and restrictions (which in my opinion are geared towards simply slamming you with unexpected extra fees)

If you want a simple, straightforward summary of how the various air carriers stack up, check out my Airline Report Card Page. I took all the facts that i could discover and combined them with any comments of travelers (and even things stated by the companies themselves) in order to come up with a simple letter grade for all fifteen airlines.

Those attending LayerOne will have the opportunity to see this whole talk, along with any new comments and stories that i have picked up between now and then. How does your preferred carrier stack up?

[noid]

Re: anyone interested in doing this again?

Don't forget the other crazy underwater flechette gun that the Ruskies made.

Its funny..thats what I was originally looking for, but for the life of me I couldnt remember what it was called.

Also, I *love* world.guns.ru. I could spend all day on that site making a shopping list

[Quiet]

Re: anyone interested in doing this again?

Or that crazy underwater flechette gun the ruskies made specifically for underwater engagements. This thing..

Don't forget the other crazy underwater flechette gun that the Ruskies made.

[someguy]

Re: anyone interested in doing this again?

the unofficial rule that many TSA departments at airports follow is "can you flex or bend the case enough to insert a finger even if it's locked" and that is how they determine if the case is compliant for air travel.
[/INDENT]

Who's finger? WHICH FINGER!?!

I _have_ a dedicated finger _for_ the TSA (and a backup, in case that one fails to fire! Always practice "off hand" for LA traffic!).

someguy

[noid]

Re: anyone interested in doing this again?

When diving with guns, it's probably just as easy to skip the bag altogether and go with the HK MP5N.

Or that crazy underwater flechette gun the ruskies made specifically for underwater engagements. This thing..

But ya, give me a MP-5SD any day. Actually, give me anything out of the HK catalog and I'll be happy..well, except a G36..

[Thorn]

Re: anyone interested in doing this again?

Generally I'd like a USIA dry bag to go diving with my guns, and ideally a SAV to go with it, ...

When diving with guns, it's probably just as easy to skip the bag altogether and go with the HK MP5N.

[erehwon]

Re: anyone interested in doing this again?

If you're looking for inexpensive, I've found the plano cases to be a viable alternative to pelicans. They aren't watertight, but I don't go diving with my rifles :)

Generally I'd like a USIA dry bag to go diving with my guns, and ideally a SAV to go with it, but I have to agree with everyone else, Pelican cases are worth every penny, one only has to watch the baggage handlers toss around that way overpacked bag and a set of golf clubs on top of your Plano case.

[Deviant Ollam]

Re: anyone interested in doing this again?

If I remember correctly, our "Army issue" gun cases for the 9mm and M-16 were Plano's. Even with a padlock on them, you could bend and contort the case enough to remove the weapons without touching the locks.

the unofficial rule that many TSA departments at airports follow is "can you flex or bend the case enough to insert a finger even if it's locked" and that is how they determine if the case is compliant for air travel.

naturally, this is a rather arbitrary designation (inserting a finger doesn't mean the ability to pull the weapon out in most instances... and how hard you're trying and how willing you are to scrape up your hand is also subjective) but it works rather well as a quick and dirty solution to the question.

of course, many manufacturers' cases (a lot of which state specifically that they are TSA compliant) are able to be compromised in this way. many others suck for a variety of additional reasons. (like manufacturer included locking mechanisms... often shitty combination wheels or bullcrap wafer locks)

it really is insane what constitutes a decent and useful gun case for air travel in the eyes of...

1. the case manufacturers
2. the airline staff
3. the TSA
4. security professionals who actually strive for the best

[Thorn]

Re: anyone interested in doing this again?

If I remember correctly, our "Army issue" gun cases for the 9mm and M-16 were Plano's. Even with a padlock on them, you could bend and contort the case enough to remove the weapons without touching the locks.

Yeah, that was my impression, and why I'd be wary of using them for travel. The Pelicans could have the proverbial gorilla baggage handler, and not open.

[theprez98]

Re: anyone interested in doing this again?

The Plano cases struck me as being pretty flimsy.

If I remember correctly, our "Army issue" gun cases for the 9mm and M-16 were Plano's. Even with a padlock on them, you could bend and contort the case enough to remove the weapons without touching the locks.