I’m taking the Greenline Tactical Nightfighter class in Texas with a friend, and am flying in from Oregon. So I need to bring a carbine, mags, belt with pouches, possibly a plate carrier, handgun with mags, etc. I will order ammo online and have it sent to my friend in Texas who will pick me up at the airport.
I’ve flown with firearms before, but never with this much gun stuff. It was always a single handgun in a case in my normal luggage.
Any suggestions on how to accomplish this?
I guess I need to purchase some kind of Pelican case? Do I check the soft gear and mags in a separate bag? Should I mail some of it ahead of time?
It’s a logistics challenge, driving would be ideal but that distance is probably not feasible for you.
This video has a case that might be a viable option, if you can break down your rifle, it looks like he has a Law folder but you could remove the buffer tube and throw a wrench in the case to reassemble when you get there.
Being a night fighter class, I’m assuming you’ll have night vision, if so, you need to protect them and have erxta batteries and a helmet. https://youtu.be/3ifRyPRBgnA
The plate carrier is heavy and is going to take up a lot of space, so I don’t have a good suggestion there.
Consider shipping some of your lower-value gear, or your spare clothes, via your buddy. Then repeat on the return.
Back when I was a tournament gamer at GenCon in Indianapolis, I’d always ship everything but essentials to the relative I was staying with timed to get there a week before I did, then swing by a UPS store and ship it home the day before flying back. Admittedly tactical gear is a different ballgame than thousands of dollars of miniature ships and planes…
The other thing is pack light. Buy your sunblock, travel toothpaste etc. after you get there, and get the small ones you can use up and throw away rather than bring home.
4 videos that should break everything down for you crystal clear. Just understand that this kind of travel is going to be a pain in the ass so prepare accordingly. Be ready to pay a heavy bag fee or ship gear ahead of time.
I’ve heard Don is a great instructor, should be a good class.
You should try to ship your ammo ahead either to the range itself (if allowed) or your hotel with the note “For So and So arriving X day”.
I would get a pelican case for the rifle, put your pistol in there also if needed for class. The rifle sized Pelican cases will hold magazines, etc. also. Just don’t have live ammo in the same box (certain airlines will flip out on you).
The procedure should be the same rifle or pistol- declare it on check in and sign the little white and red form.
Buy insurance for the case. Most airlines will tell you “we don’t do that any more” but that’s BS. They will tell you “it’s insured to $3,500” and I always say “it’s worth $3,600.” and buy the insurance.
Why? Cause they will usually WALK the case from the conveyor to you versus it just plopping out on the turn table at the airport.
I always trip out at Shot watching the dozens of Pelican cases flop out onto the turn table when the door is literally just a few feet away and no one checks tags. The couple bucks you will drop in insurance will get the case “walked” to you and you will usually have to show ID to get it. I always do it and have never had a problem.
I wasn’t able to make it to the Blowers/Pressburg class, which is why I’m taking this one. It’s also an opportunity to hang out with a close friend I haven’t seen in a while. Not driving to Texas, too far.
I like the videos he puts out. I might’ve missed it, but I think you missed the one where he goes over his Pelican 1615 which carries most of his gear for air travel:
Check the guns and ship most/all of what would be your checked luggage. Carry on the essentials. Order up stuff on Amazon or wherever and just have it sent to friend’s house local, sunscreen etc whatever. PIck it up there if going there or have it throw it in his car if he’s picking you up on the way.
I also started using Tile (or whatever brand you want) bluetooth trackers. They are limited in range for the normal ones, but good enough that if you and your case are both in the baggage claim area, it should show up…and Tile uses other people’s apps to find lost things, airports tend to be busy, it’s a nice peace of mind being able to, at least to some extent, track the case yourself.
I got enough to know if I was within, like, 1 conveyor belt either direction. It wasn’t a lot, definitely use the “pro” or whatever it is
Most of the time, phone had no idea where it was.
I have not yet had reason to try the lost feature which is supposed to anonymously show you the location of the tile if it’s within range of other people’s tile apps…that seems pretty usable at an airport in theory
Guns in a Pelican.
Drop ship ammo.
High value items like NVG/thermals in your carryon if applicable.
Consider what you actually need for the class vs what you want or might normally use, consider refining.
Test pack what you want to fly with. Ship excess or bulky items ahead of you if you need them.
Ensure you leave enough time for typical shipping, and then some.
Not being a LEO/MIL I try to keep as discrete as possible. I use a soft sided rolling golf bag to travel. I’ve only flown that way once, but travelled by car a lot that way and it helps with the odd stares at hotels that other obvious shapes might bring.
There is a weight limit on ammo by air, depending on airline(IIRC), and it is best if in factory packaging.
I like the Tile/Apple-thingy idea. Hell, walk up and down the airplane aisle and you’ll probably get a ping to know it made it that far…
Thanks for the advice everyone, travel went smoothly. I shipped the ammo. Guns, mags, and pocket knife in a Pelican 1720, which I checked for $30. Battle belt, safariland, and helmet in carry-on. (I used borrowed NODs for this class, otherwise would have been in carry-on, also.).
The only issue was that according to Alaska Airlines, you can’t have ammo in the same case as the guns. In the past when I flew with a pistol, I always had a box of defensive ammo in the pistol case, and that was fine. Last trip like that was 6 years ago. I watched two TSA videos on YouTube before this trip which provided conflicting info on this, so I called Alaska and they said ammo must be in a separate case. I did not want to check a separate bag, so decided not to mess with transporting ammo.