doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Advice wanted on TSA-OK hard travel case for DR

I traveled with friend to Argentina who had a Tuffpac. He packed all kinds of clothes in it with his guns. IMO it was a real pain in the butt to deal with. Every time we had to show our guns for inspection it would take him forever to unpack & repack all the stuff he had in there. He almost made us miss a flight because of all his stuff in that Tuffpac.

I just made sure the butt ( zipper ) end of my soft case was at the top

Never had any issue with it during the inspections

'Shooting paper patched bullets means that whatever I bring with me is all that I will be able to get. It'll be my one and only checked bag'
BEWARE: Ammo and ammo components can not be packed in the same case as the firearm so you will need a minimum of two bags. You might get away with it but very likely you will have them confiscated if you can not pack them in a separate locked bag. Also the ammo must be in 'original packaging' - check the regs, they are quite tightly defined.
Re locks: 'TSA' locks are NOT okay for locking cases with firearms, an admission that the keys are all out there! TSA officers often tell one to get TSA locks, unaware that the rules do not permit their use.
Non-TSA locks may well be cut off by TSA (or UK security) when they inspect the contents of your case unless you can stay in close proximity of the case to hand over (and recover) the keys. This is usually required procedure going from USA to UK but often not possible going UK to USA.
If the lock is cut off, technically the gun can not then travel as all airlines have a condition that any case containing a firearm MUST be hard sided and locked.
I always travel to and from the USA with spare locks and spare keys, all of which are totally expendable. One of the joys of travelling with guns!
Lastly, I must stress that the UK have VERY prescriptive rules on what ammunition and caliber of rifle can be used to shoot deer and these vary between England/Wales and Scotland. Generally these rules are carefully observed as any offence against them could bring serious legal repercussions for the hunter AND be a serious home-goal for the hunting community in general. The last thing we need in the UK is to give ammo to the antis.
Your much loved rifle may be perfectly capable of killing deer but completely illegal to use over here. If it uses paper-patched bullets, I doubt it will make the necessary ft/s while the ft/lb may be awesome!
Enjoy your trip!

Did you tell them you planned on shooting a round or two in Scotland? Gil

no- but that would have been good- i just say where ever I end up

RE: Mr Barclay's good comments - I would hope that someone is advising and assisting the traveler with his permit and will make sure it meets requirements. They are detailed - including how to travel with and store your gun while there.

I had to supply a training certificate - luckily I still had my original hunter safety training certificate ( surprised papyrus lasts that long) - he asked if i had anything more recent "that's old" - I said so am I - even though pistols are not allowed their- they accepted my permit as a firearms certifiate

TSA agents are often working off their opinions and not the regulations - I have had them tell me the regs- which I showed them on the TSA web site are wrong - we are at their mercy

Follow the rules (and know them) and expect to deal with issues calmly and it will be a great trip

BTW- the one thing that absolutely amazed me was arriving at the airport early in the morning I followed the signs to a customs inspector- and the window was closed- there was an officer near by (security or police I do not know) and told him I had a firearm to have checked- he asked if I had the proper permits - I said yes- and he wished me a good trip-

i would not count on that again

I've used these cases for years and they are indestructible. Not to mention a great value. And they will make you anything you want if what you want isn't already in the list.

http://www.ziegeleng.com/

Guys, thank you for the good guidance and advice here. DLH - I hear you on that, but I am more afraid of the various disassembled parts banging around and banging off each other inside a case than I am of a broken stock inside a good hard case. Assembled rifles and shotguns are rigid, provided no angled pressure can be brought to bear on a specific place, like a stock.
Stan, in terms of ruggedness, it's a toss-up between the Pelican and the Tuff Case. The Pelican stands out as a gun case, however, which attracts every type of attention along its path - destructive baggage handlers, thieves, anti-gun airline employees etc. The Tuff Case doesn't look like a gun case, and can't be stacked on top of. It's unique looking, so it is also harder for a baggage handler to set off to the side and then casually walk away with.
CraigD, I will check out the SportTube! Sounds like a variation on this theme. Thank you!
OH, You will like this story. The rifle is the original estate gun. The estate was, at its height, 76,000 acres. The family had it from the early 1880s until the 1930s. The gun was last there in 1902, according to the family's game logs, which I photographed, so it has been 115 years since the gun took anything there. My wife and I visited the estate last summer, and now I am going back just to try and take a red stag with the old gun. The lead-up should be coming out in the DGJ this Fall and Winter, and perhaps a follow-up will be done after the October hunt, if I am fortunate enough to take a deer. I have been practicing a lot and getting 6-8 inch groups at 110 yards, though when I shoot carefully off of a rest the gun groups much better than that. By the time I leave in October, I should be proficient at 135 yards. Photos hopefully!

you are right - i do like the story - what a great chance to do a memorable hunt.

i will really look forward to reading about this- if you have stalked this is old news- you'll know many shots are taken prone or sitting from some type of rest- and over a 100 yards on many estates is a long shot- not because of terrain - but because the challenge is to get close - it is after all- stalking

OH, as you know, the NW coast of Scotland is really rugged. Those slopes covered in broken boulders, hummocks, etc. Reading the family's game logs, year after year, is really educational, because they lost a lot of big stags to cliff falls. I guess I am going to see how it all turns out. Being a romantic has its cost.

There isn't a golf course anywhere, America or Scotland, that carries enough liability insurance to let me on the grounds