Need help

[Rocky]

My father just died in Flordia. He gave me some guns. Pistols and rifles. How can I get them back to Pa.? How do I ship them or can I take on the plane somehow.

[starblazer]

Whew! Sorry to hear about your loss. As far as your transport problems, I really don't know. Best of luck to you. Let us know how you make out.

[Frenchy]

Call the airline see what they say, most likely same as going to a competition, pack them in hard shell, and ship locked, make sure you have insurance.

http://www.packing.org/airlines/ gives some good ideas.

[Lee-online]

you can take them on a plane. go to the web site for the carrier you'll be flying with and look at the rules and declaration form.

[danp]

My father just died in Flordia. He gave me some guns. Pistols and rifles. How can I get them back to Pa.? How do I ship them or can I take on the plane somehow.

Hey Rocky, sorry about your loss best wishes to your family.

I talked with a few people I think are more experts than myself and this was the general consensus:

Driving back from Florida with them would be the best bet. While it's perfectly legal (and allowed) to properly check firearms onto flights as luggage it does require cases that meet guidelines and you could run into some hassle if you need to fly with a large collection.

The general consensus that I got about shipping the guns was that you may have to ship guns to an FFL in your state and then go through the standard process. This part I'm not 100% sure about so maybe someone else could chime in with a more precise answer.

From what I've read/heard people say driving seems to be the safest bet.

Again, sorry to hear about your loss but it's good to see that the guns will stay in the family.

[Tomcat088]

I know that most airlines allow you to transport firearms, but different airlines have different guidelines. Typically you have to have a hardshell case for each firearm and it has to be locked, and then you can place it in normal luggage. If you have a hard shell type luggage, you can place firearms in there as long as they're in a pocket or secured. I don't think they claim responsibility for any damage that is caused by their handling, and they don't allow you to transport any ammo in the same bags. Driving is usually a pretty safe bet, especially if they're in the trunk and not loaded or no ammo around. As far as mailing them, typically you can mail firearms to dealers in your area who have a license for it, and then go pick it up from them. I know that if you do that the dealer will charge you a handling fee per gun, and that could get pretty hefty, not to mention all of those firearms would then be documented, which some people don't like. Hope that helps and holler if you need anything else.

[aubie515]

Sorry to hear about the death in your family.

I would go along with the advise from Dan and Tommy. When I moved from PA to WA a few years ago...I shipped all of my rifles with me on the plane. This was prior to 9/11, so contact the airline and make arrangements. I would also advise to buy a robust gun case like a pelican or starlight. If you have multiple pistols to ship...you can ship them in a double rifle case from starlight. If you have a few rifles...it may be tough and expensive to buy all the cases that you may need. So, driving sounds like the best option.

[RLS]

There was a news story on WPVI 6 out of Philadelphia one evening last week where the Feds were at the airport to bust up a planned theft of firearms from baggage. It was supposed to be a common occurrence, not only in Philadelphia, but other airports as well. The story did say that some people were shipping their handguns in the factory cases, so they were easily identified as handguns.

When I fly with handguns, I keep them in a hardshell case inside my luggage. Transporting rifles can be a serious challenge to get their case(s) inside a piece of luggage.

I would rather keep the firearms under my supervision and drive them to PA.

You really need to look into the possibility of having them tranfered through an FFL in PA. I hunted through the ATFE's website last night when I originally saw this post, but I came up empty. If I spent considerably more time searching, I MAY have found it. The site is as user friendly as the ATFE is useful.

My condolences about the loss of your father.

Best of Luck

Rick

[LorDiego01]

Sorry to hear about your father passing.

I would not trust any airline with my firearms. I head on other forums several horror stories about airlines loosing expensive rifles, which took weeks to trace back.

I thought you were able to FedEx firearms to yourself without having to go through any dealers or extra paperwork. But dont quote me on this, its just somethign I vagely remember reading about.

I'd say take the drive.

[762xIan]

Rocky, Sorry to hear of your loss.

Shipping and the Airlines are a potential risk and hassle in my opinion, espescially considering what he left for you.

Drive back..keep them in the trunk unloaded in cases if you can...nice liesurely drive and reflect and focus on your dad and the good times.