SpencerT,
GaryS is spot on.I'll add a few from my personal experiences.
>Check your travel state's regs. I.E. types of ammo that can be carried (JHP's etc) Where you can carry your EDC: TX--check this carefully
>Check your airline's regulations . Most domestic carriers will accept firearms for travel. VirginAtlantic, for example won't.
>If you're travelling to your destination and will not be changing planes outside the terminal or will not be needing to re-enter the security checkpoint, your luggage will remain within the confines of the aircraft.
>If you're only carrying a pistol, one of those metal cases with a lock (you manage the key/ comb.and a cable will make everybody happy for air travel. It will also work as a security function where you're staying and in what you're driving.
> Like GaryS said, attach that cable to your suitcase. I carry mine in a Pelican 1610 case. I have an 1/4" eyelet through-bolted in the case, with the eyelet inside with cable passed through the eyelet. TSA locks on the Pelican 1610 .
>Badguys at the baggage handling are semi-pros in getting into even these . My last one didn't have steel reinforced padlock wells and some dirtbag pried it open. Luckily, I wasn't carrying on that trip.The airline offered a whopping $30 credit. Check with the NRA for travel features on firearms.
>I recommend a lesser expensive, reliable pistol for travel. I personally carried a Ruger LC9 until recently. If it was stolen or confiscated, I could absorb the loss.
>When you get to the counter,after you've shown your ID, not LTC, just tell the ticket agent that you have a "Declared Firearm" In your checked luggage. If asked, and you are not on official police business, reply your status as a non-LEO. Remember most of these ticket agents handle strollers not firearms.Unless the location is a destination frequented by LEO/military personnel, 98% of the ticket agents are knowledge deficit of handling firearms, especially in Logan. As GaryS, said, you'll fill out a small postcard, it will be placed in the gun-safe by you, in with your unloaded handgun, with the tag facing out of the safe into the bag. This is so that if the TSA opens your bag, your firearm is locked up and a signed Firearms Declaration is attached. One word of caution, do yourself a favor and don't open any firearms container in an airport until you've acknowledged this action with the ticket agent. When you do open, do so that the ticket agent can see it mostly and not the soccer mom on the scale next you to you. It sucks hearing a loud "there's a gun in that man's suitcase" at 0600 in Logan.
>Airline regs will usually require that any ammunition be loaded so that the cartridges aren't touching each other. An ammunition box designed to hold loose rounds or even a previously used cartridge box that can be duct taped on the ends will suffice.
>I always watch my "gun bag" get put on the conveyor and go to luggage land or escort the airline person taking to TSA and watch TSA check it. After all, it's mine and I'm responsible for it.
>When your gun bag gets to its destination and you don't see it at the luggage carousel the first time around, don't panic. Some baggage offices of the same airline have different protocols. For example at JetBlue, in Boston, for a while, you needed to go to the luggage office to pick up a Pelican case.
>It helps to call ahead to your accommodations regarding a safe on-site. This would be accessible to the guests individually. Those things in the room are a joke.
>Last but not least, resist the urge to place any firearm related nomenclature on your luggage, i.e. stickers. It's just plain bad karma and a written invitation.
>Have a nice trip.
Disclaimer:I've travelled frequently with a firearm for years. I continue to do so. All of the things I've mentioned here are from personal experience not from hearsay. No doubt, I may have missed a few items, but I'm pretty thorough. I am no by no means an expert or claim to be one. Know the laws of those places that you're going to for carrying, brandishing, and or using a firearm.