TSA story

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striped1

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Yesterday I am flying out of Logan for a little vacation at the significant other's parents. I check a weapon case and proceed to the security check carrying an empty shotgun box that has pictures of shotguns on the box. As I am waiting a very concerned tsa guy comes up and asks " is that what I think it is"? Me being me I say " an empty box? It sure is!" He has a look of pure relief and says " you would be surprised how often people actually show up with the gun in the box". He leaves but it starts to attract a ton of notice from other TSA people. I put it through the x ray and as I pick it up a tsa woman grabs it says she has to tape it up. I tell her no worries it already is. She says no, we have to tape over the images on the box, they are "too frightening". I couldn't believe it. Being me I gave her the "you can't be serious" but she was. 3 8x10 sheets of notebook paper later she was happy and I was on my way with the much less frightening box.
 
Just dealt with the TSA flying back home to Arizona from Connecticut over Christmas. Took four pistols (two cases) and had no problem flying out of Bradley/Hartford. Came back with the same four pistols and a long gun case with an SKS and a Mossberg 500 shotgun in it. Had more trouble getting through Sky Harbor/Phoenix because the gate agent was new. If there's ONE good thing that came out of 9/11 and the TSA... No longer required to rack the slides in front of everybody in line behind you and to the sides to show unloaded. Since TSA x-rays every bag with checked firearms, they can easily see if it's loaded so there's no need for the person to manually demonstrate they are unloaded.
 
Altezza said:
If there's ONE good thing that came out of 9/11 and the TSA... No longer required to rack the slides in front of everybody in line behind you and to the sides to show unloaded. Since TSA x-rays every bag with checked firearms, they can easily see if it's loaded so there's no need for the person to manually demonstrate they are unloaded.
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The airline agents were never required to do that. It was just nosey f**ckers that wanted to know what you had in the case. I use to have several letters from the corporate headquarters of all the carriers we flew on that explained to the agents exactly what the company policy was concerning transportation of firearms. I'd whip those out before I would ever take a gun out at the counter.

B
 
striped1 said:
Yesterday I am flying out of Logan for a little vacation at the significant other's parents. I check a weapon case and proceed to the security check carrying an empty shotgun box that has pictures of shotguns on the box. As I am waiting a very concerned tsa guy comes up and asks " is that what I think it is"? Me being me I say " an empty box? It sure is!" He has a look of pure relief and says " you would be surprised how often people actually show up with the gun in the box". He leaves but it starts to attract a ton of notice from other TSA people. I put it through the x ray and as I pick it up a tsa woman grabs it says she has to tape it up. I tell her no worries it already is. She says no, we have to tape over the images on the box, they are "too frightening". I couldn't believe it. Being me I gave her the "you can't be serious" but she was. 3 8x10 sheets of notebook paper later she was happy and I was on my way with the much less frightening box.
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You're lucky you didn't kill anyone with your 'assault box'. I think we can all sleep a little better tonight.
 
I had a friend who was a ticket agent and gate agent at TF Greene, we were discussing the racking of slides...I was postulating a side job of training these idiots in basic firearms stuff...she said they had been approached about that before and decided not to because of liability concerns.....like having untrained buffoons racking actions is NOT a LIABILITY????
 
Why do I read threads that have Thousands Standing Around (now to be referred to as Taping Safety Agents) in the title? All it does is piss me off. I actually show up early just so I have time to mess with them a little:
TSA - You have to take your shoes off
Me - I do?
TSA - Can't you read the sign
Me - Can you? Wanna race?

It helps that I ususally don't care if I miss my flight or not.
 
I have to say, I've never had a problem flying with guns (Logan/TF Green) or with the TSA. Since 9-11, I've flown 6-8 times and every time was a breeze.
 
TSA is also a terrific welfare program for corrupt morons. Those guys must be rolling in money from all the theft they do out of the suitcases. I can't think of anything like it without looking at foreign 3rd world countries.
 
I had a pill case that looked a lot like one of Eddie Coyl's .500 rounds but bigger. Tha case was chromed, and the "bullet" was solid brass and screwed onto the end of the case as a cap. Going through Atlanta in the 80s (before TSA) I was stopped going through security because the security agent though I had a cartidge with me.

I laughed, and unscrewed the top to pour my pills into my hand and explained that it wasn't a real "bullet." She wouldn't let me on the plane with it becasue someone else might smuggle an unloaded gun on board and I could supply the ammunition.

After I explained again that it wasn't ammunition, she looked confused for a moment, then said "It looks like a bullet and you can't take it on." The agent won my pill case and my meds.
 
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"still had to remove my shoes" Have they heard something about Customs folks we should know about?? The gun's okay, but the explosive shoes are just too much, I guess.

We flew to Indianapolis out of Manchester last month. The agent at the Southwest counter was apparently fairly new and asked me to rack it and show empty. Other than that, no problem on either end.
 
Windwalker said:
The agent at the Southwest counter was apparently fairly new and asked me to rack it and show empty.
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I would respectfully decline and ask for a supervisor and/or a TSA agent. I did this very thing flying out of Phoenix over Christmas. I had four handguns, a shot gun and an SKS. No way in HELL am I pulling all those out in front of the tons of people to either side of me and behind me in line. NO NEED AT ALL TO DEMONSTRATE "EMPTY" TO THE GATE AGENT. That's what the TSA mandatory luggage x-ray is for. They'll be able to easily see any loaded rounds...and bust you accordingly after lying on the declaration form/card that they were unloaded.
 
Windwalker said:
We flew to Indianapolis out of Manchester last month. The agent at the Southwest counter was apparently fairly new and asked me to rack it and show empty. Other than that, no problem on either end.
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As they should have. From Southwest's "Guns and Ammunition" Travel Tools section. Emphasis mine.

Our Customers must declare the gun to the Customer Service Agent at the ticket counter (no firearms will be accepted curbside) and prove that the firearm(s) chambers are free of ammunition and the magazine clip has been removed (when applicable). Paintball guns and BB guns are considered the same as all other firearms.
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Uncle, you are correct in pointing out that she followed the published Southwest procedures, and I'm not faulting her. I fly Southwest often and I've only had two agents follow the procedure. The rest just took my word for it. As for showing clear in front of a crowd - my back was to the crowd so only my wife (standing next to me) and the agent viewed the show.
 
I am conviced that the whole "take off your shoes" is some sort of make work thing to employ the previously unhire-able foot fetish types..
 
Flying back from Afghanistan we landed in Alaska and were allowed to deplane for resupply and refueling. All the smokers and people wanting fresh air were allowed to go out to the front door. On the return we had to remove our combat boots because that is the policy. So you had 80+ Troopers sitting on the deck removing our boots. Suffice to say we weren't happy.

On same deployment flying back for leave I landed in Atlanta and I was subjected to an inspection of all my gear/body by one of the TSA agents. They actually swapped for gun powder residue, needlessly to say they found a bit.
 
I'm curious what kind of training the check in people have to be knowledgeable enough to determine if the gun is truly unloaded and if their so friggin smart, then why don't they sign the stupid card.

I will not be flying SouthWest with any firearms.

B
 
Windwalker said:
Uncle, you are correct in pointing out that she followed the published Southwest procedures, and I'm not faulting her. I fly Southwest often and I've only had two agents follow the procedure. The rest just took my word for it. As for showing clear in front of a crowd - my back was to the crowd so only my wife (standing next to me) and the agent viewed the show.
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Understood. I've only flown SWA out of Manchester with a bolt action rifle, and although they asked me to open the case, I'm not sure they understood what they were looking at, or for. The citation was aimed at those who are claiming that you are under no obligation to show clear, and your "fairly new" comment made me think that you were in that camp. Stupid or not, it's their airline, their rules.
 
I know this is WAAAAY naiive and all. But, it seems to me that if they see say 10+ soldiers coming back from theatre, all in bdus with tickets from Afghanistan, Iraq or where ever, it is probably a good assumption that they are NOT going to hijaak the plane to take them back to Iraq or blow themselvesup BEFORE going home to their families and should be given a wave through..

I guess I am justsilly that way.

I'd even go one better and allow them to OC their M9s 24x7 everywhere while in uniform..
 
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Arioch said:
I had a pill case that looked a lot like one of Eddie Coyl's .500 rounds but bigger. Tha case was chromed, and the "bullet" was solid brass and screwed onto the end of the case as a cap. Going through Atlanta in the 80s (before TSA) I was stopped going through security because the security agent though I had a cartidge with me.

I laughed, and unscrewed the top to pour my pills into my hand and explained that it wasn't a real "bullet." She wouldn't let me on the plane with it becasue someone else might smuggle an unloaded gun on board and I could supply the ammunition.

After I explained again that it wasn't ammunition, she looked confused for a moment, then said "It looks like a bullet and you can't take it on." The agent won my pill case and my meds.
Click to expand...

My good God. I must have been half asleep when I wrote this. It's corrected now, but I've never seen so many typos in anything else I've written! [frown]
 
Usually they take my word for it. Once, an AirTran agent actually took the M&P herself and looked at it. After complaining, I got a free ticket out of the deal.

The only other time I was annoyed was when I was checking in, demonstrated unloaded to the agent, and someone I know, but who doesn't know I'm a gun owner, happened to be in the same line.
 
i wouldn't put too much blame on tsa for missing items. i used to work on the baggage conveyor systems. the systems beat the hell out of the bags. we would find everything under the sun when doing maint.
 

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