4 ms·

I genuinely love reading about clever and harmless hacks like these that exploit the letter of the law to solve problems that the makers and enforcers of said l

I genuinely love reading about clever and harmless hacks like these that exploit the letter of the law to solve problems that the makers and enforcers of said law probably don't know or care about.

dwater 5y ago
Flare guns are also allowed and treated as firearms, so anyone can go to Walmart or an outdoors store and pick one up without any legal requirements and then use that to improve the security of their luggage. One of the first hits I got searching for this was for people traveling with fursuits worth thousands of dollars. http://www.fursuit.care/travel/flying-with-a-firearm-in-your-fursuit-tote/ http://www.fursuit.care/travel/flying-with-a-firearm-in-your...
- njovin 5y ago
  Also "starter pistols" used during track meets.
dylan604 5y ago
Harmless hacks that will require you to spend extra time in the airport security. It's not like you can "just" do this and expect no hassle. You will be called aside for additional screening, etc.
- alfalfasprout 5y ago
  Not really-- this stuff is just declared at the check-in kiosk and becomes part of your checked baggage allowance.
  - dylan604 5y ago
    I have not tried it myself, but my understanding is that when you declare this kind of checked luggage that you were automatically redirected for hand searching of your luggage. Since you can place locks that inspectors don't have keys for, they would require you to be present in order for them to be searched. If you have done this personally and found this not to be the case, I'd find that very interesting. I've known one person that has done this, and what I described is what I was told happened to them.
    - Ancapistani 5y ago
      I’ve traveled pretty extensively with firearms, and it’s almost never an issue. It varies depending on the airport, but I’ve found that it actually makes things quite a bit faster at smaller airports, airports in “red” states, and airports that are typically hunting destinations.” In fact, I’d say it usually _speeds_ check-in, at least compared to having to check a bag at the counter anyhow.
      - dylan604 5y ago
        Depending on airport is so true. I had a work trip where a coworker was wearing a t-shirt that had a design of a bunch of words in the shape of two revolvers with their barrels crossed. It was a same day round trip, so he received "random" special attention on both legs. On a different trip, the person sitting next to me told me his story of how the belt he was wearing that had bullet casings (don't know what caliber) that were cut in half and punched into the leather as a design. TSA flagged him, airport police took him into custody, later to be remanded to the sheriff. He spent overnight in sheriff's lockup, brought back to the airport after arraignment, and then told to not ever wear that belt to an aiport again. Because of these stories, my expectations of having anything firearm related going through an airport as nightmarish. Then you hear of people getting full handguns past TSA. So I don't know what to think honestly
        jdavis703 5y ago
        The TSA website makes it pretty clear that ammo and toy guns are prohibited as a carryon. Even though the website doesn’t say so, I think someone could assume this ranges from everything from shell casings to a fake ammo belt. Also FWIW it seems like red state airports have the most signs warning travelers not to bring guns or ammo through security. I have yet to see this at blue state airports.

I genuinely love reading about clever and harmless hacks like these that exploit the letter of the law to solve problems that the makers and enforcers of said law probably don't know or care about.

dwater 5y ago

Flare guns are also allowed and treated as firearms, so anyone can go to Walmart or an outdoors store and pick one up without any legal requirements and then use that to improve the security of their luggage. One of the first hits I got searching for this was for people traveling with fursuits worth thousands of dollars. http://www.fursuit.care/travel/flying-with-a-firearm-in-your-fursuit-tote/ http://www.fursuit.care/travel/flying-with-a-firearm-in-your...

njovin 5y ago
Also "starter pistols" used during track meets.

dylan604 5y ago

Harmless hacks that will require you to spend extra time in the airport security. It's not like you can "just" do this and expect no hassle. You will be called aside for additional screening, etc.

alfalfasprout 5y ago
Not really-- this stuff is just declared at the check-in kiosk and becomes part of your checked baggage allowance.
- dylan604 5y ago
  I have not tried it myself, but my understanding is that when you declare this kind of checked luggage that you were automatically redirected for hand searching of your luggage. Since you can place locks that inspectors don't have keys for, they would require you to be present in order for them to be searched. If you have done this personally and found this not to be the case, I'd find that very interesting. I've known one person that has done this, and what I described is what I was told happened to them.
  - Ancapistani 5y ago
    I’ve traveled pretty extensively with firearms, and it’s almost never an issue. It varies depending on the airport, but I’ve found that it actually makes things quite a bit faster at smaller airports, airports in “red” states, and airports that are typically hunting destinations.” In fact, I’d say it usually _speeds_ check-in, at least compared to having to check a bag at the counter anyhow.
    - dylan604 5y ago
      Depending on airport is so true. I had a work trip where a coworker was wearing a t-shirt that had a design of a bunch of words in the shape of two revolvers with their barrels crossed. It was a same day round trip, so he received "random" special attention on both legs. On a different trip, the person sitting next to me told me his story of how the belt he was wearing that had bullet casings (don't know what caliber) that were cut in half and punched into the leather as a design. TSA flagged him, airport police took him into custody, later to be remanded to the sheriff. He spent overnight in sheriff's lockup, brought back to the airport after arraignment, and then told to not ever wear that belt to an aiport again. Because of these stories, my expectations of having anything firearm related going through an airport as nightmarish. Then you hear of people getting full handguns past TSA. So I don't know what to think honestly
      - jdavis703 5y ago
        The TSA website makes it pretty clear that ammo and toy guns are prohibited as a carryon. Even though the website doesn’t say so, I think someone could assume this ranges from everything from shell casings to a fake ammo belt. Also FWIW it seems like red state airports have the most signs warning travelers not to bring guns or ammo through security. I have yet to see this at blue state airports.