I fly back and forth between Nevada and Louisiana once a week, often traveling with firearms. Recently, I decided to start recording my experiences declaring firearms at the airport, not knowing exactly what I would do with the footage. Yesterday, I had a smooth interaction that I thought would be perfect for a YouTube short—and people seemed to enjoy it! That’s when I realized this could become a series, documenting each time I check in firearms when flying, whether the experience is good or bad.
The goal of this series is to show just how easy it is to declare firearms, as long as you know the rules. Most of the time, the process goes smoothly like it did in this video. However, there are exceptions, especially when airport agents aren’t fully aware of the TSA’s firearm declaration guidelines. For example, about a month ago, I had an interaction where an agent incorrectly told me that I needed TSA-approved locks on my firearm case. I politely corrected him, even showing him the TSA’s own website, which states: “You may use any brand or type of lock to secure your firearm case, including TSA-recognized locks.” Despite this, the agent acted like I was wrong.
These occasional hiccups aside, the process of declaring a firearm is usually straightforward. My approach is to start by clearly stating, “I’m declaring a firearm,” and then being polite and cooperative with any requests—within reason.
I hope you enjoy this quick, smooth interaction in the video above. If you’ve had any interesting experiences when checking in firearms while flying, let me know in the comments below!
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