We’ve traveled the country with my youngest and her two rifles for years... this is what worked for us:

Pelican 1750 with some of the foam removed
Placed each rifle (both Walthhers) into a soft case
Place soft cases into pelican and then LOCK

We chose key operated pad locks ( sourced from a locksmith, not Home Depot) and had all locks keyed the same.

Claires case had 4 places for a padlock. Southwest didn’t care if we used 2 or 4. United insisted on using all 4. I carry spare locks and keys with me

You CAN NOT use a TSA lock to secure the case. Federal law requires you to be the ONLY one to maintain control of the key and hence be able to unlock the case

Each air line has subtle differences for how they handle this. I print off the TSA reg AND the airline reg the day before traveling. I leave a copy in the rifle case and carry a copy with me. Having yesterday’s date on the print out helped me in one ‘discussion’ with the TSA.

Airlines SHOULD Secure your luggage and make you show ID to claim it from the oversized area or the baggage office. The only issues we’ve had was when united placed the case on the carousel instead

Allow a modest increase in time to deal with ticket agents who may not understand and the possibility that TSA inspection will require the case to be opened. I allow +30 mins for BWI and +60 at Dulles.

Make sure your case is marked with your phone number.

May be worth a quick trip to your airport to discuss with your airline.


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