Using range bag for air travel?

[Armybrat]

Some years ago when my wife retired from her state government career, to her chagrin I "adopted" her very nice soft-sided leather briefcase as my range bag.

There have been several occasions when traveling by commercial air that it would have come in handy as a carry on case for ordinary travel stuff. However, the wife was afraid it would set off all kinds of alarms, what with the gunshot residue that undoubtedly permeates the leather.

What say youse guys? Is she being too cautious?

I've always thought it was no big deal.

 

[Stressfire]

Well, sometimes they have dogs trained to smell for explosives, other times they have electronic sniffers.

Then again, you may just look like a nut. So you get "randomly" selected for extra attention at which point they swab your bag and field test it for explosive chemicals.

Addendum: The pat downs are why I don't fly. But i would be a little nervous wearing clothing that I had shot in, that had not been washed 20 times since.

 

[Wag]

What would concern me the most would be if you got into a rush and failed to completely empty it of every bit of hardware from your last shooting trip. Not worth the risk? I dunno.

Many many years ago, pre-9/11, I grabbed a duffel bag that I had used for a camping trip and went through all the pockets to be sure there were no knives or other paraphernalia still in it. Then I tossed some clothes into it and hauled butt to the airport to go visit family.

In my hurry, I missed a double sided throwing knife and it caused me a minor bit of legal trouble when the airport scanner caught it. Well, three years of legal trouble, actually, along with some Cal-Trans time on a road crew.

Post 9/11, I hate to think how that would have turned out.

--Wag--

 

[Technosavant]

I wouldn't worry too much about the residue; if it tests out positive, they just hand search it.

What I WOULD worry about is a rogue cartridge or casing in there. Several folks have ended up in hot water by having a round rolling around in their carry on. IMO, the potential trouble is SO not worth using a range bag for travel. Ask yourself this: "If I were caught going through security with a live round, is the trouble I'd get in worth $100 to get out of?"

If you answer that in the affirmative (if you have a TSA agent who wants to make a stink, one hour of a lawyer's time will cost WAY more than a new bag), go buy another bag dedicated to travel and leave the range bag as a range bag.

ETA: Wag beat me to it.

In my hurry, I missed a double sided throwing knife and it caused me a minor bit of legal trouble when the airport scanner caught it. Well, three years of legal trouble, actually, along with some Cal-Trans time on a road crew.

I'd bet that the money and time Wag spent easily exceeded what even a high end luxury carry on bag would have cost him.

Better safe than sorry; IMO, you should go get a bag dedicated to travel purposes.

 

[Wag]

I'd bet that the money and time Wag spent easily exceeded what even a high end luxury carry on bag would have cost him.

Most definitely. Paid a high price for THAT edumacation.

--Wag--

 

[carpfisher]

First I support having a seperate bag to avoid that accidental cartridge, etc.
That being said, I traveled with my Skeet gun a while back and the TSA agent swiped the gun for explosive residue, which kind of floored me. And then, it passed!
Apparently "regular" gunpowder doesn't set the alarms off.

 

[Ronbert]

I concur with those who advise getting a different bag. A stray round floating around in it someplace you didn't check would cause lots of trouble.

And one story of swiping a gun and getting no explosive indicated isn't proof of anything. (After all, it was a TSA agent operating the thing. And we don't know much more than the fact that the human is the least reliable part of most any system. And maybe the gun was really clean and maybe they swiped the stock rather than the barrel.... and so forth.)

 

[carpfisher]

Clean? sir you made my day
I agree that this is a single incident and wouldn't push my luck at any time. it just cracked me up that they swab a gun for explosives. I think I heard a big Homer simpson "Huh?' in my head when then did it and it passed.

 

[egor20]

Separate bags always, the last few times I've flown after 9/11 were to very gun unfriendly places, California once and England twice.

I had a roommate in Little Creek Va. that went down to Jungle Training school in Panama, The dogs were VERY interested in his dufflebag when he returned to the States. It was the explosive residue on his boots.

HEY Larry........... you gotta lot of splaining to do

 

[oneounceload]

I got stopped a year ago to get my hands tested for explosive residue - seems whatever equipment they have at the airport detected something - what it was, I have NO idea as I hadn't been shooting or reloading for a week - maybe something on my sneakers??

Anyway, they pulled me aside, used some form of tape substance on my hands and did an instant check and then I went on.

I would imagine a range bag might set off more concern - at least at certain airports.

A friend went through South Dakota for a pheasant hunt last year, as many traveling hunters do. Upon arriving at security on his way home, he realized he had a live shell in his pocket and told security. They just smiled and pointed to the large bin that was half-full with ammo from a lot of other hunters who wore their hunting coat through the checkpoint. If that was Orlando or NYC, he would have gone to jail.

Nice to see some common sense in the smaller locations.

Heed the advice above - a small carry-on can be had for less than $25.

 

[mete]

I know someone who's bag set off the alarms -it had been used to store fireworks months before !

 

[paddling_man]

I've got some heavy duty bags that may double for range or travel. I've had them "sniffed" and hand-checked before.

The idea of getting busted for accidentally not clearing a cartridge gives me pause now.

 

[jhenry]

I used a range bag as a carry on when traveling to San Diego post 9/11 for a week long training with some other folks. It set off some wand sniffer thing and was hand searched. It took a minute or so and I was on my way. This was at the San Diego airport. One of our female officers flew to Las Vegas for training last year and discovered at the hotel that she had a loaded speed loader for a J Frame Smith in the side pocket of her carry on bag. She had pressed that bag into range duty the week before. No one detected anything. She disposed of the ammo and flew back with an empty speed loader. They caught her large shampoo bottle and mouthwash, made her dispose of it, and let her get on with live ammunition right through the x ray and metal detector station. TSA.

 

[Fish_Scientist]

A friend went through South Dakota for a pheasant hunt last year, as many traveling hunters do. Upon arriving at security on his way home, he realized he had a live shell in his pocket and told security. They just smiled and pointed to the large bin that was half-full with ammo from a lot of other hunters who wore their hunting coat through the checkpoint. If that was Orlando or NYC, he would have gone to jail.

Nice to see some common sense in the smaller locations.

For several years, I lived north of Sioux Falls, SD and flew out of FSD fairly regularly. Never have I experienced a more anal bunch of TSA agents in my life. Every little thing that they could check and force you to toss out, they would. I shave and travel with real shaving cream (Taylor of Old Bond Street) and they couldn't determine if it was a liquid or a solid, so they forced me to throw it out. I used to carry a spent, empty, uncleaned, and unprimed .270 case on my keychain as a reminder of my first successful antelope hunt; they forced me to throw it out. Fingernail clippers? Gone. I think they tired to find things that they could throw out. Perhaps because they had so much time on their hands?

I will say, however, that when I forgot a knife was in my duffel that they let me return it to my vehicle. They walked me back out of security and didn't require me to toss it. Maybe it's just the unspent ammo and knives that they seem to forgive...

[/hijack]

Back on topic, I second the motion of getting a travel-specific carry-on bag.

Travel safely -

Fish

 

[bcrash15]

Yeah, broken record here, but no need to chance it.

Detected chemicals and thresholds vary, but some of those airport machines definitely test for gunpowder. Funny story, one of the machinists I used to work with got flagged for microscopic magnesium filings on his shoes from the shop, and no one had worked on magnesium in months. It shouldn't really be unexpected, but just caught him by surprise.

 

[SurplusShooter]

I saw some one get strip searched for wearing a jacket that they had been wearing the day before when shooting it still had residue that was detected on it. This happened in 2008 in florida airport. I would not chance it.

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

There's no way I'd use a range bag for air travel. Too much chance of missing something cleaning it out.

I flew to the USSR back in 1989, when it was still the USSR. Somewhere in a forest outside Stalins dacha (summer home) at Stochi, is a box of Remington Golden Bullet .22LR. I found it in a jacket pocket that I had thought I looked through throughly before leaving the US.

I left it where it was hidden, but could easily have been found, wonder if the Rooskies found it and what they thought?

 

[Rifleman1776]

The system is so flawed a good answer can't be given.
My main suitcase is camoflage canvas. It gets searched every time.
Then we took a trip to Hawaii, across country and back. When we got home and I was unpacking I found an 'FBI letter opener', meaning hard plastic boot knife in my carry-on. I carried it both ways without knowing it was in there. Never detected. Some security.

 

[JACK308]

I'l tell you something that happend to me a few years ago,I was going to take the ferry across the lake and a lady with a dog meet me at the gate the dog started to SNIFF my truck and started to bark! I told the lady I bought a 22 rifle about a week ago!

 

[TailGator]

They caught her large shampoo bottle and mouthwash, made her dispose of it, and let her get on with live ammunition right through the x ray and metal detector station. TSA.

I have told this before, but it is similar to your story in a funny and sad way:

My daughter traveled to Austria unchallenged with a key-chain-sized can of pepper spray dangling in plain view from an outside ring of her carry-on bag. On the way back, they confiscated a Tide pen. Okeedokie.