Gun Safe for Travel

[wyntrout]

Well, I got to wondering if I could carry more than one pistol in my little Gun Safe for airline travel. Here are my results and some pictures. It seems I can squeeze any two of my Kahrs into this little safe.
The plastic-coated I/4" anchor chain is a possible way to secure it better than the cable that was included. It would entail enlarging the existing hole and drilling another to allow me to bolt the u-bolt from the inside and use a lock with the one-foot of anchor chain. My suitcases have dual steel "spines" running through the bottom from handle to the wheeled bottom. I could padlock the chain or cable to that to make pilferage just a little bit harder.
My Source for the Gun Case was Sportsman's Guide:
Secure - It Handgun Storage Safe, Shooting Supplies, Secure-It at Sportsman's Guide

On sale at Cabela's the key lock version:

http://www.cabelas.com/p-0045006228564a.shtml

I had thought the locking cam didn't intrude into the gun area, but it does, so I put a piece of a Post-It in there so I could check the clearance.
Pictured are the K9, PM9, PM45, & the P380. All combinations work, but I would add a bit of cushioning between the guns, just in case.

Wynn

[hsart]

Since the 70s I have used a Zero Halliburton aluminum foam-lined attache case. Last time I used it it held two Glock 19s, 6 magazines and a couple of Surefire 6p lights. It is indestructible... it will far outlast me. Mine is black and has a combo lock and a steel ring on outside for securing. When they first came out ads had them dropped from planes and pickup trucks driving over them with no internal damage. Airtight and possibly will not leak if dropped in water but do not want to test that. I think you can find used ones for far less than retail on ebay.

[jlottmc]

I' m looking for something that I can bolt in the truck, thin and large enough for a 1911 or my GP100 and the ability to bolt it out of sight yet accessible. Any thoughts? I found something at a gun shop here that might fit the bill, it has a 7 pin tubular style tumbler lock on it, and it looks like it can detach from the main bolted body. I was thinking of putting that in the side pocket of my door and bolting to the door frame.

[Ol'coot]

I have a couple of the same units as Wynn, one in each of our vehicles. They work great and can be bolted to the vehicle if so desired. I feel the included cable is sufficient as with any safe, it is a temporary roadblock at deterring a thief but will not stop a thief with time and tools from taking the contents or the entire safe. I have not traveled by air with my pistol but think this case is about as good a deterrent as you can easily carry for this purpose. I know of a local man that had his home broken into earlier this year and the thief's took his 800 Lbs gun safe that was bolted to the floor and to the wall of his home while he was away for the weekend. The safe was found in a farmers field about 3 miles a way, the locking lugs cut out with a industrial gas powered abrasive cut off saw, none of the 30 or so weapon inside have been recovered. Amazing what can be done if time permits.

[Bawanna]

We have very similar units in the trunk of many of our police cars. Sole purpose being the new local YMCA didn't want officers inside their new city funded facility with guns while they swam or worked out or whatever. SO, they lock their guns in the box in the trunk.
I found a much easier solution. I just don't go there..........................

[jlottmc]

Bawanna, I like that solution. Our legislature just gave a compromise so that CHL holders no longer have to identify in a vehicle (the session before last they said no license needed in a vehicle), the trade off was you had to have a safe made of not less than 12 gauge steel in your vehicle. If your vehicle got stolen and you had left your weapon while still hidden then you are "aiding and abetting". I need a box now because I technically can't carry at work (this would be a felony if I were to get caught, the whole college campus thing). And since I have a small truck anyway, none of the truck vault type makers have anything anyway, never mind the fact that those things are expensive.

[Bawanna]

Bawanna, I like that solution. Our legislature just gave a compromise so that CHL holders no longer have to identify in a vehicle (the session before last they said no license needed in a vehicle), the trade off was you had to have a safe made of not less than 12 gauge steel in your vehicle. If your vehicle got stolen and you had left your weapon while still hidden then you are "aiding and abetting". I need a box now because I technically can't carry at work (this would be a felony if I were to get caught, the whole college campus thing). And since I have a small truck anyway, none of the truck vault type makers have anything anyway, never mind the fact that those things are expensive.

So far we're ok up here. It's legal to leave a gun in your vehicle if it's out of sight and the vehicle is locked. No safe required.
Had a guy a few years ago had a 49 chev pickup, real pretty. Didn't want to leave his gun in the truck so he left it on top of one of the tires. The fender completely covered it, thinking no one would look there even though lots of people leave their keys there. Anyhow worked great cept he forgot about it and drove off. Never did recover that one.

[07hemi4me]

I have the exact same case in both our trucks. Great for times when you need to go where they do not believe in the 2nd Amendment. Like when I had Jury duty last month...

[wyntrout]

Here's a picture of my setup as flown for the first time. Remember that the "Unloaded Certification Card" goes outside the safe, but next to it, because TSA WILL open your luggage to look for that card. Don't use a TSA-approved lock... the kind anyone can open with their "master key". The one on the outside of the luggage should be TSA approved, so they won't have to cut it!

My ammo was in the magazines inside holders or in its original boxes, inside the orange, waterproof box... unlocked.

I used the gun lock because I figured TSA could figure out that the gun was unloaded with that through the barrel when they x-rayed the luggage, not to mention that it might slow down a thief!

Wynn

[Longitude Zero]

Even in a locked case leaving a gun in your vehicle while is not the smartest/best option. Better yet CCW it and have no wories about it being stolen from your vehicle.

A buddy for one of the major airlines said they and several others are looking to reduce the amount or completely eliminate the carriage of ANY and ALL ammo on commercial aircraft with passengers on-board.

[dkmatthews]

A buddy for one of the major airlines said they and several others are looking to reduce the amount or completely eliminate the carriage of ANY and ALL ammo on commercial aircraft with passengers on-board.

Not happy to hear this!

[Longitude Zero]

Me either. It may take some time before one of the carriers jumps and does it but once the first domino falls the rest will fall quickly. It is the monkey see monkey do philosophy. The probable first step would be to reduce the weight of ammo that can be carried to five pounds or maybe even one pound.

[dkmatthews]

The problem the airlines will have with creating that kind of policy is enforcement.

The ticketing agents are already stretched thinner than before, so now they will be expected to weigh my ammo, too?

Because of that, it seems more likely that one or more airlines will simply go straight to a zero ammo policy instead of reducing the allowable limit. As it stands now, I haven't ever seen one of them insist on weighing my ammo to make sure I'm under the 11 pounds limit.

[Longitude Zero]

Strangely enough, I was behind a gentleman in Atlanta last year and they had him weigh his bag both with and without the ammo. Fortunately the difference was only 8 lbs. The agent told him that if he was over he would have to leave the gate area, and possibly the airport to properly dispose of any overage in weight.

I agree that we are only a few years away from no ammo flying. If it is any consolation the FAA is looking at a lot of other flammable/potentially explosive items to ban also. Cargo consolidators will be especially irritated. It all started with the ValuJet crash.

[jlottmc]

I had them weigh my ammo once, even had to take it out of the ammo can. I told you guys about the last time I flew with a weapon, which is also the last time I have flown commercial (or anything else) since. I thought about re-certifying my pilots license, but it's just too expensive to fly.