Transporting your firearm

Are there any special regulations I need to be aware of when it comes to flying with my firearms? Specifically flying out of Illinois to Arizona? Assuming stops in KS, TX, NM and AZ in case that's relevant. I'd like to avoid doing anything that could land me in trouble.

Specifically, any relevant FARs or federal regulations someone can direct me about:
(1) Whether it's legal to carry my guns (pistols) on my own private plane;
(2) The requirements for storing them aboard;
(3) Any restrictions on states that wouldn't permit you to have them? I live in IL which has the most onerous gun laws of any state I can think of, so I'd think I'm OK to have them in other states but certainly not positive on that.

And any special considerations aside about flying with them? It'd be just the guns themselves, no boxes of ammo. Going to buy that at my destination before we go shooting.

 

Don't think the FAA gives a rat's ares nor are there FAR restrictions but you are subject to each state's individual laws that you would pass through/stop at for transporting firearms.

 

Good to hear.
Thankfully as I make my way west bound the states become increasingly more conservative, which I'm assuming translates into more relaxed laws .
Good to hear you don't know of any FARs on the matter.

 

https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/resources/federal-ccw-law/federal-firearms-transportation-laws/

 

Thank you! I think this it the part I was most concerned about:
"The firearm must be unloaded, and neither the firearm nor any ammunition can be readily accessible from the passenger compartment. In the case of a vehicle without a compartment separate from the driver’s compartment, the firearm or ammunition shall be contained in a locked container other than the glove compartment or console. It is recommended that ammunition be in a separate, preferably locked container."

As the baggage compartment is really just the back portion of the cabin, I was wondering if that would be considered "accessible". It sounds like from that text that if I keep them unloaded, with the gun locks in them, locked in a box and placed in the rear compartment, then I should be OK.

 

Until of course you hit California.

 

Search on reciprocal states to yours for concealed carry.

 

Hmm haven't heard of that before. I'll google that. Danke.

 

So if you have a ccw in your state, certain other states will reciprocate, but you still need to know the laws of the other state. Like for rough river, KY is a reciprocal state to NC for concealed carry but they have slightly different laws for carrying in state parks. This is something you should know outside of aviation, just by being the responsible gun owner that you are.

 

Oh I see.
Yeah I don't have a concealed carry permit. I bought the guns for home defense and range shooting. I never really saw a case where I'd bring them out of state.
It just so happens that my friend in Arizona is a big gun nut with a whole collection of them (a responsible gun nut, though). He wants me to bring the guns down so we can shoot them and he can show me how to properly maintain them since he had complaints about how I was doing it before. So.. in short.. I've just never really had to research the idea of going across state lines with them before! (And it's only pistols so not like I'm going hunting trips with em lol).

 

An IL permit (which you just said you do not have as not required perhaps in your state?) may give the least benefit in NM. You could additionally get a non-resident permit from Florida that would provide additional benefits.

Note that Illinois does not allow carry with a Florida permit but if you wanted, you could get the Illinois as a resident and also a Florida non-resident permit. That would give you decent coverage across a reasonable number of states.

 

In Illinois you have a FOID card, that I do have as it's required to buy a gun here. But I don't have a concealed carry permit, which would allow me to carry it on myself when I go out and about around town (with some limitations, from what I understand). Previously I've only ever kept it at home, in the trunk of my car, and at the range -- so it's been kind of a non-issue til now.

 

Highly recommend a local safety course. A lot of time they’re free or cheap, always fun and sounds like there are some safety items you could benefit from. Really no reason not to do it that I can think of.

 

Yeah, I should do one. I had one back when I was first got my firearms license when I was... well... about half a lifetime ago. A refresher would not hurt.

 

Castle doctrine and nunya.

 

I'd suggest that you do a firearms safety course, get a permit to carry, and do so responsibly. I would if I hadn't lost my only firearm in a horrible boating accident years ago ...

 

Keep in mind that what this is really saying is that state laws are generally more restrictive than federal law, so comply with state law.

State law, however, may or may not apply on airport property.

 

Yep ... and stay out of New Jersey!

 

I'm convinced. I'll do another firearm safety course, maybe even this weekend while I'm down in AZ. My friend is very connected with the firearm community there.
I'll probably skip getting a permit to carry in IL, only because I don't want to be tempted to carry it around. Personal preference. The places I could carry it, I wouldn't want it (e.g., shopping). The places I would want it, I can't carry it for good reasons (e.g., at a bar). I'd rather have 911 on speed dial and routinely vote to beef up police presence. It helps that I live in a nice suburb that's about the safest area in the state. But not carrying is just a personal opinion, no grudge against people who do. Home defense is a different story all together.

 

Pretty sure KS/OK/TX don't care as it's mostly permit-less carry as long as you're 21 or older for handguns. Nothing over .45 caliber for handguns in OK, for some odd reason, but nothing armor-piercing in TX.

 

At one time I thought much the same way. A friend (law officer, FFI, & dealer) asked why I never carried. I said that I worked in government buildings where if not strictly prohibited it was difficult to get approval. At the airport there are few people and the risk seems low. At church I thought most people were not there with evil on their minds. We then had a conversation about all the killings in government buildings, shootings in airports, and the gunning down of people sitting in churches (Dillon Roof comes to mind and killed at least one person I was familiar with).

I'm certainly not trying to change your mind but there is truth in the saying that when seconds count the police are minutes away ...

 

There's no question to me that there's truth to that statement, and that's why I feel pretty strongly about having a weapon for home defense. If someone were, god forbid, to try and come after something near and dear to me -- one of us will probably die in the process. Better them than me, IMHO. I'd prefer not to be sheltering in place and hoping the police arrive before anything escalates.

But when it comes to events out in public, it's a tiny risk, day-to-day. If you're ever caught in that situation there's no question it could be a lifesaver, but at the expense of always having to be cognizant that you have a weapon on you and you need to keep your wits about you and act responsible (i.e., don't drink, don't get too hot-headed, ...) and to avoid places where it isn't allowed (e.g., many buildings in IL don't allow it). So I'd rather leave guns out of the equation in my life as much as possible than have them at the ready along with the burden of carrying them responsibly.

I would feel very differently if I lived or traveled to unsafe areas all the time, or if I had a profession that constantly put me in confrontation with people (e.g., repo man).

 

To paraphrase my longwinded philosophy...
Bad guy outside the house: I'll run.

Bad guy inside my house:

 

And it doesn't matter if they wanted money or something sexual

 

I have a concealed carry, it was a pain to get it during Covid and with the delays it was frankly ridiculous (probably took over a year). During Covid many of our neighbors were getting broken into, and when it happened a few doors down, I got the go ahead from my other half to buy one. I may have got a few too many, and too many bullets too. But I have them, went to the range a few times, clean them now and then, I keep one in the car at all times with extra magazines (mostly in case I break down in the middle of nowhere and cannot get away from a problem). I do not feel comfortable carrying it while walking outside, probably due to lack of experience. I want to fly to Alaska and was planning to bring one, was thinking protection from animals during hiking, hope I don’t have to land in Canada with it enroute, I saw there was a form that I can fill out to do that, more procedural. I don’t think anyone is going to search your airplane, and unless it’s in the front seat loaded, it’s basically not reachable and I think no problems. It’s not like you’re going to pull it out and shoot at other airplanes in flight. There’s not enough room in these airplanes to get a proper grip on the gun while flying to even use it, from a logical standpoint.

 

Forget the gun and carry a magnesium flare. The bright light and loud hissing noise will scare off even the meanest bears.

And learn to identify the difference in wolf scat and bear scat. Easiest way is wolf scat is smallish and have hair in it.

Bear scat will have bear bells in it and smell like pepper spray...

 

A person with a criminal record watched as the parents departed, walked to the front porch, and knocked.

The teen age girl inside told him to go away. He kicked the door open, and entered, she fled upstairs to her bedroom.

From there, she shouted "IF YOU COME UP HERE I WILL SHOOT YOU".

He came up the stairs, she shot him with a 20 G semi automatic gun, skeet load, and he tumbled backward down the stairs.

The Police arrived in a couple of minutes, and sent him to the morgue.

Their arrival so soon was the result of the next door neighbor seeing that stranger walk up to the door, and as a precaution, called the police. They had also seen the parents leave, and knew she was home alone.

The intruder must have not realized that she was the teen skeet champion of the state. Seconds counted, even though the Police were on the way. At less than 10 feet, it does not matter what shells are in a shotgun, the results are the same.

My favorite home defense is a 20 G, but with goose loads.

 

Wonder how this applies theoretically to an unanticipated landing due to weather, emergency, etc. In practice it very likely wouldn't matter in any case

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution?wprov=sfti1

 

It's hard to imagine how having the gun or guns properly carried (empty, safe, separate from ammunition, in a case) stowed in a baggage compartment could go wrong. That said, I've run into some pretty creative law enforcement folks over the years.

 

I'm sure someone offers a hardpoint STC for the arrow, so you can keep the ARs out of the cabin

"don't ask, don't tell" seems the best advice. I've never had LEOs anywhere near my plane unless they were sightseeing while on duty.

 

Most every LEO I've had the pleasure to deal with don't care if you're carrying a firearm. Most of them tell me, "we figure everyone is."

 

Even bad guys have legitimate reasons for protecting themselves. Don't villiry them for protecting themselves, vilify them for being bad guys.

 

My bigger concern, especially at airports in more urban areas would be someone who doesn’t know diddly about the law seeing it and causing issues.

Rural airports, especially in areas where hunting is popular are probably used to it. But still it’s best if nobody ever knows it’s there. For handguns you can easily conceal one in bags and still comply with the law by keeping it out of reach and the ammo in a separate bag. For long guns I’d pull my vehicle up to the aircraft in such a way that it blocks anyone’s view and quickly transfer the cargo over.

 

Check with local gun shops and see if any offer the UTAH CCW course. That give the ability to carry in a lot of states. They do it here in NY, usually an 8 maybe 16 hour course.

 

There is an Apple app that goes into great detail regarding not just which states are reciprocal but specific laws that can vary. Armed Attorneys on YT also goes into this issue

 

There are stealth gun cases that look like guitar cases. Add a couple of I ❤️ Biden stickers and you are good to go.

 

If you're going to do any overnights at hotels, I'd suggest a way to lock it to some bit of furniture. Hotel safes are usually a bit of a joke, and it's rare but sometimes staff will go through a room for goodies. Last thing you want is to have one stolen while you're sleeping. Maybe overkill, I tend to be a bit overprotective of stuff like that.

 

Also, write down the serial number somewhere so if stolen you can give an accurate report to LE.