Airline firearms and ammo law

Sav

Well-Known Member
Like most of you guys I always carry my rifle bolt separate to the rifle, I've noticed on some photos of flight cases posted on SD they have the bolt with the rifle. Is this correct practice? also what is the law on ammo how much can you take on domestic and international flights and where should it be stored.
 
Yes rifle kept with bolt in the case. I once got the wrong end of the stick and took my bolt with me in my hand luggage - it took some explaining but was fine once they realised it was useless without the rifle!
 
well we have just been told by airline that Bolt & Ammo must go seperate in hand luggage in locked metal box and all ammo must be unopened to fly to Finland in November.
 
Each airline has its own peculiar rules but DfT and international regulations they must be based on. The basic rules are gun and ammo separate in the hold only, no more than 5kg of ammo.
 
Since the year 2000 between November and January I have travelled three, sometimes four times a year with firearms and can tell you that each Airline interprets the Aviation Rules for Carrying Arms and Ammunition differently.
The only hard and fast rule regarding the rifle is that it has to be packed separately from your normal hold luggage and in a secure case, I have always packed my bolt with it .
Ammunition is a topic of it's own! I have always packed it in my normal hold luggage.
It used to be in it's cardboard carton and was acceptable, then it had to be in a locked container.
So now, to be on the safe side, I use a small red metal money box from Smiths the stationers. It holds fifty 30-06 rounds comfortably.
Sometimes the Airline wants to look at it and sometimes not and as for reloads or otherwise, I wouldn't think the airline staff would be able to tell the difference.
 
last time i went away i had factory rounds in there cardboard boxes and my handloads with the calibre in question stamped onto those plastic boxes ,but you need the lockable ones ammunition goes in your luggage seperate to your rifle . i had been told by more experienced travellers to put everything you could inside the rifle case like bins knife and any other stalking related guff ,that way you keep your weight down on your luggage as it soon mounts up with up to 5 kilo of ammo, atb wayne
 
ammuniton must be in original packaging, no handloads
Who said and why ?
I've never heard of such a thing and how would any of the airline staff know anyway.
I now carry my ammo in the plastic inserts inside a metal money box, no cardboard or makers name or even indication of the calibre is visible.
On the odd occassion that I have been asked to show my ammo, mainly to show I have not gone over my ammo weight allowance, nobody has asked anything other than "how many"
On one occassion I did have some Winchester silver tips and when I opened the box, the Jamaican driver of the mini bus looked at them and said how pretty they looked and said they would make nice ear rings !!!!
That was about the only time I have had any conversation about my ammo other than, "how many and what did I think they weighed"
Perhaps Domestic flights are different because I did give a mate some ammo cartons once many years ago to use to take his home loaded ammo to Scotland once.
 
Remember, the airports also have their own rules.Luton will accept ammo in checked suitcase but Manchester will not. Paris and Lisbon won't either.Airport rules change more often than airlines. It's all down to who gets stung with the duty of logging firearms. No one can be bothered. Last time I came back into Luton the Easyjet handler took us all into the Red Channel and asked Border Force if they wanted to check "these eight UK guys bringing their rifles back in". They just waived us through. Of course the lad who put his ammo in his case at Lisbon didn't get on the plane and had to buy a new ticket.Stan
 
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