BA Alert

[Rangefinder]

I sympaphise with your experiences and plights fella's.

Should this not be something our so called lobby groups e.g. BASC & BDS take up on our behalf to sort out? They deal with firearms with the police why not BA as well??

 

[shakari]

It's not really BA. - They just interpret the rules a little more literally than other airlines.

All commercial airlines worldwide are bound by te Air Navigation Order/Carriage of Dangerous Goods act. This was originally British and then adopted by all the other countries worldwide with the intention that if they all had the same set of rules, the situation couldn't arise where an item was legal in the country of departure but illegal in the country of arrival. That intention has actually been overtaken by lots of other legislation now.............. BUT that act still exists, is enforced and generally speaking is the overriding piece of legislation.

That act divides firearms into two catagories. One is sporting firearms which airlines are allowed to carry and the other is weapons of war, which they are not allowed to carry. Any firearm that has ever been adopted by a military force anywhere in the world is classified as a weapon of war, which they are not permitted to carry. - Some airlines enforce thar part of the act to the letter and some do not. - But those that do, are quite within their rights not to accept military calibres.

To change the rules would require acts of legislation in every country in the world......... and that ain't gonna happen.

Hope that helps.

 

[kuwinda]

Kuwinda

If you check your manuals, you'll find the shoulder angles are slightly different and like the 2 slightly different 500 Jefferys one will fit the other, but not the other way round. To admit they're the same identical calibre would be to play into the hands of thos who want to make life awkward for us hunters.

Looking as I write at my Speer manual I see thjat you are talking bollocks. I've got somewhere a Viht manual and Nosler data also - but I'm quite certain the information is the same. As far as can remember the only difference between miltary and civilian brass is that military brass is generally Berdan primed - 2 primer holes and hence not re-loadable and also thicker in the wall - and the shoulder angle is 20 degrees by the way - in both cases.

In any event there are innumerable other 'military' calibres out there in common use if you want to look at them that way - 7x57, 30-06, 6.6x55, 223, etc.

This whole thing is just a 'jobsworth' scam by the airlines to make certain people feel self-important. Any time I've ever travelled with firearms (and thats not a huge amount) there is always another hurdle of bureurocracy to leap.

 

[EMcC]

Airlines are a rule unto themselves.
I travel four times a year during the winter period from Heathrow to Poland, Croatia, Czech Republic and Germany and each time there is something different, it is a complete lottery.
Recently I went to Germany by Lufthansa, going over, my .308 rifle was classed as sporting equipment and not included in my baggage allowance, no problems at all, but coming back it was classed as excess baggage, not sports equipment and I had to pay 35 Euros.
My total weight coming home was 30kg so my rifle was 8kg over my allowance I had no choice but to pay up and grin and bear it as I still thought it was good value anyway.
Going over I know my Suitcase weighed 20kg, it was slightly lighter coming back, less bullets and no bottles of port or chocolate and extra grub so i was real P****d off.

 

[shakari]

Kuwinda

I've checked 3 reloading manuals and 3 other reference books and 50% tell me there's a difference in shoulder angle. However, be that as it may, might I suggest you re-read the last sentence of my post that you quoted and then read BETWEEN the lines!

As long as even one book claims a difference, you can debate a difference.

 

[geoshot]

Never mind calibres and different countrys' reaction to them, any rifle of whatever calibre travelling via Heathrow is at risk from the baggage handlers and customs staff who work there, as it appears that they are all totally incompetent!
For example, 16 of us on a trip to Croatia recently had all of our precious rifles go missing!
The staff at Terminal 2 didn't know what to do with them and just threw them (literally, if the state of my rifle case when it turned up was anything to go by) into the corner of a shed, despite customs having logged them all into a big black book (no sign of the digital age in evidence).
When our luggage was traced the BTP then expected us to return in person to Heathrow before they would forward them to Zagreb when they realised their mistake, but they relented and sent them on (as a favour!) when they realised that they were at fault not us., but it tokk a long time to convince them.
All in all not a reassuring experience about the ability of airport staff/cops to comprehend firearms regulations.
Check, check and recheck, make sure you are not in apparent breach of restictions and them hope that the numpties employed by the airlines and the various branches of officialdom can at least read, but don't expect your beloved firearm to follow you on your travels.