Air Pistols and Air Travel

[F. Paul in Denver]

Two questions:

1. Do airline regs require the declaration of air pistols in checked baggage??

Seems to me it would be wiser to declare them even if not required to avoid that situation where security personnel discover what appears to be an undeclared pistol on the xray machine. If that happens, they probably wont care whether it's an AP or not before hauling you in to explain and possibly cause you to miss a flight.

2. I am thinking about taking my AP to Switzerland next year. Does anyone know what if any restrictions are in place for the import of an AP to that country??

Thanks gang.


F. Paul

[GOVTMODEL]

It's worth declaring them so you don't have to try to explain that they aren't firearms.

You do have to sjhow that the air cylinders are empty, so you'll be taking the airgun out of its case anyway.

[Pradeep]

I always declare my air pistol when travelling, just as a pistol. Including the word air only causes confusion. As long as they put the red tag in the bag I'm happy. And they've never asked me to show them it's unloaded/empty or anything like that.

[aurorapolice02_11]

You asked about traveling overseas. You'll also want to take your guns to the local customs office. You should get a Form 4457. This basically is a small form that goes inside your Passport. Before you travel, you list your guns and serial numbers and have customs stamp the form. This is not done the day of travel, but prior by whatever time frame you feel comforatable. I would also contact the customs office by phone.

Essentially the form is used for high priced serialized items such as guns, electronics, cameras, etc. It makes it easier coming and going so no one thinks you bought the items overseas and therefore you would be required to pay a "duty".

As far as regulations, i dunno. when i flew to Switzerland, Erich lined it all up...and he spoke German, so he was able to talk to airport officials.

Hope that helps,

Mike Douglass

[Spencer C]

Two questions:

1. Do airline regs require the declaration of air pistols in checked baggage??


2. I am thinking about taking my AP to Switzerland next year. Does anyone know what if any restrictions are in place for the import of an AP to that country??


F. Paul

A check with your NF (USAShooting?) would be advisable.

Not all countries view air guns as not being firearms and this can cause problems, including transit stops even when your luggage does not come out of the hold.

Check if you need an import permit at the other end (which often means you need a export permit to get it/them back out)

S

[WRC177]

For question #2, hope this gives you some insight:

A trillion years ago I traveled from USA to Austria thru Germany with my .22 rifle. What was required to get into Germany with it, was a letter of invitation from the German national shooting association. That letter, and the match program from the Austrian event, got me thru customs.
Since then, the world has changed a few different times (unification of Europe into the EU, & 9/11) so your mileage may vary greatly, but it would certainly be prudent to get in touch with your "local" Swiss Consulate for the latest info. You should find one in the larger cities of the USA: New York, Chicago, etc.

[F. Paul in Denver]

Thanks a bunch to all who responded

[Jose Rossy]

Be aware that most countries require that you show a "firearms license" from your own country in order to obtain a temporary permit to posses a weapon in theirs.

Since very few US states have any firerams licensing schemes (and I know Colorado does not), it might be prudent to obtain a letter from the local police chief stating that you are legally allowed to own the specific firearm you are carrying.

I know you asked about air pistols, but many countries, including most of Europe, considers air guns firearms.

[GaryN]

I would declare it at the airlines.
On the X-Ray, they can't tell that it isn't a "firearm." They see the outline of a pistol, and that's proably their key to investigate. At least that's what happened to me. Of course, I got unlucky with a security person that didn't know what to do. She asked me to remove the gun and she went looking for her supervisor, with the gun case in her hands. UAL and her supervisor both told me that she did not follow proper procedures.

gud luk
Gary

[amanoos]

I have a somewhat related question. I'm planning to buy a Steyr LP10 when I visit Austia next month on my vacation and bringing it back to New York USA. I called up both the US Customs and the ATF and they both say I should have no problem bringing back an air pistol. Now I just want to find out if anybody else has done this and what was your experience like.

Thanks for any info.

Regards,
Ariel

[Jose Rossy]

I have a somewhat related question. I'm planning to buy a Steyr LP10 when I visit Austia next month on my vacation and bringing it back to New York USA. I called up both the US Customs and the ATF and they both say I should have no problem bringing back an air pistol. Now I just want to find out if anybody else has done this and what was your experience like.

Thanks for any info.

Regards,
Ariel

I would definitely get in contact with a lawyer familiar with NYC pistol laws. NYC is different than the rest of the state and there are documented cases of people being arrested for travelling through there with handguns. Whether the arrests were legal or not is something I'm not sure of, but I would avoid NYC with any kind of firearm at all costs.

[DavidO.]

I live overseas and travel quite a bit. My last trip to Georgetown, Guyana was an experience, my luggage arrived two days later. My coworker finally got his bag minus all of his expensive fishing reels and equipment. My question would be how secure is it? With some developed countries there are no problems, but for others? A red tag stating you have a gun in your bag can be tempting for some luggage handlers.

[Sandy]

The red tag goes INSIDE of the locked pistol case not on the outside. In the US it is illegal to put it on the outside. I use a case that does not look like a gun case and get Secutity to put a sticker on it saying that it has been inspected.

[GOVTMODEL]

The red tag goes INSIDE of the locked pistol case not on the outside. In the US it is illegal to put it on the outside. I use a case that does not look like a gun case and get Secutity to put a sticker on it saying that it has been inspected.

That's true, in the US. I was horrified when returning from the UK to learn that they REQUIRE the big orange FIREARM INSIDE sticker to be placed on the outside of the case.

I pulled it off as soon as I cleared US Customs:-)

[Guest]

I have a somewhat related question. I'm planning to buy a Steyr LP10 when I visit Austia next month on my vacation and bringing it back to New York USA. I called up both the US Customs and the ATF and they both say I should have no problem bringing back an air pistol. Now I just want to find out if anybody else has done this and what was your experience like.

Thanks for any info.

Regards,
Ariel

I've found that the BATF are very helpful in this instance. You need to set everything up in advance, with names of officers, and all of that. You need to know who's on duty at the airport, names etc., and you should have spoken to and apprised everybody well ahead of time of your intentions. Names and dates are very important, write them all down in a notebook if you have to. Of course, there are forms and documents required, etc., and you'll have to do that, but please bear in mind that the ATF import arm is a very tight unit (i.e. small and efficient) and if warned well in advance they can make the transition relatively smooth and painless.

I had a good expreience with them awhile back when importing target handguns (both air and free pistols) from Australia, same deal as yours, only my guns were not new but slated for destruction - I was able to pick them up for a song.

Took almost seven weeks to get the paperwork done, start to finish, but once completed and the airport officials well versed (I paid them a personal visit ahead of time so they would recognize my face, handled any potential problems well in advance), the actual event was almost an anticlimax. As, of course, it should be.

HTH
Cheers
Chris