Can reloading bullets be taken on a plane?

R.Lynn · April 24, 2010, 02:08 PM

I found some bullets I want while visiting family this weekend. I only have a small carry on bag with me.

Does anyone know the rule on this?

dzavoina · April 24, 2010, 02:32 PM

Not in the cabin, just checked bags.

azar92 · April 24, 2010, 02:42 PM

I haven't ever confirmed this, but I have been told that ammunition must be in "the original factory container". Reloaded ammo obviously has no original factory container, so by that definition reloaded ammunition is not allowed even in checked bags. However, if you put ammunition into an empty factory box no one will know the difference. I usually keep one factory box for each caliber I have in case I ever have such a need.

As I said though, this was told to me but I have never confirmed it so it might just be a bunch of bunk anyway.

Brian Pfleuger · April 24, 2010, 02:46 PM

No part of a firearm, bullets or powder can be carried on your person or in your carry-on bag. Technically, an empty case should not be a problem but I personally wouldn't do it.

Loaded ammunition, in unlimited quantities for personal use, may be transported in checked baggage. Packaging requirements are that it be protected and secure. Original packaging, any package designed for ammunition or even loaded magazines with the ends protected are acceptable, technically. However, being as far from the "edges" of acceptable as possible can only make your trip easier.

I did the job for 2 1/2 years, but here is TSA's official word on ammunition in checked bags.

http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtrav...rial_1666.shtm

**Mal H** · April 24, 2010, 03:20 PM

If I'm reading the question correctly, R.Lynn is talking about a box of bullets only, not loaded ammo, empty cases, etc.

I don't think that's covered in the TSA guidelines. You might want to ask the agent at the counter or a TSA agent before going through the security line. If you ask well before hand, and the answer is no, then you can have the bag checked instead of carrying it on (but the checked baggage fee may wipe any savings on the bullets and then some).

All you have is a bunch of lead and copper, nothing that should cause concern for a reasonable person. However, we all know that reason is not a commodity in abundance at airport security stations. I mean if 3.2 ounces of shampoo causes concern ...

rdmallory · April 24, 2010, 03:33 PM

>>>>Loaded ammunition, in unlimited quantities for personal use

This depends on Airlines also. When I flew out west last year I was limited to 5lbs of ammo in a check bag.

Doug

riverwalker76 · April 24, 2010, 03:51 PM

It would probably be cheaper to send them via UPS to your home address from where you are.

I did this while out west as well. I found it was cheaper to ship them back to my home address than it was to check them.

bluetopper · April 24, 2010, 04:13 PM

Bullets only, I see no problem at all.

Brian Pfleuger · April 24, 2010, 04:26 PM

Trust me.

I was a TSA security officer for 2 1/2 years, I know.

You do not want to take a bullet (yes, just the bullet) through a security checkpoint. If they find it, there is a high probability that you will be speaking with a police officer. At the very least, you will lose the bullet. At the most, you will miss your flight, require extra screening, be embarrassed AND lose the bullet.

Don't do it.

TSA has no common sense and no sense of humor.

DennisB · April 24, 2010, 06:55 PM

I love these type questions--

The reaction you get from screeners--most of whom don't know squat about reloading components, much less weapons, will vary between airports. So will the response by the local LEOs. Things that will get you cuffed in New York or Chicago may not raise an eyebrow in Texas. You're dealing with three different "jurisdictions" here. First is the airline. It's their airplane, and if they say no ammo, no way, then that's their call. Second is the LEO support, which enforces local and state law. Third, federal rules apply to weapons and other dangerous stuff at a screening checkpoint--cross those and you could get a "letter," whether you get arrested or not.

Bullets--the component--are NOT prohibited in carry on bags. Ammunition is. Problem is, items one and two above, complicated by a screener who doesn't realize that a box of inert bullets is no more a hazard than a glass of ice cubes.

I am a TSA guy, on the regulatory enforcement side of the house...

spacecoast · April 24, 2010, 07:01 PM

An acquaintance of mine had a BIG problem when a fired case was discovered in her pocket. Don't give them an excuse to make you miss your flight. Mail them to your home.

Brian Pfleuger · April 24, 2010, 07:55 PM

Quote:

Bullets--the component--are NOT prohibited in carry on bags. Ammunition is. Problem is, items one and two above, complicated by a screener who doesn't realize that a box of inert bullets is no more a hazard than a glass of ice cubes.

You're right..... and both items have been prohibited in sterile areas and confiscated at checkpoints.

What should be is irrelevant. Reality matters.

I had to fight with the higher ups for several days to get a fired shell casing returned to a passenger who had brought it (yes, through another checkpoint) from a hunting trip after taking his first bear and was returning home. Our airport was a stop-over to visit his parents.

TSA has no common sense and no sense of humor.

TXGunNut · April 24, 2010, 08:24 PM

I think TSA subscribes to the KISS principle. Most of their employees aren't as knowledgeable about inert ammo components as peetzakilla so they will quite likely treat them as live ammo. Folks that refer to cartridges as bullets and magazines as clips or even the .45 Colt as the .45 Long Colt annoy me but I've gotten used to it. Some folks just don't and won't understand and I won't fight that battle over and over. Correct terminology or understanding how a given object functions just isn't important to some folks.

medalguy · April 24, 2010, 08:39 PM

TSA has no common sense. You can say that again. Once I traveled by air and I had a .50 dummy bullet, not even lead inside the bullet, just the hollow copper covering for the buller (NOT CARTRIDGE, BULLET) on a keychain and I discovered real fast that they do not have the slightest idea of the difference between a bomb and a dummy .50 bullet casing, not even a complete projectile. I did manage to make my flight, mostly because I was two and a half hours early for the departure.

In short, DO NOT take ANY PART of ammo on board a plane.

**Shane Tuttle** · April 24, 2010, 10:14 PM

Spend a few bucks and have less hassle by mailing the bullets to your home via USPS flat rate box. Even if they may, you won't know for sure unless you call or go to the airport and talk to someone of authority. By then, you could have gone to the local post office and be done with it.

87mustang · April 24, 2010, 11:16 PM

common sense is priceless, and seemingly harder to obtain.

Bamashooter · April 25, 2010, 12:17 AM

i agree with others. just ups it home and be done with it.

Ksmoker · April 25, 2010, 08:47 AM

Box it & ship it, FedEx & UPS are both struggling, if you have something to ship they are happy & there's no threat. The above are right on target!!

Slamfire · April 25, 2010, 09:23 AM

Airport Security guards seldom know anything about firearms and have been given almost unlimited powers of search and detention.

It is not worth arguing with one that a jacketed bullet or a lead bullet is not dangerous.

I traded some small cash for a M48 rifle stock with a co worker in the parking lot. I rode my bicycle in that day so I thought I would store it in my office till the end of the day. The security guards in the building not let me bring it into the office. They saw that it was wood, but it was a "rifle" stock.

So it stayed in my Bud's car until we went home. At least they allowed that.

mongoose33 · April 25, 2010, 09:48 AM

Here's why a ban on bullets-only can make sense (and yes, in the abstract, what are you going to do with bullets--throw them at people?).

You bring bullets along in your carry-on. Pretty benign, right?

And you bring along some powder, carefully concealed in sugar packets. Sealed so they don't set off a sniffer. Carefully measured out.

And a few primed cases in a chapstick or lipstick tube that is metal so that the cases aren't apparent to x-rays.

And a device which can seat bullets--doesn't have to be obvious like a Lee handloader, but something more like a walnut cracker.

And now you have the ability to make ammunition in the bathroom.

All you need is some tube-like device as a gun barrel and there you are.

And in fact, you could have several people on the same flight, each carrying a different component in their carry-ons, and then assembling that stuff into ammunition after they pass through security and before they get on the plane.

Now, I'm not saying this is likely, or smart, or whatever. And if you could conceal shells in a lipstick tube, why not ammo?

I'm saying that there's some logic in not allowing the projectiles on the plane in the first place. I grant you that a terrorist would be very unlikely to present them, as projectiles, in a non-concealed fashion like a box of bullets, but then there you are.

dlb435 · April 25, 2010, 09:57 AM

Ditto "the TSA has no common sense". A box of bullets is not ammo but I wouldn't try to carry it on. Put it in your chacked baggage or mail it home.

Brian Pfleuger · April 25, 2010, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slamfire

Airport Security guards seldom know anything about firearms and have been given almost unlimited powers of search and detention.

The problem is actually just the opposite of the TSA officers having too much authority or power. The problem is that they have NO authority. There are plenty of them that would do things a whole lot different and entirely understand that a bullet on (or off) a keychain, or an empty shell casing, is not threatening, but they aren't allowed to make decisions. Everything must be done by the unbending law of Standard Operating Procedure and the interpretation there of is completely at the discretion of the senior staff, who are not, and mostly never have been, on the front line.

Lost Sheep · April 25, 2010, 06:42 PM

Laws are laws and rules are rules. I was prevented from shipping a set of nunchaku (often incorrectly called num-chucks by some numb-nuts- "nut" as in one's brain, but that's another rant)

The thing is, they were made of foam rubber (and bought mail-order from New York City). But they were two foot-long objects connected by a string, so they qualified under the unbending, uninterpretable rule, and banned from my military baggage being shipped home from my tour in Korea.

Draw your own conclusion about how uncommonly you find common sense.

Lost Sheep

langenc · April 25, 2010, 07:12 PM

I have been lead to believe that any part will be treated the same as the whole.

Same when going to Canada. No empty 22 cases in the trunk. I dont go to Canadaat all. I pass thru WI and IL as fast as possible. If I dont sent foot on the ground I consider it a successful. After the last time I emailed a couple of chamber of commerces and told them of my successes(I guess I bragged).

mongoose33 · April 26, 2010, 12:02 PM

The thing with rules is, as soon as you bend them, you no longer have rules. You have interpretations.

As soon as you allow people to use their common sense--something that certainly seems reasonable--you are allowing others who *do not* have common sense to exercise whatever it is they do have.

The rules that make it hard, sometimes, on passengers, are designed to also make it hard on terrorists. I suppose the inconvenience is the price we pay to avoid being even more inconvenienced, such as if our plane is brought down by a terrorist.

April 24, 2010, 02:08 PM	#1
R.Lynn Member Join Date: December 7, 2008 Posts: 47	Can reloading bullets be taken on a plane? I found some bullets I want while visiting family this weekend. I only have a small carry on bag with me. Does anyone know the rule on this?

April 24, 2010, 02:46 PM	#4
Brian Pfleuger Moderator Emeritus Join Date: June 25, 2008 Location: Austin, CO Posts: 19,578	No part of a firearm, bullets or powder can be carried on your person or in your carry-on bag. Technically, an empty case should not be a problem but I personally wouldn't do it. Loaded ammunition, in unlimited quantities for personal use, may be transported in checked baggage. Packaging requirements are that it be protected and secure. Original packaging, any package designed for ammunition or even loaded magazines with the ends protected are acceptable, technically. However, being as far from the "edges" of acceptable as possible can only make your trip easier. I did the job for 2 1/2 years, but here is TSA's official word on ammunition in checked bags. http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtrav...rial_1666.shtm __________________ Nobody plans to screw up their lives... ...they just don't plan not to. -Andy Stanley Last edited by Brian Pfleuger; April 24, 2010 at 02:51 PM.

April 24, 2010, 03:33 PM	#6
rdmallory Senior Member Join Date: February 10, 2009 Location: Deltona FL Posts: 953	>>>>Loaded ammunition, in unlimited quantities for personal use This depends on Airlines also. When I flew out west last year I was limited to 5lbs of ammo in a check bag. Doug Last edited by rdmallory; April 24, 2010 at 08:12 PM.

April 24, 2010, 03:51 PM	#7
riverwalker76 Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2010 Location: Kentucky Posts: 993	It would probably be cheaper to send them via UPS to your home address from where you are. I did this while out west as well. I found it was cheaper to ship them back to my home address than it was to check them. __________________ *Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto* - “You cannot invade the mainland United States. There would be a rifle behind each blade of grass.”

April 24, 2010, 04:26 PM	#9
Brian Pfleuger Moderator Emeritus Join Date: June 25, 2008 Location: Austin, CO Posts: 19,578	Trust me. I was a TSA security officer for 2 1/2 years, I know. You do not want to take a bullet (yes, just the bullet) through a security checkpoint. If they find it, there is a high probability that you will be speaking with a police officer. At the very least, you will lose the bullet. At the most, you will miss your flight, require extra screening, be embarrassed AND lose the bullet. Don't do it. TSA has no common sense and no sense of humor. __________________ Nobody plans to screw up their lives... ...they just don't plan not to. -Andy Stanley

April 24, 2010, 02:32 PM	#2
dzavoina Member Join Date: April 4, 2010 Location: Madison, MS Posts: 34	Not in the cabin, just checked bags.

April 24, 2010, 02:42 PM	#3
azar92 Senior Member Join Date: April 16, 2009 Location: Utah Posts: 209	I haven't ever confirmed this, but I have been told that ammunition must be in "the original factory container". Reloaded ammo obviously has no original factory container, so by that definition reloaded ammunition is not allowed even in checked bags. However, if you put ammunition into an empty factory box no one will know the difference. I usually keep one factory box for each caliber I have in case I ever have such a need. As I said though, this was told to me but I have never confirmed it so it might just be a bunch of bunk anyway.

April 24, 2010, 03:20 PM	#5
Mal H Staff Join Date: March 20, 1999 Location: Somewhere in the woods of Northern Virginia Posts: 16,955	If I'm reading the question correctly, R.Lynn is talking about a box of bullets only, not loaded ammo, empty cases, etc. I don't think that's covered in the TSA guidelines. You might want to ask the agent at the counter or a TSA agent before going through the security line. If you ask well before hand, and the answer is no, then you can have the bag checked instead of carrying it on (but the checked baggage fee may wipe any savings on the bullets and then some). All you have is a bunch of lead and copper, nothing that should cause concern for a reasonable person. However, we all know that reason is not a commodity in abundance at airport security stations. I mean if 3.2 ounces of shampoo causes concern ...

April 24, 2010, 04:13 PM	#8
bluetopper Senior Member Join Date: December 16, 2005 Location: Northeast TX Posts: 1,197	Bullets only, I see no problem at all.

April 24, 2010, 06:55 PM	#10
DennisB Junior Member Join Date: February 4, 2008 Location: Fort Worth, Texas Posts: 7	I love these type questions-- The reaction you get from screeners--most of whom don't know squat about reloading components, much less weapons, will vary between airports. So will the response by the local LEOs. Things that will get you cuffed in New York or Chicago may not raise an eyebrow in Texas. You're dealing with three different "jurisdictions" here. First is the airline. It's their airplane, and if they say no ammo, no way, then that's their call. Second is the LEO support, which enforces local and state law. Third, federal rules apply to weapons and other dangerous stuff at a screening checkpoint--cross those and you could get a "letter," whether you get arrested or not. Bullets--the component--are NOT prohibited in carry on bags. Ammunition is. Problem is, items one and two above, complicated by a screener who doesn't realize that a box of inert bullets is no more a hazard than a glass of ice cubes. I am a TSA guy, on the regulatory enforcement side of the house...

April 24, 2010, 07:01 PM	#11
spacecoast Senior Member Join Date: October 14, 2009 Location: Sunshine and Keystone States Posts: 4,461	An acquaintance of mine had a BIG problem when a fired case was discovered in her pocket. Don't give them an excuse to make you miss your flight. Mail them to your home.

April 24, 2010, 08:24 PM	#13
TXGunNut Senior Member Join Date: January 16, 2010 Location: If you have to ask... Posts: 2,860	I think TSA subscribes to the KISS principle. Most of their employees aren't as knowledgeable about inert ammo components as peetzakilla so they will quite likely treat them as live ammo. Folks that refer to cartridges as bullets and magazines as clips or even the .45 Colt as the .45 Long Colt annoy me but I've gotten used to it. Some folks just don't and won't understand and I won't fight that battle over and over. Correct terminology or understanding how a given object functions just isn't important to some folks. __________________ Life Member NRA, TSRA Smokeless powder is a passing fad! -Steve Garbe I hate rude behavior in a man. I won't tolerate it. -Woodrow F. Call Lonesome Dove My favorite recipes start out with a handful of used wheelweights.

April 24, 2010, 08:39 PM	#14
medalguy Senior Member Join Date: August 31, 2009 Location: New Mexico Posts: 1,033	TSA has no common sense. You can say that again. Once I traveled by air and I had a .50 dummy bullet, not even lead inside the bullet, just the hollow copper covering for the buller (NOT CARTRIDGE, BULLET) on a keychain and I discovered real fast that they do not have the slightest idea of the difference between a bomb and a dummy .50 bullet casing, not even a complete projectile. I did manage to make my flight, mostly because I was two and a half hours early for the departure. In short, DO NOT take ANY PART of ammo on board a plane.

April 24, 2010, 10:14 PM	#15
Shane Tuttle Staff Join Date: November 28, 2005 Location: Montana Posts: 9,443	Spend a few bucks and have less hassle by mailing the bullets to your home via USPS flat rate box. Even if they may, you won't know for sure unless you call or go to the airport and talk to someone of authority. By then, you could have gone to the local post office and be done with it. __________________ If it were up to me, the word "got" would be deleted from the English language. Posting and YOU: http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/posting

April 24, 2010, 11:16 PM	#16
87mustang Member Join Date: March 29, 2009 Posts: 91	common sense is priceless, and seemingly harder to obtain.

April 25, 2010, 12:17 AM	#17
Bamashooter Senior Member Join Date: March 12, 2010 Posts: 1,860	i agree with others. just ups it home and be done with it.

April 25, 2010, 08:47 AM	#18
Ksmoker Member Join Date: December 6, 2009 Location: NE Kansas Posts: 74	bullets Box it & ship it, FedEx & UPS are both struggling, if you have something to ship they are happy & there's no threat. The above are right on target!!

April 25, 2010, 09:23 AM	#19
Slamfire Senior Member Join Date: May 27, 2007 Posts: 5,261	Airport Security guards seldom know anything about firearms and have been given almost unlimited powers of search and detention. It is not worth arguing with one that a jacketed bullet or a lead bullet is not dangerous. I traded some small cash for a M48 rifle stock with a co worker in the parking lot. I rode my bicycle in that day so I thought I would store it in my office till the end of the day. The security guards in the building not let me bring it into the office. They saw that it was wood, but it was a "rifle" stock. So it stayed in my Bud's car until we went home. At least they allowed that.

April 25, 2010, 09:48 AM	#20
mongoose33 Senior Member Join Date: June 23, 2009 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 228	Here's why a ban on bullets-only can make sense (and yes, in the abstract, what are you going to do with bullets--throw them at people?). You bring bullets along in your carry-on. Pretty benign, right? And you bring along some powder, carefully concealed in sugar packets. Sealed so they don't set off a sniffer. Carefully measured out. And a few primed cases in a chapstick or lipstick tube that is metal so that the cases aren't apparent to x-rays. And a device which can seat bullets--doesn't have to be obvious like a Lee handloader, but something more like a walnut cracker. And now you have the ability to make ammunition in the bathroom. All you need is some tube-like device as a gun barrel and there you are. And in fact, you could have several people on the same flight, each carrying a different component in their carry-ons, and then assembling that stuff into ammunition after they pass through security and before they get on the plane. Now, I'm not saying this is likely, or smart, or whatever. And if you could conceal shells in a lipstick tube, why not ammo? I'm saying that there's some logic in not allowing the projectiles on the plane in the first place. I grant you that a terrorist would be very unlikely to present them, as projectiles, in a non-concealed fashion like a box of bullets, but then there you are.

April 25, 2010, 09:57 AM	#21
dlb435 Senior Member Join Date: January 26, 2009 Posts: 654	Ditto "the TSA has no common sense". A box of bullets is not ammo but I wouldn't try to carry it on. Put it in your chacked baggage or mail it home.

April 25, 2010, 06:42 PM	#23
Lost Sheep Senior Member Join Date: January 24, 2009 Location: Anchorage Alaska Posts: 3,341	Foam rubber weapons? Laws are laws and rules are rules. I was prevented from shipping a set of nunchaku (often incorrectly called num-chucks by some numb-nuts- "nut" as in one's brain, but that's another rant) The thing is, they were made of foam rubber (and bought mail-order from New York City). But they were two foot-long objects connected by a string, so they qualified under the unbending, uninterpretable rule, and banned from my military baggage being shipped home from my tour in Korea. Draw your own conclusion about how uncommonly you find common sense. Lost Sheep

April 25, 2010, 07:12 PM	#24
langenc Senior Member Join Date: August 19, 2007 Location: Montmorency Co, MI Posts: 1,551	I have been lead to believe that any part will be treated the same as the whole. Same when going to Canada. No empty 22 cases in the trunk. I dont go to Canadaat all. I pass thru WI and IL as fast as possible. If I dont sent foot on the ground I consider it a successful. After the last time I emailed a couple of chamber of commerces and told them of my successes(I guess I bragged).

April 26, 2010, 12:02 PM	#25
mongoose33 Senior Member Join Date: June 23, 2009 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 228	The thing with rules is, as soon as you bend them, you no longer have rules. You have interpretations. As soon as you allow people to use their common sense--something that certainly seems reasonable--you are allowing others who do not have common sense to exercise whatever it is they do have. The rules that make it hard, sometimes, on passengers, are designed to also make it hard on terrorists. I suppose the inconvenience is the price we pay to avoid being even more inconvenienced, such as if our plane is brought down by a terrorist.