It's a great idea for domestic USA travel but international I don't know about. I'd be very careful.

Sure, but there is a legitimate need for hunters to bring their $50,000 side-by-sides on vacation in "Efrica" or wherever. Likewise for sports shooters who compete with personal competition pistols, etc.

Spot should try this. he's always having gear "missing". Are starter pistols allowed in hotels?

This "secret" has been around for a while, and it's a good 'un. Just plan on a fair amount of extra time at the airport; only a senior supervisor can lock your case for you. In some cities, this is very fast. In LAX, ORD, LAG, JFK, and other large airports, it can mean waiting for half an hour for a super. It also means that you occasionally have a police officer there with you. In SLC, I usually see a super within a couple minutes, because it's a relatively small airport.
I bought a starter pistol at the athletic store specifically for this reason. It works, but as the saying goes...."There ain't no such thing as a free lunch." So, I only use this trick when flying into a high risk city. BTW, I'm told that ammunition enjoys the same benefits, but haven't tried it.

As Spot's coming down under soon I hope he reads this!

Down here with enough paper work he could bring a .357 magnum if he's going to compete in an event. An airsoft "toy" gun will land you in trouble. They fall outside the ambit of the relevant acts and if it looks like a gun, it is a gun. Now even though they're pretty harmless because they fall outside the regulations you are not covered to own / use one with any form of licence and you can't register it, so bingo, unregistered firearm = big trouble.

Starter pistols don't have to be registered but do have to be kept locked up and as there's no competition or legitimate reason why you'd bring one into the country I suspect our customs guys would take a dim view if you had one in your luggage. Maybe they'd just confiscate it, maybe not. I guess if you declared it on arrival you're pretty safe from them throwing the book at you.

All manner of things quite apart from firearms are sources of trouble crossing borders, satellite phones, GPS receivers and geiger counters are some of the odd ones I've come accross in different countries. In some place even girlfriends can get you into grief with the law.

Bob.

I've never had any problems when declaring firearms, Spot is right on the mark re potential delays though..

Best solution? fedex all your valuable stuff to your hotel/destination, and never trust anything valuable to tsa.. just carry clothes/toiletries in luggage (cheap clothes!)... fedex expensive clothes/av gear / souvenirs home etc..

ken

This "secret" has been around for a while

Yeah, since Dec. 2001 just for this guy apparently :O).

Good to know about the senior supes.

Small price to pay compared to losing expensive gear though, although I'm glad I don't have to do travel with gear anyway these days.

I'd rather drive 1000 miles, not have to worry about it, and be able to pack more, with less concern about breakage too.

Internationally, I'll never forget the 1990s customs form I received on arrival in Australia, "Are you bringing into this country any Illegal Drugs, Firearms, or Cordless Telephones?"

FedExing broadcast gear overnight can be incredibly pricey. If you want it counter-to-counter, even more so. OK for a Z1 with an LED light on top, but make it say an XDCAM and a Kino Flo plus a Pepper or two, now you'll be likely spending more than an airline ticket, whereas check-in baggage would have been free.

FedExing broadcast gear overnight can be incredibly pricey. If you want it counter-to-counter, even more so. OK for a Z1 with an LED light on top, but make it say an XDCAM and a Kino Flo plus a Pepper or two, now you'll be likely spending more than an airline ticket, whereas check-in baggage would have been free.
Amen. FedEx is incredibly expensive. For a Pelican 1630 with 2 Z1's and related accessories, 2 day delivery is 96.00 each way.
Truck/pallet is much less expensive, but you need a half-full pallet and you need 4 days min. For my flight to Oz for example, I pay 50.00 in extra baggage fees for that same bag *if* i've got more than 2 bags. I'm priority on Delta and Continental, so that allows for 3 bags, so I only pay for bag 4 and beyond. Plus, if you carry a Media Credentials badge, you only pay 25.00 per extra bag on most US airlines. I don't know about Oz, it's never been an issue there.