I just grabbed a flight to MD for a May turkey hunt with a friend on his lease land. I've only been on an airplane once and that was a lil' dumpy single engine prop birthday cruze around the hills here. So my question is mostly about the ins and outs of bringing my bow for the ride. Anything else ya'll wanna give me a head up on is sweet too. I'm a dumbass first time flyer. (I know about the no yelling bomb rule thanks)
It usually is not a problem. I have flown all over the country with mine. Some airlines have a one bow rule but I have never had them say anything at all even when I take two. You have to leave the case unlocked or put one of the TSA locks on it. They may charge extra for "irregular" baggage. I also print and bring along the individual airlines rules on such things so that some "less informed" employee gives me a hard time. I would not worry too much, just get there and have a safe hunt.
Pack clothing around the bow, and sights. I took mine [in a hard case] on a plane once. My wifes bag was too heavy, and they wanted us to pay extra. So, I packed a bunch of her clothes around in the hardcase. When I got to where we were going, the case was obviously dropped. I am so glad I did that packing job. Granted the bow was not moving about in there, but I'm sure they [clothing] helped alot.
NY to Maryland? And your flying? j/k.....I'll be doing my first flight with a bow come Sept for Pronghorn. When I flew to KS for my turkey hunt I shipped my bow UPS. I'm actually considering that for WY and then flying it home. Will help cut cost on extra baggage etc at least one way. You can ship your bow out early to your buddy, he can ship it back. It's relatively cheap for peace of mind.
:evil: Ok this is the deal, I would've drove.....and was gonna two weeks prior to May for their opener... BUT....(and I'm gonna try to keep this short ) an idiot fireman from my firehouse is getting married and the batch party is in Ocean City, MD on the weekend of the 9th. Ass a tek,,,ass a teak,,,ass a teik,, some peninsula on the coast. 20 min away from where I'm hunting. They're taking a bus down. I'm flying into MD a week before to hunt longbeards and flyfish for stripe bass. Meet up with the jokers the last weekend and hitch a ride back on the bus with them. All 14 hungover sorry bastards. Me likely hungover included How much is it to ship a bow in a case? I might go that route. (The Orbits website shows one bag is 15 bucks and a second bag is 25.) I've gotta hunt, fish, and party on one bag and one bow case for nine days.
Make sure you have a good solid hardcase. I have an SKB and its TSA compatible so I dont have to leave it unlocked, TSA has keys that will open it. Check it in with your baggage, 'bout it. I think mine cost 30$ for an addtiional "bag" when I went out to North Dakota this winter. Not too bad.
packing clothing in your case is a must! dont forget your wrench just in case you pins/rest gets knocked around. you may want to grab a sharpie or other marker and put marks on your bow where your settings are at now, just so you can take a quick look and see if anything is off. as far as TSA rules you can just call the airline and they will let you know the specs as far as locked or unlocked etc. good luck! i hate flying with my bow(s)
Not true. Firearms must be in a hard sided LOCKED case. (As to whether or not a bow is a firearm depends on whom you ask.) When TSA inspects it, if they need to open it they will ask you for the key and then lock it and give you the key back when they are done. You get varying views and levels of experience at the ticket counter so printing off the airlines policies from their website and having them with you when you check in is an excellent idea that has saved me countless headaches. I use a double bow case so I have room to pack extra gear in with the bow. You'll be charged extra for the extra piece of baggage and for God's sake don't let the thing get over 50#'s or you'll get another charge for it being overweight. I'm sending mine ahead, air freight along with our camp for our spring black bear hunt.
2 occasions of flying with a bow. SKB case...worth every cent. Pack as much soft stuff in around the bow as you can. Just makes sense too, You cna limit your overall luggage. Mine has TSA locks. Once the looked at it in front of me, the rest they just wisked it away. My case always come out on the "oversize" cart, but they've never charged me extra, even though i believe technically mine is over the limit. Whatever airline you are flying will have pretty decent description of what you need to do, most its no big deal at all.
I've flown a lot with my bow including the two different GTG's. Never had a problem... if you don't fly southwest you'll have to pay an additional $50 for extra luggage. The majority of hard cases are TSA approved... I have a Pro Sport case and it is TSA approved as well as SKB's. Make sure you put one key in your carryon and one in your luggage... just in case. If it's not over 50lbs you won't have to pay extra weight fee on top of the extra luggage fee.
