If you have entertained the idea of traveling with your Bow on the Amtrak Train you may want to think again. So I am leaving in the morning for out west and I was looking at taking the Amtrk Train through a beautiful scenic part of Colorado to see more of the land instead of flying through this area. Now the idea of traveling with my bow on the Amtrak Train was a real eye opener. Below is copied from the Amtrak website this morning in regards to Baggage Guidelines on carry on and checked baggage. Item Type Carry On / Checked Bags Archery equipment No / No Firearms or ammunition No / Yes *Black powder, percussion caps or any ammunition used with a matchlock, flintlock, percussion-cap ignition system or similar type are never permitted; this includes self-loaded, gunpowder-based modern ammunition. I cant travel with my bow on the Amtrak but I can take a gun ??? What The Heck ~ How much sense does that make ?? When I inquired as to the companies reasoning around this from the Amtrak Agent all I got was " it is because of 911 " and then he felt it needed to give me his personal opinion on the subject of Amtrak allowing Firearms,and how he wished they didnt allow any weapons on checked baggage~ even though I never asked for his personal opinion~ I asked for the companies reasoning behind this. The company now allows guns after a temp ban after 911 but has not lifted the ban on Bows since 911???? I guess I will have to go to Amtrak corporate and make some inquireies.
Government run..... that's why. I like that you can take a bag full of golf clubs... but a 'club like item' is forbidden.
That is laughable reasoning. Maybe they just need some pressure applied from the right places? Time to call a few congressmen and Senators.
"Time to call a few congressmen and Senators" Okay Kendal I nominate you to contact them ... wait arent you the one that got that one politican all riled up before.. something to do with his name and the word bribe ??? HA HEEEEEEEE
Christine I can take Special Items: Amtrak accepts a number of special items such as Musical Instruments So can I claim my bow as a Musical Instrument ?????????? DEMO.. See when I dry fire it , it makes a special musical sound that goes WHACK It has strings like a Violin, chello, guitar etc HEEEEEEE "
Well after emailing Amtrak I got a response ( Kindof ) Here is the reply I got from Amtrak Dear Deborah **************, Thank you for contacting us. Your inquiry has been forwarded to our Customer Relations Department, who will contact you as soon as possible. E-mails are answered in the order they are received. Please be advised that a response may take several weeks. We appreciate your taking the time to write to us Thank you, Sincerely, Karen Amtrak Customer Service Amtrak.com | Stations | Routes | Deals | Plan a Trip | Help Amtrak is a registered service mark of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation. So now I just have to wait up to several weeks :0 for a answer in regards to the reasoning for the NO BOW baggage policy. I hope the train goes faster than their customer service answers emails .. or the train ride could take up to several weeks.. I could understand a week to answer an email.. but up to several weeks = Thats rediculous !!!!!!!
There ya go! I hate flying. But, always got a kick out of the baggage checkers and security. They made me dump out my water bottle and get rid of the small $2 pocket knife I had (forgot it was there and I didn't check any bags so not an option). Yet, when I commented on how my metal pen and pencil set was just as dangerous as any knife, they gave me the classic "deer in the headlights" stare and waved me through.
Christine; I have contacted the following 2 with the Archery Trade Association in hopes that they may be able to offer some assistance in this matter. Jay McAninch Chief Executive Officer/President 6044 Rockton Court Centreville, VA 20121 (866) 266-2776 Toll Free (703) 266-4134 Direct (703) 266-4135 Fax [email protected] Mitch King Director of Government Relations 5405 Favorite Gulch Road Helena, MT 59602 (866) 266-2776 Toll Free (303) 585-0377 Direct (507) 233-8140 Fax [email protected] Anyone else have any good ideas on whom we can contact to help to convince Amtrak to reverse this policy ?
USSA http://www.ussportsmen.org/ They're a really good organization. (Tho' at the Deer Classic the one dude from the USSA kind of freaked me out by offering to share a motel room with him... )
Christine; I have contacted numerous individuals on this that have the lobbist to aide in the matter at US Sportsmens alliance http://www.ussportsmen.org/ and Illinois Federation For Outdoor Resources http://www.if-or.org
I guess they feel that you can get out your bow, put on your release aid, nock an arrow and fling it at someone and be undetected due to the quietness of the bow and they wont be able to see it because of the cammo on it. hahaha!! I really hope this issue gets taken care of. It is ridiculous.
Sticknstringarchery; Thats funny But The bow and arrows would be in checked baggage which means the Bow and Arrows would be in a Locked Case and be Secured in a Checked Baggage Location and Unaccessable to the owner and all passengers during the duration of the trip. I have also contacted on this matter US Representative Timothy Johnson IL State Representative Naomi Jakobsson US Senator *** ( never mind this one ~ my email to him was refused and returned for not being an email address his recognizes.. Go figure ) Mark Kirk Archery Trade Association IBO IBS IFOR US Sportsmens Alliance Ted Nugents Website Hopefully someone can make some sense and correct this Amtrak Policy. I have since spoke with an Amtrak Representative that has informed me that the change in Amtraks policy to allow the Transportation of Firearms on Amtrak Trains was due to the Stimulus Package... What ??? Its just another hair ball to unravil to figure out how the transportation of weapons on Amtrak has to do with the stimulus package... Hopoefully one of these Reps and or senators can explain that one to me.
After contacting some Representatives and senators and various organizations etc Representative Jacobsson was kind enough to some looking into this for me since I still havnt directly recieved an answer to my email to Amtrak. And I am sorry to say that Representative Jacobsson and the Archery Trade Association are the only ones to of so far responded to my inquires on this matter,I have recieved no responses on this matter from anyone else I have contacted on this matter. Below is the email response that Representative Jacobsson recieved when she forwarded my email to Amtrak, NOTE : I have omittee my full name from the email and replaced it with ******* . Dear ********, Here is the response from Amtrak. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Lang, Ray <[email protected]> Date: Fri, May 20, 2011 at 3:33 PM Subject: RE: Amtrak Trains Allow Firearms and Ammo but not Bows and Arrows To: Naomi Jakobsson <[email protected]> Representative Jacobsson: Thanks for forwarding me the email you received from your constituent ******, about Amtrak’s policy regarding archery equipment in checked baggage. ******** is correct is stating that Amtrak banned the transportation of weapons in checked baggage on our trains after 9/11. Last year, Congress adopted legislation (P.L. 11-117) requiring Amtrak to allow certain firearms (long guns) in checked baggage. Upon passage of that legislation, Amtrak initiated an effort to install high security gun lockers in each of our baggage cars and at each station where we accept checked baggage. As ******* also pointed out, Archery Equipment and many other items are prohibited from being transported in checked baggage for security and safety reasons and I am sorry that ******* was not able to take their journey aboard the train with their equipment. Items prohibited from being transported in checked baggage aboard our trains are listed on our web site, Amtrak.com, and I have included the relevant section from the web page below. Again, I am sorry that ******* was unaware of this guideline and had to make different arrangements to get their Archery equipment to their final destination. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance to you. Sincerely, Ray Lang Senior Director, Government Affairs Amtrak ______________________________ ______________________________ _________ And below is the legislation legislation (P.L. 11-117) PUBLIC LAW 111–117—DEC. 16, 2009 123 STAT. 3061 SEC. 159. (a) AMTRAK SECURITY EVALUATION.— No later than 180 days after the enactment of this Act, Amtrak, in consultation with the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security (Transportation Security Administration), shall submit a report to Congress that contains— (1) a comprehensive, system-wide, security evaluation; and (2) proposed guidance and procedures necessary to implement a new checked firearms program. (b) DEVELOPEMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF GUIDANCE AND PROCEDURES.— (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the enactment of this Act, Amtrak, in consultation with the Assistant Secretary, shall develop and implement guidance and procedures to carry out the duties and responsibilities of firearm storage and carriage in checked baggage cars and at Amtrak stations that accept checked baggage. (2) SCOPE.—The guidance and procedures developed under paragraph (1) shall— (A) permit Amtrak passengers holding a ticket for a specific Amtrak route to place an unloaded firearm or starter pistol in a checked bag on such route if— (i) the Amtrak station accepts checked baggage for such route; (ii) the passenger declares to Amtrak, either orally or in writing, at the time the reservation is made or not later than 24 hours before departure, that the firearm will be placed in his or her bag and will be unloaded; (iii) the firearm is in a hard-sided container; (iv) such container is locked; and (v) only the passenger has the key or combination for such container; (B) permit Amtrak passengers holding a ticket for a specific Amtrak route to place small arms ammunition for personal use in a checked bag on such route if the ammunition is securely packed— (i) in fiber, wood, or metal boxes; or (ii) in other packaging specifically designed to carry small amounts of ammunition; and (C) include any other measures needed to ensure the safety and security of Amtrak employees, passengers, and infrastructure, including— (i) in fiber, wood, or metal boxes; or (ii) in other packaging specifically designed to carry small amounts of ammunition; and (c) DEFINITIONS.— (1) For purposes of this section, the term ‘‘checked baggage’’ refers to baggage transported that is accessible only to select Amtrak employees. So the next step is to see what can be done to draft new legislation to allow for the transportation of Archery Items in Checked Baggage on Amtrak Trains.
Well, you tried. I didn't write to anybody, but maybe I'll start... just to be a thorn in thier side. I'm also going to start calling you "*8"
Okay Ill call it a Serious Senior Blonde Moment ... but what the heck does "*8" mean ? http://www.airowgun.com/pellet.php Airow Gun Features: Delivers an impressive 675 fps (*using a 70 lb bow at 29 inch draw). Patent Pending 8-shot revolving loader sets-up your next shot with ease. Mounts to most compound and recurve bows with aluminum risers. Easy installation and use. Arrow is pre-cut. Just attach nock to string and adjust mount. So now how will Amtrak deal with this Airow Gun Kit once it is installed on a bow, is it now classified a Bow or A Firearm?
