GA transportation of (personal) firearms and ammo

A

AffordablePlanesWhen

Filing Flight Plan
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CaptainSlower
Long time reader, first time poster. I don't have a plane at this time but am on a wait list for a local club (50+ deep) and been passively watching airplanes for sale for the last 6 months (hence the username which continues to go unanswered).

Anyway, one of my primary missions will be transporting some of my guns/ammo/toys between home in Ohio and friends' land in the South Carolina and Colorado. Assuming all non-aviation-related factors are taken into account for State-dependent lawful possession, what legal and safety factors arise with GA carriage of firearms and ammo? I'm interested in any travel tips, anecdotes, or horror stories you may have.

FWIW, I am talking 4-5 long guns, a handful of pistols, cleaning accessories and field tools, and 150 lbs of ammo on average for training and competition shoots.
 
I don’t think the average ga plane can handle nearly 200# in the back, so calculate your weight and balance!

As to the rest of it, I have no idea. Ammunition stability in an engine out scenario?
 
I think this is a great question and one I have wondered about myself. I think the key is that you meet the legalities of the states and fed laws as you would if transporting by car. It might cause extra scrutiny unloading your cargo at the airport as well.
 
AffordablePlanesWhen said:
Long time reader, first time poster. I don't have a plane at this time but am on a wait list for a local club (50+ deep) and been passively watching airplanes for sale for the last 6 months (hence the username which continues to go unanswered).

Anyway, one of my primary missions will be transporting some of my guns/ammo/toys between home in Ohio and friends' land in the South Carolina and Colorado. Assuming all non-aviation-related factors are taken into account for State-dependent lawful possession, what legal and safety factors arise with GA carriage of firearms and ammo? I'm interested in any travel tips, anecdotes, or horror stories you may have.

FWIW, I am talking 4-5 long guns, a handful of pistols, cleaning accessories and field tools, and 150 lbs of ammo on average for training and competition shoots.
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What I have done with success is contact the FBO manager well in advance of the trip. If they will accept and hold an ammo order for you, purchase and ship the ammo direct to the FBO.
 
eman1200 said:
PEW PEW
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Be certain your possession is legal in any states you fly over and may land in due to weather or mechanical issues. Obviously, no loaded firearms except those on your body. Firearms with one in the tube are a fire hazard. The chambered round can cook off and unlike loose ammo which explodes "relatively" harmlessly one in the chamber becomes a projectile.
 
AOPA has covered this. If all of the concerned states have reciprocity then the transport of the firearms themselves may not be much of an issue, but you would want to contact the respective offices of each state and county to ensure no problems. This would include the airport managers, and for goodness sake, get EVERYTHING in writing (email is sufficient), print it out, and carry it all with you.

The ammo is probably going to be the biggest hurdle as that is considered HazMat and generally speaking must be shipped by ground.

www.aopa.org

Transporting Firearms in General Aviation Aircraft

www.aopa.org
 
Not sure how members of a club would feel with your mission. But your mission screams pa32
 
Make sure of legalities to possess and transport in States that you intend on flying over, not just to.

An emergency or precautionary landing in a non-compliant state is going to get additionally complicated when/if law-enforcement shows up. Maybe even worse, your in-flight decision making under duress may be further affected by the legal questions and you may be forced to make a bad decision.

Going from OH to CO has you flying over IL unless you detour N (big lake) or S (PIA, and I don’t mean Peoria). Decide wisely.
 
Have no fear your right to bear arms is fully protected by the second amendment!
 
That AOPA article on GA firearms is just as bananas as much of their other silliness.

Oh Lordy… does anyone realize the amount of hunting and personal protection ammo carried on GA? There are a host of ATP type aircraft regulations, especially since guns and ammo must be brought through a public airport terminal.

Ammo is safe even in a crash situation if it is packed correctly, like cartridges packed flat and in a box or plastic reloaders box. Also in a an ammo can is good idea. Others will have more ideas, but pack it correctly as intended and ammo is safe knock around without incident.
 
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As someone who’s actually done this, plan where and how you’re going to secure the various cases/containers, especially long gun cases. Ammunition concentrates weight in a small area, so it’s better to spread it across as much real estate as possible…think 1 layer of 20/50rd boxes.

Shotgun slugs are heaviest at about 10 shells per pound; for 9mm/5.56, 150lbs of ammo is about 3000 rounds, which is hard to shoot thru in a weekend match, so I expect you probably aren’t hauling that much weight in ammo. A .50 ammo can of 5.56 is about 1200 rds and weighs about 35lbs. Maybe OP meant 150 total pounds of cargo, but that’s still a lot of firearms and ammunition.

So long as you avoid airports that have a TSA presence and the firearms and accessories are legal to possess it’s a nothing burger, especially at an uncontrolled field where you can pull a car right up to the plane to load/unload.

If you’ve gotta haul stuff thru a building to a parking lot, that’s usually nothing more than an inconvenience, but call ahead and see if they have any particular procedures.
 
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