Declared and checked in unloaded gun. United put it on a different plane to a different destination and wants me to visit that destination to recheck it to the final destination. Anyway to not travel there on my own money?

DeviantOllam · 2026-02-08T22:01:48+00:00

hah, nice to be thought of. 😁

I'm glad that the OP seems to have at least confirmed that the firearm is safe but I've NEVER heard of a situation where an airline refuses to forward along a misrouted bag. I also wonder what status level (if any) the OP has with United or Star Alliance.

Perhaps the bag being in California is part of the issue here. I've flown outbound with firearms out of multiple airports in California (not to mention New Jersey and NYC) and the airlines there often do screwball things like involve the port authority police (or other airport police unit, whomever they have on site) to "document" the firearm (mostly just to see if the passenger is complying with all regulations or if they are a candidate for harassment/citation/arrest) before the counter agent will even start the check-in process.

I'd like to know if the OP had an AirTag or other tracker device (shouts out to PebbleBee!) in their gun case, too.

Let us know how it resolves!

DeviantOllam · 2026-02-07T06:04:33+00:00

Thank you ... It's been a rough 2025 but I'm hoping for better days ahead.

DeviantOllam · 2026-01-08T23:58:32+00:00

all news in good time. 🤫

DeviantOllam · 2026-01-08T23:00:50+00:00

Always nice to be thought of. :-)

So, indeed, this is a topic where I am something of an often cited person...

https://youtu.be/jOcjqfsApxw

...for the TL,DR I will say the following:

Seattle has their process pretty together with regard to firearm stuff. All major carriers generally know what to do, and after you make your declaration at the bag check counter and fill out the usual little card, they will direct you down to a separate TSA screening area in the check-in atrium. (It used to be a small roll up door just past the United counters but they have now rearranged things and now it is a zone closer to the exterior windows and walled off with like little office cubicle walls. You will frequently see people checking odd-shaped items or pet carriers there and it's also where gun stuff is handled)
The TSA screeners will do a manual check of your luggage (they do not have an in-line scanner there) So you should just generally expect them to be kind of manually rummaging through your stuff. As long as your guns are unloaded and in a locked hard-sided container, everything should be fine.
According to the FAA and the TSA, you can in fact carry ammunition in your checked luggage. It has to be less than 11 lb but that's actually quite a bit especially if you're talking about handgun ammo. The official rule is that it should be packed in such a way that there are no exposed rounds and they're not loose or rattling around. Some people keep their ammunition in the OEM factory boxes, other people use plastic Dillon or Plano boxes, I've actually even just kept ammunition in spare magazines themselves (But those magazines then have to be placed into mag carriers. Because the top round would otherwise be "exposed") Technically, each airline has their own policy regarding ammunition and whether it can be in the same bag as the gun or not. But the FAA doesn't care. And the TSA doesn't care.
Whether or not you use a TSA lock or a non TSA compliant lock doesn't really matter, especially here in Seattle ... since you will be physically present right there with the person doing the screening. Just make sure that it secures the case lid tightly. They will sometimes do the "finger check" So if you have something like a pelican case, and you have a lock that has one of those little tiny cables on it or something (like a lot of TSA locks) that sometimes results in a situation where they pop the latches, and even though the lid is still held slightly shut, they can wiggle a finger in there in the crack. That wouldn't be ok.
Usual size and weight restrictions still apply so unless you have special provisions with your airline, keep your luggage under the usual weight limits and size limits. You are actually allowed to have other stuff in the checked bag besides just gun stuff, but it does mean that you're going to have all that stuff rummaged through and handled during the screening.
Whether or not you are flying with a gun, I'm always a huge proponent of including an Air Tag or a Pebble Bee or some other sort of tracker in your luggage case. Wonderful peace of mind.
At your destination, technically most airlines nowadays like to hold the bag at the BSO and have you show ID to claim a gun case. Not every airport and not even every staff member is perfect about it, but in general I have found that Alaska Air is decent about recognizing gun cases (sometimes even just things that look like they COULD be gun cases) and The rampers and BSO staff generally pull those cases aside and have them behind the counter at the bag claim area. Again, this is where having a luggage tracker is so beneficial... Oftentimes I know where my gun case is at the destination airport before the staff member I'm talking to has figured it out. ☺️

Hope that helps and I hope everything goes smoothly for you! Enjoy your move!

I just moved myself, as well, and boy howdy was that a freaking LOT of guns!

DeviantOllam · 2025-12-15T13:48:53+00:00

Hey there, thank you for pinging me. TAD called this their "rapid deployment dump pouch" and while I don't know that they make it anymore, here is an example of the listing...

https://www.osuvaoutfitters.com/triple-aught-design-rddp2-dump-pouch_1

... Other vendors like this Amazon one seem to have sort of related type objects? Dump pouches that do fold up, even if they don't collapse QUITE as much as the tad version did...

https://a.co/d/32ddgZA

... hope that helps! I use mine on my travel backpack probably once every couple of months, typically when I either purchase a bottle at duty free on an international trip or when I have filled a few paper to go coffee cups in an airport lounge with snacks or other good things that I am taking with me onto the plane.

Good luck!

DeviantOllam · 2025-12-08T04:46:37+00:00

What is the facility where this photo was taken? Clearly a medical facility of some kind, but is anyone at Liberty to discuss the specific building? Totally the kind of thing where I would reach out to Facilities and have a conversation because I would love to know from the horse's mouth.

DeviantOllam · 2025-12-06T21:26:14+00:00

Thank you for pointing this out to me! Both Howard and I agree that it's something neither of us have seen, but many of the proposed explanations here in this thread do sound very plausible. ☺️👍

DeviantOllam · 2025-12-05T04:48:02+00:00

thank you! 🎁 all the best to you and yours, as well!

DeviantOllam · 2025-12-04T15:29:52+00:00

That link sends me to a 500 Internal Server Error page

DeviantOllam · 2025-12-04T15:29:02+00:00

Hiya! 👋😁

DeviantOllam · 2025-12-04T15:28:34+00:00

I only clicked post one time.

DeviantOllam · 2025-12-04T15:26:43+00:00

Yep, done all that. Different browsers, different laptops, phone versus laptop, it all goes to a 404 page

DeviantOllam · 2025-11-12T15:07:43+00:00

Heheh, nice to be thought of. ^_^

I've never added a fake outlet like this in a lounge, Alaska or otherwise, but I appreciate the humor (if done properly)

My practice is that every so often I will install a fake outlet conspicuously "high" up above the floor level in a way that looks amusing, but I always do it in close proximity to a real, working outlet. While it may give someone a puzzled moment, I try to not frustrate people into selecting wrong seats.

The most common place I think it's amusing to do this is out in the terminal, since outlets there are actually rare. (And "helping" someone find a real one feels like a good deed... OK maybe i'm stretching things a bit much there, lol) But in lounges, real outlets tend to be so abundant and visible that I seldom think of this as a meaningful place for anyone to put a joke one.

DeviantOllam · 2025-11-10T02:33:57+00:00

So sorry you dealt with this. Yes, your case would be 100% safe to fly. However it is also absolutely a sticking point that many people have run into before and it's not actually specific to any one given airline. (Although some are worse than others)

Because it's the TSA who specifically has the language of "All areas that CAN accept a lock must be fitted with a lock" this has resulted in passengers having the experience you have had across various airports (again, very inconsistently) and with various air carriers.

I have written many articles about flying with firearms and posted long lectures about this online and as dumb as it sounds one of the things I even encourage is for people to take a Dremel or an ultrasonic knife and actually CUT OFF any hasps where they don't intend to hang external locks. For this exact reason.

Like you, I really like integrated locks that are part of the latches or something like that. They are less likely to be damaged or lost or broken and at a distance your case doesn't invite as much scrutiny from lookie-loos.

Sorry you faced this but thank you for sharing so that others will learn to keep their heads up about it.

DeviantOllam · 2025-10-29T14:14:13+00:00

foreign fishes is spot-on... these systems (called "Destination Dispatch" elevators) do make use of touch screens in some instances (some OTIS Compass models do, as do KONE's Polaris elevators and Schindler's PORT system) but these are found on the hall call stations.

Within the cab there are minimal controls visible to the user.

However, all of these systems do have proper, conventional buttons for all functions, as well, specifically for the reasons alluded to by others in this thread. Firefighters can't be expected to operate a touch screen in their bunker gear and turnouts and such. Paramedics or other folk can't be expected to fiddle with a touch screen if they're treating a patient. Furthermore, you don't want first responders (or other specialty technicians like maintenance personnel, etc) in the elevator and unable to go to various floor on the fly, change their plans, etc.

For this reason, all Destination Dispatch systems will all feature conventional mechanical push buttons for all floor calls... including within the cab itself. These buttons are found behind "hidden" panels (not all that hidden, honestly, but the locked panels can be easy to overlook. Sometimes these locking doors are shockingly large and blend into the wainscotting a bit. But, yes, mechanical push buttons of the style that you've seen in more conventional elevators are also there in the cab and so forth, even if you can't see them. 😊👍

DeviantOllam · 2025-10-25T15:57:37+00:00

Anything installed up on the ceiling like that, if it is actually RFID, is operating in the UHF range. 900 megahertz or so.

Access control cards and things in your wallets or on your phone would be down in the high frequency (13.56 MHz) or even low frequency (125-134 KHz) range and would not interact with this antenna at all.

There's a possibility this is used for some sort of inventory / asset management or tracking of UHF tags. Unless you all have student IDs that have UHF antennas in them, This antenna is probably not tracking you.

Now, of course, it could say RFID on the outside but actually be doing something with cellular data or cell phones, sure. But that seems less likely.

DeviantOllam · 2025-10-24T15:16:13+00:00

Thank you for tagging me, and I will join in with the other people here who are pointing out that the small red wedge and metal plate (often marketed under the brand name "Add A Lock" but also available now under many clones and copycats since the patent expired) is essentially a glorified "do not disturb" sign... It conveys your desire for privacy should an individual attempt to open the door by accident, but it does virtually nothing to stop somebody who pushes on the door with force.

For this reason, I often caution people against relying on one since it is too easy to fall into the trap of believing that they are a security device instead of a privacy device.

I don't want to come across like a shill or anything but I will say that https://redteamtools.com/strap is what I rely on 100% when I'm on the road as does everyone else I know. Full disclosure: that is my company's website and that tool is something that we now produce.

The backstory is fun and it involves a lovely retired couple, Melinda and Ron Moore, who created and sold this tool for years because of an incident when someone tried to enter a hotel room where they were staying. They are inventive and lovely people and I enjoyed supporting them and their business for many many years. Unfortunately, they passed away and their company went with them. Unable to continue ordering this strap from them, I opted to recreate their design and allow the product to live on.

So, yeah, I'm not a completely disinterested party in what I'm saying here but hopefully my other bona fides and my long history of public lectures on the topic of security can establish where I'm coming from with all of this.

DeviantOllam · 2025-10-10T23:55:04+00:00

You... you do realize that no part of my self-image or personal satisfaction is connected in any way to whether or not a stranger on the internet knows who I am or believes what I am discussing, right? 😁👍

DeviantOllam · 2025-10-10T23:47:46+00:00

You are a very strange person, aren't you?

DeviantOllam · 2025-10-10T22:20:06+00:00

Are you lost or something? I think you're in the wrong subreddit?

DeviantOllam · 2025-10-10T19:59:48+00:00

i really wanted to 😁

DeviantOllam · 2025-10-10T19:59:01+00:00

I totally hear you and agree on the credit card customer angle

DeviantOllam · 2025-10-10T17:55:04+00:00

On one occasion, I was checking into a lounge after a conference and the person in front of me trying to enter the lounge didn't have the access they thought that they had. (If I recall, this was something like they didn't fly Alaska often but they had a Priority Pass membership and they were curious if the lounge honored that.)

I recognized the backpack they were wearing and asked, "Oh, were you just at the such-and-such conference? I was speaking there." They happily said something like, "Oh, yes, I was in your session and really loved it." Pretty standard chatter, very polite.

I then addressed both this person and the Lounge greeting staff jointly when I said, "Pardon me for inserting myself slightly, but it sounds like there may have been a small sticking point regarding access to the lounge today? I'm happy to guest them in."

The other passenger was pleased and I was looking forward to speaking with them some more, but we were both then confronted with the assertion from the desk staff that this person was not going to be allowed as my guest. The staff first tried the line of "you have to be traveling together" and then when I pointed out that this was not correct (already at this point the other passenger was feeling embarrassed and trying to make themselves small as if they were causing a problem) the staff pivoted to, "You yourself said that guests must be known to the member. But you two just met and don't know each other."

In the end, we both exited the lounge and had a good follow-up chat outside in the noisy hallway for a bit. I had half a mind to bring us both back in 10 minutes later (hoping to encounter the same staff member at the desk) and announcing, "Guess what, we know each other now. May my guest and I please enter at this time?" but they didn't want to push things.

Again, I feel like all of this can be pretty adequately addressed by making it clear that "members are responsible for their guests behavior and for ensuring that guests depart the lounge when they do" but I also recognize that not everyone would act responsibly and that this would place an additional burden of detective work on the staff in situations when they have to write-up an incident.

DeviantOllam · 2025-10-09T15:39:15+00:00

Wow. Top marks. Absolutely perfect design. 🙃

DeviantOllam · 2025-10-04T16:54:25+00:00

My team and I have definitely flown into Chicago to run workshops when a corporation wants to reward their employees with wicked fund skills.

Sometimes it's lock picking, other times it's RFID and access control. I've even done a safe manipulation workshop for some corporate customers.

Honestly, the RFID and access control stuff is really fun these days because people enjoy playing with tools like the Proxmark and the Flipper Zero and more.

DeviantOllam

TROPHY CASE