Ammo On International Flights

[Hawkeye2]

I'll be going to Poland late next month and want to carry 2 or 3 boxes of factory .25 ACP to give to a friend over there as a repayment. We had shot his FN Browning and he allowed me to fire one of his French 16 gauge pinfires. Would there be any issues in putting it in my checked luggage? Dulles to Copenhagen then on to Warsaw. I won't have to go through customs in Poland as we laid over in Copenhagen and the final leg of the flight is in the European Economic Community.

[AJMD429]

Well, NOT been there, done that, or even tried to do it, but...

It involves:

a) governments,
b) airlines,
c) overpaid bureaucrats,
d) minimum-wage flunkees, and
e) b-b-b-bullets,

...so what could possibly go wrong...

I'd consider a hundred bucks or so and a cute gift card instead.

BUT having said that, it is good for those who have the patience to challenge the limits of bureaucracy and push back, so we don't lose even more freedom - so if you choose, go armed with knowledge of the laws (plus a little 'tip' money if needed), and Good Luck...!

[COSteve]

Done

[Merle]

Somehow I expect the real problems will be after you get overseas - probably wise to contact the embassy and/or airlines involved.

[piller]

When I went hunting Red Stag in Poland, I had to keep the ammunition in my locked gun case. I was not allowed to have it in my luggage. Check with the Airlines first.

[vancelw]

Read the TSA guidelines and the airline rules.

Usually you are limited to 11 pounds of ammo.
Has to be in locked box. Usually you can lock them in a small case and put them in your checked luggage. Some airlines make you check it as a separate item, so then it would need to be a durable case, like a Pelican or something similar.

You should be able to check it in the USA and have your luggage checked all the way to your destination. Then you will only have to deal with Poland's customs.
Whatever you do, don't tell them you are bringing it for payment and plan to leave it.

[Pete44ru]

Whatever you do, don't tell them you are bringing it for payment and plan to leave it.

Winner, Winner - Chicken Dinner ! ! .

Good advice...…


.

[AJMD429]

Amazing how difficult they make such a trivial thing....

TSA, police, embassies, customs officials.....

....we're talking a few boxes of little pipsqueak 25 ACP's.

Then again the few odds-and-ends cartridges my teenage kids might have in a jacket pocket after a weekend hunting rabbits would be enough to freak out most schools now days...

[Pete44ru]

....we're talking a few boxes of little pipsqueak 25 ACP's.

Yeah, but to non-firearm folk, ANY ammo has the power of an atomic bomb...….

.

[AmBraCol]

Double-triple check the legality on that end. Even carrying one loaded cartridge into some countries can get you serious prison time. Should it? No, but that's the way it is.

Dealing with the airline will also depend greatly on your point of departure. Attitudes toward anything remotely firearm related vary widely from city to city and region to region - and even from counter worker to counter worker.

[stretch]

Double-triple check the legality on that end. Even carrying one loaded cartridge into some countries can get you serious prison time. Should it? No, but that's the way it is.

Yep, that's the way it is. In this country, New Jersey comes to mind. I can have
a box of 22 HP in the truck with no trouble in most states. Get caught in NJ, and
the fine is $1K per hollow point round. One 550 round box would ruin me.

You should also check on the caliber. Some calibers that are commonplace here are
illegal for civilians to own in parts of Europe - specifically some that will fit machine
guns leftover from WWII.

25ACP is not a sporting caliber. It's a pocket pistol caliber. I'd get something in
writing from the Polish end. Maybe the consulate in this country could help.

Good Luck!

-Stretch