Shipping Paintball Markers On Airlines?

[geoffmel2002]

Im traveling to madison, wi this weekend and plan to play paintball. I live in Mississippi and am flying on plane. I was wondering if anyone knows the policies of the airlines after 9/11. I know pros take them with them somehow.


Thanks

[subbeh]

If at all possible, mail your marker ahead to the hotel you're staying at.

Otherwise, remove your tank from your marker and if possible remove the reg from the tank. Then, you must declare it... I believe. I've never done it.

Check out Apocalypse in Madison, BTW. I love Madison!

[LittMag]

You should call your airline ahead of time. Even that isn't enough b/c the policies will vary from the phone and to the ticket counter agents.
Some airlines will refuse to ship your tank regardless of whether or not you can prove it's depressurized b.c of that crash in Florida w/ the O2 canisters. As long as you take apart your marker (pack it in separate parts of the suitcase) and check it you should be fine.

Your best bet is to ship it (as said above)

do a search on pbnation... there was a long post about this a while back.

[rjvemt1]

i think shipping is your best bet,some idiot at the airline may give you a hard time at the last minute.if you ship it go to mail boxes etc. or another shipping store,let them pack it and get insurance.that way if anything happens to it you can get it replaced!

[virus]

they are right ship it there ahead of you flying out there....

but if you want to have it fly with you... the marker should be no problem as long as you dont try to take it carry on...
as for tanks.... tanks my be depressureized and left in the ON position in the case of a screwin tank get a bottom line asa or a remote on/off adapter and use that to keep it open... or just take off the reg (once you let all the air out that it)

then you can put it in your suitcase.... if any airline ticket agent still has questions have them contact any of their ops or cargo agents to inform them that there is no problem with tanks as long as they are empty, can be left on/open, and you can show that they are.... if nessary request that one of their trained HAZMAT people inspect that tanks... most likely a cargo employee will be this person....


as for how i know this info... i worked 3 1/2 years handleing cargo for a sub-contracter handling USAirways, continental, air jamaica, air japan.... was certified for HAZMAT through USAirways each year while i was working there... and handeled the return of all the compressed O2 bottles back to PIT airport to be refilled.... and per the usairways guidelines all tanks were completely drained and left on and marked as EMPTY with shipping tags... this was done to both used and unused tanks as to allow for quicker transport of the bottles.....

any bottles that were not done this way (ie full bottles be shipped to all the airports for use by passengers during the flight) had to have complete HAZMAT paperwork with copies (no photocopies... use of carbon paper was ok) for the ground operations crew, the pilot/co pilot, one to be filed in the cargo dock and one attached to the bottle... failure to do so and if caught by the FAA resualts in BIG fines

all those that could did it the short way... ie empty everything...did it... it freed up alot of time....

but as the others said if you can ship ahead of yourself, of course even this way the tank must be empty... or if youwant it to fly with you call up the airline and still arrive 2-4hours before your flight incase the ticket agent is thick headed... and dont hesitate to ask for a supervisor or the station manager (station managers are usally a last resort)(just make sure to be very polite to all even when they get on your nerves..) supervisors and SM's seem to always work with you better when you can explain things and not sound ticked off....

ok that is enough rambling from me for now.... i'll see if i can dig up the hazmat info online dealin with this sort of thing and the faa guidelines that the airlines have to follow

[BajaBoy]

haha, make sure u dont call it a gun;)

[TheTramp]

I just traveled between Boston and Boulder with almost all of my paintball stuff. I had everything in my check-in luggage except for my Retro valve. I took the Retro out of the gun and put it in a zip-lock bag with the field strip screw and stuck the bag in my backpack. Now I knew I was going to have to deal with extra hassle at the X-ray check point but the thought of losing $300 worth of valve when it was so simple to keep it with me was worth it.

Here’s what happened…they x-rayed my bag and pulled me aside. They emptied the contents asked me what the Retro was then x-rayed the bag again and told me I was all set. All in all I was at the checkpoint an extra 5-8 minutes at most. When they asked what the Retro was I told them it was an air regulator that cost $300 so I didn’t want to chance leaving it in my checked in luggage.

My buddy in Boulder had an extra N2 tank so I didn’t bother going through the hassle of bringing one of mine.

[Muzikman]

You will have no problem with the gun, but the tanks are another story. Even though you can fly with an empty tank, they some times give you a hard time. If I am not mistaken it was Webby who at the IAO last year ende dup having to FedEx how tanks to Pittsburgh because they would not let them on the plane. Guess it was good that he got to the airport early:) As for me, I ship everything via FedEx. You can either ship it directly to the hotel (making arrangements with them first) or you can use a company like MailBoxes Etc. Which you can ship stuff from one store to another and then pick it up when you get there. This is the more expensive way to do it, but is very easy.

[Cliffio]

depending on the airline you might not even be able to take your tank on the plane in any luggage

i suggest mailing it to the hotel your staying at or where ever

[bsolomon]

I have flown with my gear twice in the last couple of months without incident. Paintball markers are NOT firearms and do not need to be declared. The only items of concern are your tanks which must be depressurized. I just checked my gear bag at the ticket counter. No trouble.

Of course, you should always check with your airline first for their particular policies...

[marc]

I have flown (that looks really weird donts i prob. spelt it wrong) 2 times with my gun and tank. The first time i had no problem goin out of ohare international airport. I didnt tell them about it or anything, but i did empty my tank. Except for a few 12 gram disposibles i forgot about ( i dont even use them dont ask me what i was thinkin when i packed them) and when i got to the hotel and checked the the had exploded. On my way back flying out of dallas fort worth i didnt tell them and nothing happened. that was before 9/11. The second time was goin to vegas for guess what vegas open. I left out of ohare and i got ramdomly inspectied, they x rayed it and asked me what it was i said i painball marked they said ok, we just need to see your tank to make sure its emtpy. So guess what i did showed them my tank was empty and they let me on the plane. it took about 10 min to get past the security. on my way back, flying out of vega's airport (i forget the name of it) i ran into alot more trouble. of course my back once again got randomly inspected they saw the paintball gun and freaked, they even got the military guard watching me from the cat walk by the ceiling. At first they tried to stop me and my luggage from getting on the plane, but i argued with them that o hare let me go and if i dont get on ill be stuck in vegas all alone. so then they said i can go but my luggage cant. Then i got very upset and went off on the guy who told me that and we had an argument. (it must have looked perty funny a 14 year old yelling at a security officer. he told me 2 wait there. he came back 20 min later and said his super visor said the luggage and i can go on the plane but dont try to bring it on again. the whole ordeal took about 2 hours.

[OldSchoolMag]

I'm leaving on a trip tomorrow in the AM, and I have a screw on tank and no extra bottomlines or remotes - if I just screw it in to my RT Pro will it be able to adapt to the pressure changes?

Thanks, OSM

[rhetor22]

don't do it.

Even if the gun is safe, the tank must legaly be depressurized.

[obsolete898]

Great thread. I'm going home at the end of this month and I was hoping to get a day in back home.

[Muzikman]

The tank MUST be disconnected form the gun. Do not even try to put it on the plane with it attached. The best thing you can do is leave really early and make sure you pack the tank so that it could be shipped via fedex if there are any problems. Also, do not try to take Paintballs onto the plane. Not only will they not survive the trip, but airlines don't like it cause they don't know whats in them.

[Curly]

Ok i flew about two weeks ago to florida with my gun and two compressed air tanks. I flew from oakland to miami and then from miami to chicago where i was for a few days then from ohare to oakland. I had no problems with carrying my gear and i decalred it at every airport. What i would do if i were you is put the tank in one bag and the gun in another. They do not care about the paintball gun but they do care about the tank. They like you to let them know that you have one and it is empty. Also tell them that it is in seperate bag from your marker and this should ease them a little. Also if they give you a hassle about it then ask them to call their supervisor about carrying empty commpressed air tanks. It really isnt a big deal.