Travelling with paintball...

[lord1234]

Anyone know about travelling with a paintball gun? Any major restrictions on it? Thank you for any thoughts.

--Lord1234

[jdev]

Im not sure the letter of the law on this one, but here is how I transport my marker:

I always make sure there is no paint in my hopper, and if there is, there is a barrel plug or condom on the marker whether there is paint or not, gas or not, i ALWAYS have my barrel turned where paint cannot load from the breech into the chamber. oh yea, and always have your safety on.

I usually leave my tank seperate from the marker too. but, since I got my drop with an on/off, I do tend to leave my tank on, just for ease of movement of the marker. I just leave the marker ungassed.

and if Im feeling really saucy, ill actually break it all the way down, and put it in my bag and carry it in there.

[Clare]

airlines & pb equipment

don't take paint in your bags

make sure your tank is empty and in the "on" position

When claiming your equipment, use the word "marker" instead of "gun"

They won't allow you take your marker or tank as carry-on, ofcourse

They'll usually be more worried about the tank than your marker. Explain that your tank has a burst disk and/or prove that it's empty

you should contact the airline beforehand so that you're aware of their regulations so you won't get any surprises

[jdev]

i seemed to have outlined car transport, capo got air transport..

anyone care to go for trains?



oh yea, capo, good call on the use of marker instead of gun.

I would also like to add something that lack of grace laid upon me when we were at the megameet (we had our guns ready in the hotel room, and carried them through the hotel)

when tranporting your gun in public, as we were. make sure you have your barrel condom/plug in place and carry the marker in a non-threatening manner. by this I mean, carry the gun by the barrel, with the vavle facing down towards the ground, or as I did, by the trigger frame with the valve still facing down as opposed to carrying it by the grip with your fingers near the trigger.

that was the best advice I think i got from the whole megameet. thanks nick

[Load SM5]

Having just flown in the last few weeks with my gear I can tell you that security is a good bit tighter than before since the alert status went up. They screen every single bag right in front of you and anything with a trigger on it will be opened in front of your face. I'd be more worried if they did'nt. I keep my mag broken down in a metal padded case along with my tank and then put all of that inside my large suitcase. Lay a paintball magazine on top of the case so that's the first thing they see when they open the bag. If possible, print out manufacturer's specs on your tank, especially weight so you can prove, if need be, that even though you have no air in your tank, it does'nt contain explosives or drugs. If you have a screw in tank screw your ASA on so you can again prove you don't have a full tank.

Like Cap said always use the word marker and be really friendly. They're doing their job and you have something gun shaped in your bag. They may be jumpy. Once I told then I was carrying paintball gear on in my bags they relaxed noticably and asked me a few questions, "Is it fun", "Does it hurt?"

When I outright asked security if taking paintball equipment on a plane would ever be a problem, I was told that as long as the tanks were empty, then there should never be an issue. I've flown US Air and Delta and both had no problems with PB gear.

In my opinion, as popularity grows for the sport it'll only get easier to fly with your stuff.

[Coal-Cracker]

I'm not sure "state by state" but check your state/local laws. For example, in Pennsylvania, it is illegal to drive with the hopper and air attached to the marker.

As an aside: This law was passed as a means of curbing "drive-by" vandalism caused by irresponsible paintball gun owners (mostly kids). Initially, the recomendaton was to outlaw paintball in the state, Bob Bellefonte(Representative), thought that was a little too extreme and compromised with the above law. Interestingly, Bellefonte was maligned by APG (?) magazine for passing this law. Not realizing that without him, paintball may have been banned all together in the state. (Bellefonte has a defined interest in paintball remaining legal, as he owns "Paintball Thunder" shop and field.)

[dropkick1]

i can cover trains and busses since misfit and i took the train to the megameet and the bus home.
Trains: just make sure everything is degassed and packed well b/c u don't have to claim anythign and no one really checks your bags except yourself and your the only one handleing it.
Bus: pretty muich the same, jsut don't go yelling gun while your on either and u should be fine.

ken

[Jonno06]

eh, i was thinking about taking my paintball gun with me to chicago this summer to maybe catch in a day of play, but since ill be there with my g/f,and i dont want to be stcuk at the airport having my bags checked (im impatient)...i dont think i will..oh well.

[Dayspring]

I was there for this. It was funny. It took 7 agents to try and figure out what he had in his bag.

The other funny part was that it happened at 5:30a.

Originally posted by Load SM5
Having just flown in the last few weeks with my gear I can tell you that security is a good bit tighter than before since the alert status went up. They screen every single bag right in front of you and anything with a trigger on it will be opened in front of your face. I'd be more worried if they did'nt. I keep my mag broken down in a metal padded case along with my tank and then put all of that inside my large suitcase. Lay a paintball magazine on top of the case so that's the first thing they see when they open the bag. If possible, print out manufacturer's specs on your tank, especially weight so you can prove, if need be, that even though you have no air in your tank, it does'nt contain explosives or drugs. If you have a screw in tank screw your ASA on so you can again prove you don't have a full tank.

Like Cap said always use the word marker and be really friendly. They're doing their job and you have something gun shaped in your bag. They may be jumpy. Once I told then I was carrying paintball gear on in my bags they relaxed noticably and asked me a few questions, "Is it fun", "Does it hurt?"

When I outright asked security if taking paintball equipment on a plane would ever be a problem, I was told that as long as the tanks were empty, then there should never be an issue. I've flown US Air and Delta and both had no problems with PB gear.

In my opinion, as popularity grows for the sport it'll only get easier to fly with your stuff.

[Load SM5]

Originally posted by Dayspring

The other funny part was that it happened at 5:30a.

Nothing funny happens at 5:30am.

[Dayspring]

Sure it does...

You being so tired that you put MY contact lenses in.

Me coming back to the hotel room and about an inch away from throwing myself on the bed and realizing that Mayhem was in it.

Originally posted by Load SM5


Nothing funny happens at 5:30am.