Air travel with a longrifle?

[Lostrifle]

If you have to go through the airports at NYC or Newark NJ(god help us!) be aware that luggage that seems to have anything valuable in it has a tendency to be "lost" from time to time. The baggage handlers are unionized, and the unions have connections to organized crime (this is not made up). They can't get rid of the thieves unless they're caught in the act, and they're too experienced for that. My opinion would be to ship your gun rather than trust it to the airlines.

 

[fyrfyter43]

Tape a broom handle in the barrel mortise to give support and strength to the forestock during shipping. It doesn't add much weight. :thumbsup:

Ummmm...I think Dan's point was that removing the barrel from a fullstock longrifle would not shorten the rifle significantly, but would take away much of the support for the forestock.

Rather than taping a broom handle in the barrel channel, wouldn't it make more sense to leave the barrel in place?

 

[paulvallandigham]

If my "rifle" had only a pistol grip stock on it, then, yeah, it would not save much length to remove the barrel from the stock. But, I have more than a foot of wood behind the tang of my long rifle barrel, and taking the barrel out of the stock does shorten the carrying case substantially.

Its even more effective with half stock guns. My reason for recommending the broomhandle to support the forestock on a longrifle stock was simply to solve a problem of concern regarding having that thin forestock in a large cargo container, banging around from who knows what kind of gorilla activity! I suggested removing the lock and hammer, or cock, to permanently disable the gun, so that the thieves at airports will pass it on, as it has no value to them, if it can't shoot.

Please remember that I represented criminals for a number of years when I first entered law practice. I gained a considerable knowledge of how they think. I prefer, frankly, to share information with honest people here so that you know how to thwart the thieves, without them having a clue that you are even considering them. ( They all like to think they invented thievery!)

I also suggest you avoid the entire Airport problem by shipping your guns to your destination earlier by ground. Your guide or outfitter is used to handling this kind of thing for customers, he already has a substantial deposit from you to reserve a time slot for you hunt, and he can arrange to ship the gun(s) back to you when you finish. The same consideration exists regarding ammo, and black powder. Sometimes you have no choice but to load BP into large rifle casings, like the .45-70, and send a box of those cartridges to your guide, and break them down to put the powder into pre-measured loads for your hunt. I forego sending my powder horns, full or empty, anywhere I can't carry them. They are too easily stolen, or lost, or damaged. I will have done all the sighting in and practice at home before going hunting. At most I will need enough powder for 10 shots- a couple to check the sites on arrival, and the rest for the hunt assuming I can't hit the broad side of a barn. I wish someone would give me a dollar for every ounce of powder I have carried out into the hunting fields over the years that I didn't need. I would be a very rich man, or still a poor man with a fine collection of guns! :rotf: :surrender: :hatsoff:

 

[Coot]

What Dan and Fyrfyter43 are trying to get across is that on a fullstock longrifle, the barrel only extends 1/8 or 1/4 of an inch beyond the stock. For example, a .50 of mine is 60 &1/4" in overall length with the barrel in. Of that length, the stock is 60 & 1/8". Removal of the barrel on a musket could shorten the shipping case needed by several inches and even more on a halfstock but doesn't accomplish anything with a fullstock except to have a heavy barrel loose to possibly bang into the stock. As you and others have noted, shipping the gun in a crate is the safest transport. :thumbsup: :surrender:

 

[fyrfyter43]

What Dan and Fyrfyter43 are trying to get across is that on a fullstock longrifle, the barrel only extends 1/8 or 1/4 of an inch beyond the stock. For example, a .50 of mine is 60 &1/4" in overall length with the barrel in. Of that length, the stock is 60 & 1/8".

Exactly! The only way I see of substantially shortening a fullstock longrifle involves the use of a saw.

Personally, I'd rather pay the extra shipping charges.

 

[paulvallandigham]

I knew what they were alluding to, but I take it for granted that the members and readers here are a few notches brighter than the average bulb. No one is going to allow a heavy barrel of any kind to roll around to bang into anything, wood or metal during shipping. The barrel gets wrapped up in padding, as well as the stock, and then surrounded with packing foam in the shipping case- what ever it is called. I even tape blocks of soft wood to the ends of the barrel/action, to protect them from being battered by someone throwing the box on its end, or dropping it that way. If you don't have wood, use several layers of corregated cardboard glued together.

 

[fyrfyter43]

I knew what they were alluding to, but I take it for granted that the members and readers here are a few notches brighter than the average bulb. No one is going to allow a heavy barrel of any kind to roll around to bang into anything, wood or metal during shipping. The barrel gets wrapped up in padding, as well as the stock, and then surrounded with packing foam in the shipping case- what ever it is called. I even tape blocks of soft wood to the ends of the barrel/action, to protect them from being battered by someone throwing the box on its end, or dropping it that way. If you don't have wood, use several layers of corregated cardboard glued together.

That's simply common sense when it comes to shipping a rifle.

The point is, you simply cannot shorten a fullstock longrifle by much more than 1/4" by removing the barrel. You yourself said that removing the barrel would substantially shorten the package. Would you care to explain how to do that, without sawing off the forestock?

 

[paulvallandigham]

No, you are right. My mistake. I was talking about my long rifle, but thinking about the last gun I packed which has a half stock. Sorry. :bow:

I still like to remove the stock from the barrel for shipping. That stiff weight of the barrel can help Crack a stock if the two are together when dropped or thrown. :shocked2: :hatsoff: