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Yet another reason to fly with a firearm.

mr1337 wrote:Yet another reason to fly with a firearm.

can you expand on your comment? I was told by TSA that I could not have a non-TSA lock on my suitcase (soft sided) when I had a firearm in a lock box inside the suitcase.

GeekwithaGun wrote:

mr1337 wrote:Yet another reason to fly with a firearm.

can you expand on your comment? I was told by TSA that I could not have a non-TSA lock on my suitcase (soft sided) when I had a firearm in a lock box inside the suitcase.

I've been told the opposite. The baggage inspector that I've dealt with several times at AUS has told me that I could bring a lock to lock my soft-sided luggage after having it inspected with my hard-sided locked container inside. Unfortunately, there's not a way for me to lock my luggage because it's just the zipper pulls, and the only locks I've found for zippers are TSA-approved locks.

After they inspect your luggage, they shouldn't need to get into it again.

Another remedy is to get completely hard-sided luggage.

My non-TSA master lock was small enough to fit in the zipper pulls. any of these small locks and TSA locks are probably easily defeated anyway. plus being soft sided, easily cut open. you can only do so much without going hard sided.

For what it's worth, they also make cable locks both with and without TSA locks. But the zipper pulls aren't all that strong to begin with, so a nice cable lock kinda becomes an easier way to break the zipper off.

I've given up on the TSA. Locking bags is no defense. When I have to transport valuable stuff in checked luggage, I bought one of these to put on top of the inside of the suitcase:

http://www.priorservice.com/hosecap.htm ... oCH4rw_wcB

Nicer! That's pretty funny because I employ a similar tactic when I am traveling in areas where I'm likely to encounter one of the Border Patrol checkpoints -- I don my "BORTAC" hat (BORTAC being the Border Patrol Tactical Unit) given to me by the head of BORTAC during one of my classes that I taught for them. I've yet to have an agent fail to recognize the hat, and most then didn't even ask about it but for those that did, I told them who gave it to me and that I provide training for them and they didn't see the need to ask any further questions.

These keys were compromised as soon as TSA locks were invented. Someone had decoded the locks and published the depths and spacing of all cuts. There are several groups that try to shame anyone who does "security theater" to show how truly insecure security often is. This has included publishing details about how many types of security can be easily defeated.

maintenanceguy wrote:These keys were compromised as soon as TSA locks were invented. Someone had decoded the locks and published the depths and spacing of all cuts. There are several groups that try to shame anyone who does "security theater" to show how truly insecure security often is. This has included publishing details about how many types of security can be easily defeated.

Of course! Impressioning is very effective. If the TSA thought this was a security breach, that's crazy.

My youngest son, the devious one, can waltz through a TSA lock in a few seconds with the basic lock picks I gave him a while back.

He doesn't pick locks he doesn't own. It's a point of pride with him. He would never steal. Most locks would barely slow him down. It's not physical barriers that keep him honest, it's integrity.

And the pride of TSA baggage security? Those locks are too easy to be fun to pick.

Gun boxes, the hard case that the gun is supposed to be in, are not to be locked with TSA locks. Your soft sided suitcase can be "secured" with a TSA lock, but that's hardly secure. I can open any zipper bag without undoing the lock just as fast anyway and forget those little combination locks.

I learned to pick and "bump" locks by reading Brad Thor novels and the Internet. Now I dress in black ninja garb and sneak into my neighbors' houses and leave cryptic notes in their fridge and steal their liquor. The only thing I need a 3D CNC milling machine for is to "print" M16 lower receivers, auto sears, and disconnectors.

Livin' the dream (in my head). It's not hearing voices that makes you crazy, it's whether you do what they tell you...