Sneezy
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Sneezy
- Joined
- Mar 18, 2020
- Threads
- 16
- Messages
- 297
- Reaction score
- 315
- Location
- Central NY
- Vehicles
- 2000 Trans Am Firehawk, 21 Mach E Premium EXT.
- Occupation
- NRA Rifle Instructor
- Thread starter
- #1
Road trip here https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/road-trip-and-650-mile-update.8428/#post-245461
ok, so you know in the movies where they show the guy running through the airport? That was me.
Keep in mind i have a knee brace on and I have a bad back. 2 surgeries to be exact. I'm not a runner. Well, I was for a short time!
My daughter shoots competition air rifle and earned a spot in the top 15 earlier in the year. The American Legion flew the top 15 kids and 1 chaperone out to CO Springs at no cost to us (insert donation beg here for the legion). The flew us out of Bethlehem at our choice. I love small uncrowded air ports.
Anyway, we get there early because we are flying with an air rifle (technically not classified as a firearm but one does not argue with the TSA if one wants to get on an airplane). This isn't my first time flying with a rifle, it's my 3rd so I know it all right? The one drawback of the small airport is you can only show up so early according to them....
We get to the check in counter and I tell the agent we are flying with an air rifle and TSA needs to inspect the rifle and probably drag me off to some corner of the airport we can't see. He argues with me that it's fine. I kindly remind him 3 more times that he should page TSA and he refuses. What could go wrong?
The TSA line is clogged with 100 people. So much for small unclogged airport. 45 minutes later we get through TSA, up the escalator and to our gate after snagging coffees for us. 30 minutes before boarding time. It seems I spent a lot of time arguing at the counter. Then I hear them paging me.... (it seems there are no speakers in the TSA checkpoint area). Shit, I give my coffee to my daughter and tear off through the airport down the escalator to the TSA checkpoint. I quickly explain what's going on and they tell me I have to go to the check in counter. Crap, left the gun lock key in my bag. I turn around, run up the escalator 3 steps at a time yell to my daughter that I need the key. She tosses it to me (we each have a key). I run back down the escalator, back past TSA and to the counter. That killed 6 minutes at least. They tell me they have been paging me for an hour and I tell them they need speakers at TSA. They tell me to run to the end of the counters (another 300 feet) and go around the corner and wait. So I did. Felt like forever and I'm texting my wife the story. The agent comes out after 2 minutes and says we won't make our flight... Well F you! OK, didn't say that but I was pissed. I give her said key, after what feels like an hour she comes out and says the rifle is clear and we can go and good luck with that.
So off I go running through the airport, down the escalator and TSA is CLOGGED. I skip to the pre-check line and they recognize me. The nice people in line let me jump in front, I already have my shoes off and phone in hand.... I get through and tear up the escalator bare foot. Not my best choice. My wife and daughter keep texting me. By now I'm sweating bullets (or maybe .177 caliber sir rifle pellets, R10's to be exact). I don't really need a HOT coffee now so I chugged a water bottle and then went for caffeine. They hadn't started boarding yet, it's 5 minutes to boarding time, I'm sweating, exhausted and everyone at the gate is staring at me while I cure the ticket agent (without actually cursing). That's at least 25 minutes off of the end of my life for sure.
I'm sure this won't be the last time we fly for competition so if I run into another ignorant agent, I'm just going to hunt down TSA myself. Then I'm told by someone checking us onto the plane that he was just filling in at the counter because they were short staffed.....so he really had no clue and should have listened to me. But we made the flight, the luggage and guns (we take a backup with us) were put on the aircraft before we got on. We know another mom and daughter who missed the flight because they didn't allow enough time to fly out of Newark NJ with an air rifle....
I had a bloody marry and a beer when we got to Chicago. The flights home were easy. The legion let the TSA and airlines know they would have a bunch of people flying out with air rifles.
ok, so you know in the movies where they show the guy running through the airport? That was me.
Keep in mind i have a knee brace on and I have a bad back. 2 surgeries to be exact. I'm not a runner. Well, I was for a short time!
My daughter shoots competition air rifle and earned a spot in the top 15 earlier in the year. The American Legion flew the top 15 kids and 1 chaperone out to CO Springs at no cost to us (insert donation beg here for the legion). The flew us out of Bethlehem at our choice. I love small uncrowded air ports.
Anyway, we get there early because we are flying with an air rifle (technically not classified as a firearm but one does not argue with the TSA if one wants to get on an airplane). This isn't my first time flying with a rifle, it's my 3rd so I know it all right? The one drawback of the small airport is you can only show up so early according to them....
We get to the check in counter and I tell the agent we are flying with an air rifle and TSA needs to inspect the rifle and probably drag me off to some corner of the airport we can't see. He argues with me that it's fine. I kindly remind him 3 more times that he should page TSA and he refuses. What could go wrong?
The TSA line is clogged with 100 people. So much for small unclogged airport. 45 minutes later we get through TSA, up the escalator and to our gate after snagging coffees for us. 30 minutes before boarding time. It seems I spent a lot of time arguing at the counter. Then I hear them paging me.... (it seems there are no speakers in the TSA checkpoint area). Shit, I give my coffee to my daughter and tear off through the airport down the escalator to the TSA checkpoint. I quickly explain what's going on and they tell me I have to go to the check in counter. Crap, left the gun lock key in my bag. I turn around, run up the escalator 3 steps at a time yell to my daughter that I need the key. She tosses it to me (we each have a key). I run back down the escalator, back past TSA and to the counter. That killed 6 minutes at least. They tell me they have been paging me for an hour and I tell them they need speakers at TSA. They tell me to run to the end of the counters (another 300 feet) and go around the corner and wait. So I did. Felt like forever and I'm texting my wife the story. The agent comes out after 2 minutes and says we won't make our flight... Well F you! OK, didn't say that but I was pissed. I give her said key, after what feels like an hour she comes out and says the rifle is clear and we can go and good luck with that.
So off I go running through the airport, down the escalator and TSA is CLOGGED. I skip to the pre-check line and they recognize me. The nice people in line let me jump in front, I already have my shoes off and phone in hand.... I get through and tear up the escalator bare foot. Not my best choice. My wife and daughter keep texting me. By now I'm sweating bullets (or maybe .177 caliber sir rifle pellets, R10's to be exact). I don't really need a HOT coffee now so I chugged a water bottle and then went for caffeine. They hadn't started boarding yet, it's 5 minutes to boarding time, I'm sweating, exhausted and everyone at the gate is staring at me while I cure the ticket agent (without actually cursing). That's at least 25 minutes off of the end of my life for sure.
I'm sure this won't be the last time we fly for competition so if I run into another ignorant agent, I'm just going to hunt down TSA myself. Then I'm told by someone checking us onto the plane that he was just filling in at the counter because they were short staffed.....so he really had no clue and should have listened to me. But we made the flight, the luggage and guns (we take a backup with us) were put on the aircraft before we got on. We know another mom and daughter who missed the flight because they didn't allow enough time to fly out of Newark NJ with an air rifle....
I had a bloody marry and a beer when we got to Chicago. The flights home were easy. The legion let the TSA and airlines know they would have a bunch of people flying out with air rifles.
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