Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

I sat down with Kent Brown, President of CCW Safe, on the CCW Safe Podcast to talk through something I do almost every week: flying with firearms.

You can watch the full conversation above. Here is a quick look at what we covered and why it matters.

I split my time between Nevada and Louisiana, so I am at the airline counter with guns in my bag just about every week. Last year, I started filming the check-in process and posting it. That turned into a series now over 50 episodes, and the comments keep telling me the same thing. People are nervous about doing this for the first time.

That nervousness is the whole reason Kent wanted to have this talk. Traveling with a firearm sounds complicated. You have TSA rules, then a separate set of airline rules, and the agent in front of you may or may not know either one.

It is actually pretty simple once you understand the pieces. On the podcast we break down what TSA actually requires versus what airlines tack on, why a lock on every locking point matters, how the declaration form works, and what really happens to your bag after you hand it over.

We also got into the moments that throw people. What do you do when an agent asks for your keys to inspect the case? How do you handle an airline employee who is confidently wrong about their own policy? I have lived through both, and the answer is almost never to win the argument.

More from USA Carry:

Kent made a point I keep coming back to. The same mindset that keeps a check-in smooth is the same one that keeps a tense encounter from getting worse. Being right is not the goal. Getting where you are going is the goal.

We spent real time on the part people skip, which is knowing the law where you land. Getting the gun there legally is only half of it. Before I book a flight I check reciprocity and the carry laws at my destination, and sometimes that decides which airport I even fly into.

Kent also asked how I got into carrying in the first place. I told a story I do not tell often. I will leave that one for the episode.

I am a CCW Safe member myself, and one reason that matters when you travel is that the coverage follows you across state lines. If flying with a gun makes you anxious, watch the episode. My goal with the video series, and with this conversation, is to show you how routine it can be.

Thanks to Kent and the CCW Safe team for having me on.