alt Hacker NewsSame thing happened to me -- had a large vice grip in the duffel bag. Could have killed somebody over the head with it. They looked at their "regulations" and vice grips weren't on it so they let me through. You know who didn't let it through though - I left it in the bag and the Chinese security confiscated it on the way back.
btw don't try that with something that is on their list like ammo, even one bullet. Your life will be ruined.
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Traveling with ammo is not wise, but the number of people who accidentally try to fly with firearms is astronomical and penalties are usually light.
Eh. I accidentally did that. We were on a trip to visit family and a relative took my kids to a shooting range. One of them didn’t completely empty their pockets afterward and we realized that when the TSA agent asked why we had a bullet in our carryon. My blood kinda froze, then the same agent asked if I’d like him to discard it for me. I said I’d appreciate that very much and he did so. He went on to say that, being near the headquarters of Bass Pro, that this happens all the time. I used it as a teachable moment to explain to my kids that this might be their one-time free pass and to never, ever, do that again.
> had a large vice grip in the duffel bag. Could have killed somebody over the head with it.
There must be a billion things in the "sterile" area of your average airport that would make better clubs than vise-grips.
> btw don't try that with something that is on their list like ammo, even one bullet. Your life will be ruined.
I've done that too. You travel so aggressively, eventually you have some oopsies.
I went through a stint where I was driving for work, and working with a bunch of people in a woodsy state. A guy would take us shooting, and he asked me to buy a box of ammo to replace what I shot - so 20 bucks for 500 rounds of .22 caliber ammo.
Next time I flew was the first time I had actually been selected for TSA precheck - you know, the Trusted Traveler program and you can guess what I left in my carry-on. I was very apologetic and had to talk to a very grumpy city police officer, but it was fine. I paid a fine of $130, and that was it - they offered to let me check my bag to keep the munitions too!
It has never even come up with my 3 Global Entry interviews either. And yes - I live in a blue state.
Obviously don't do it. It wasn't a problem for me, but very much YMMV. I know someone else who got dinged for having a banana they bought in a foreign airport, and that continues to come up in their Global Entry interviews. Live ammunition < Bananas, apparently.