One week from now, I'll be heading to the airport!!!!!

Anyone else as cranked as I am for this hunt??

Terry, you gettin' all wiggley??????

I can't wait! I can hear the yoties calling me already. Bring on, January 13th!


Rustydog

I will be there in a week also.

a week from right now I should be about 1/2 way to el paso

I am ready!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One week from now and ill be picking you up at the airport Its going to be FUNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I won't be there until wednesday, but I'm pumped and ready to go.

Looking forward to finally meeting everyone! I should be close to touching down in El Paso this time next week! Tic Toc!

Ecstatic about meeting you guys but a bit uneasy about the plane ride. It will be my first time on a plane, EVER! And also my first time west of the Mississippi...ought to be an adventure!!

It'll be fun Duffman.

Nothing to nervous about at all. Driving a car is way more dangerous.

flying is fun. dealing with TSA, not so much.

I am just uneasy about if they will lose my crap.

Don't sweat it. The chances are very slim that they will misplace your stuff.

But, hey..if they do, we'll get you new stuff.

Thanks Rockinbbar.

How many of you guys will be arriving Wednesday??

Duffman,

Did you ever hear the story about Terry's first plane ride? He told me and Kerry that it would be easy to recognize him at the airport.

He said just look for the big guy in bibbed overalls standing in a puddle of pee.

True story.

Rudy

That's hilarious!!

Lucky for you guys cause I peed my pants early in the flight and they were dry by the time we landed!The flight was really fine,but I did find out that the bathrooms on a small jet were not made for a guy that is 6'3" 275lbs!

I kinda wish I was going, I could use a getaway right about now. We have not had mom's service yet. I guess it takes a couple of weeks to perfome a cremation (which is what she wanted) around here due to legalities ect. Maby next year. I hope all you guys have a real good and safe hunt. But most important have fun, Grizz.

That's the exact reason why I'm not eating or drinking anything except water 8 hours before the flight.

Terry eats two pounds of cheese the day before the flight, so he's pretty plugged up on the plane. Nothin' like playin' safe, right T-Bone?

flying out is gonna suck.

there were no truly good flight time combos for both legs of the trip, so I ate the worst one leaving here.

I have a 3 hr drive to the airport, plus I lose 1 hr by crossing the timeline. So I have to leave home by 0200 (0130 is better) sunday for an 0830 flight.

Grizzlyone, Sorry to here about your mom. Is my first but it sounds like it is going to be fun.

Im pretty stoked, its been 5 years since I attended one of these!

Only problem this year is I bought Swiss cheese and I am afraid those holes in it might cause a little gas leakage.

220 swift your still coming. Rudy said you have Gout in both feet. HOPE YOU ARE OKAY. TRY Beano on the plane a whole bottle. Ricky

Rudy has Gout of the brain. No Beano for me,I like to pretend it is the person sitting next to me and see if I can embarass them!

We should be there Sunday afternoon,see you there!

Boiled eggs and beer works good the night before a flight. Nobody crowds me in my seat.

a week from now or so, I'll be having dinner in NM. Possibly of fresh quail

I have a week of work, which I'm glad for, then a week of fun. Can hardly stand it, I'm ready to get going.

I'm starting to get scared. Very afraid........

predators in NM need to be afraid...

You guys are getting excited ain't ya. I don't blame you,
Grizz.

My belly's in an uproar right now. I hope I don't have gas on the airplane.

I dont blame you!! Me and Reb8600 will calm you down when ya land

Rudy maybe someone will let you set on their lap while your on the plane...

He already has to have a booster seat so that will probably help him!

Terry he could probably fit into someones carry-on!

Just messin with ya Ru-man... Looking forward to seeing you guys....

But you have to remember..........they don't allow pet monkeys in carry-on.

Rudy where are you at man? Defend yourself!!!

Jake and I will be getting in Tuesday night Duff, just FYI.

I was working. LOL! It sure cuts into my internet time!

Terry, I gotcher' booster seat, bubba.

He knows it is the truth,so there is nothing to defend!

MC, you driving out or flying out?

Im flying into El Paso Rudy and then driving in...

Rudy are you going to borrow your exwifes broom or are you flying commercial?

Kerry- you could tie him to the rack for your receiver hitch. He would forget about the fear from flying.

My ex-wife's broom is so big, there's a place for two door gunners on it.

Good thing I read that again...........I thought you turned this place R rated!!!!!!

To he11 with that flying BS, more trouble than it's worth. When I go next year I'm driving and enjoying the scenery. And I'm taking my entire collection of Johnny Cash. Grizz

That's the way to do it!

If I had the time I'd way rather drive. But it's 2 long days on the road from here & 2 long days back. Just can't afford to spend that much time travelling.

AWESOME!!

cant wait to meet you Duff. it's a blast excited to here your calling. have fun on the plane bring gum help's my ear's pop. Rick

my aluminum rifle case is actually bulging, but I got everything in it that I need to. Excess ammo in the suitcase, but most of it's in with the guns.

had to take the shotgun apart to get it to fit. too long when assembled.

Stu,
I've got a question for you and anybody else on here that flys a lot with guns.

If y'all had a choice of putting your gun in a new Pelican hard case and checking it in on the flight (one stop) to El Paso, or boxing it up and mailing it (tomorrow) by Priority Mail to a secure address in Las Cruces where you could pick it up on Tuesday morning, which would y'all do???

I've flown with guns several times and I've only had a gun lost once. It showed up about 5 hours later so it wasn't really a big deal.

legally, if you ship it to a different state you have to go through an FFL to transfer it back to yourself.

I'm not going to do that.

I've flown with guns quite a few times & never had a problem, but the last time I flew was in 2000.

The regs for flying with guns has not changed. The real fun starts with TSA checkpoints after the check in counter.

I don't think so.
I'm pretty sure you can mail it to yourself in care of the addressee.
Legally, it isn't changing hands.

You can ship a firearm to yourself. Even out of state. BATF is fine with that. They do say that you should be the person that opens it though.

Then you can ship it back to yourself after the hunting trip and you still have no problem.

This is from the BATF site: http://www.atf.gov/firearms/faq/unlicensed-persons.html

Q: May a nonlicensee ship firearms interstate for his or her use in hunting or other lawful activity?
Yes. A person may ship a firearm to himself or herself in care of another person in the State where he or she intends to hunt or engage in any other lawful activity. The package should be addressed to the owner. Persons other than the owner should not open the package and take possession of the firearm.

I thought so.

I'm just trying to decide which way gives me the best chance of having a gun when I get there.

well, guess ya can. I'll just fly with them.

when my brother went on his whitetail hunt back in kancas he mailed his gun out there and then after the hunt he mailed it back to himself worked out fine for him... I would love to make it to the hunt htis year but i am unable too but hopefully next year

Ok, just doing some double checking here. On Delta's website they say that if my gun case is over 62 linear inches( L+W+H) then I have to pay a $125 excess baggage fee!! I am sure that my gun case is bigger than 62 inches. Is this for real..??? I really don't want to pay an extra fee especially not both ways.

I just called Delta.
You are exactly right. $125 for oversize, plus $30 for the second checked bag/item.

I flew Delta last year to Salt Lake City and I had the same concerns.My gun case is a double gun aluminum case and measured over their limits.They never said anything about it and never charged me any extra.

I think if you'e just a little over they'll let you slide.

Rudy

Don't they have an exemption for "sporting equipment"? They did a few years ago when I flew them to Atlanta and used their FF miles on South African Air to get to Africa.

man, I really don't need them to measure this case.

I've flown with it before with no issues, but last time was 9 years ago. No idea if they reduced the size limit since then or just didn't catch it.

No issues last time I flew with a gun either...a 2005 turkey hunt to Nebraska by way of Rapid City SD airport.
And, no extra cost for the second baggage item then either.

Looks like things have changed since then.

One of these days in the not too distant future we'll see gun shops near airports advertising shipping and receiving services because we won't be able to fly with our guns anymore.

If I had a gun shop near a major airport I'd be doing it now.

I talked to delta and they said that the deminsions of gun cases can be 82" not 62 like regular bags. It is different for sporting goods.

cool, at 82" I'm fine. My 2 rifle case is only over by 6" or so.

I had the same fear last year when I was getting ready to fly to Globe. I even checked on sending my Pelican case UPS or FedEx prior to the hunt. It was around the same price to mail 3 day delivery as the airline's 100.00 oversize charge.
I decided to take my chances with Delta figuring that at least I would have the case in my posession.
The check in gal never gave the case a second look and it's over the 62" limit by about 10".
I hope the 82" deal is for real. We will see Sunday morning.

I called because I was worried about the overcharge. I was on hold while she talked to everyone and she said that they five 82 on gun cases. She said that there are exemptions on sporting equipment. So I wouldnt worry.

Well, y'all do whatever you want to, but Shaw-nee-kwaa told me specifically on the phone this afternoon that if I showed up with a gun case that was over the "62 inch linear measurement" requirement I would be charged $30 for a second checked bag, and $125 for an oversized bag, for a total of $155.

Maybe I should have asked for a supervisor. I did that once at a Hardees in LA (Lower Alabama), and things worked out OK that time.

Thanks for the great info guys. I believe that I am going to go with it and raise a ruckus if they try to charge me the $125. I think I will quote the exemption on sporting equipment and hope they let me slide.

I can't find any sort of exemption on Delta's web site.

If this case costs me an extra $125 each way you just might see my underwear explode.

Like I said, the way it read last year I thought I would have to pay the $125.00 also on Delta.They all knew what was in the gun case when I checked in.She asked me if it was unloaded and then she tagged it.She took my suitcase and tagged it and said have a nice trip!Nothing said about it being oversize.

Then on the return trip in Salt Lake City I went to the counter and she took my suitcase and escorted me over to another counter where they actually checked the guns to see if they were unloaded.They took the case tagged it and said thank you.

Never once did anyone say anything about the case being oversize and it is definately oversized by their specs.