April 29th 2023Air travel with Rifles – Rules to Follow and Re-ZeroSavage Arms provides a series of shooting tips in the Savage blog. Stan Pate, a Team Savage Shooter, has written a useful article. This article explains how to safely ship your rifle and how to re-establish the zero of the gun after transport. You have to comply with many regulations, and then you must trust airline baggage handlers with your expensive guns. After arrival, you’ll have to reassemble your rifles and confirm the zeros. Stan Pate, a Team Savage shooter, offers some travel advice in this article. Pate has competed with match rifles around the world. Here he shares some tips to make your trip easier with your firearms. Air travel with firearms is easierTSA is not as careful as you with your rifles. It is important to store your firearm properly before putting it on a conveyer and then into the plane’s belly. Stan Pate spends a lot of time in the air each year and has developed a system to keep his rifle safe while traveling. Pate warns: “Never travel with a firearm that is completely assembled.” “A fully assembled gun is much heavier than a firearm that has been disassembled and stored.” The case will move more when the weight increases. Years ago, I learned the hard way. When I was traveling to an international competition, my rifle broke in half. Record your torque settings and use them during reassembly to return your rifle to zero. “Be sure to check the current TSA rules and regulation before traveling to be aware of changes that could affect how you pack your firearms,” says Pate.
The faster you can get back to zero, the sooner you can relax and stop worrying if your rounds will hit their target during competition. Pate has developed over the years a system to reassemble rifles and get back to zero quickly. Although his torque settings might not be the exact same as yours the process can be used. Pate says, “I tighten the three receiver screws to a finger-tight fit after I put the barreled action back on stock.” “Next, I tighten down the front two receiver screw to 35-inch pounds. The rear receiver screws of this particular rifle prefer 15-inch pounds. The torque settings for your action and stock will vary. Most actions only have TWO screws. The next step is to attach the scope. I use the manufacturer’s settings for tightening. “Now you just have to zero your rifle.” Tags: Airline Travel. Assemble Rifle. Rifle Shipping. Savage Arms. Scope Zeroing. Stan Pate. TSA.
