I take 10 or so flights a year for work, I alwaystake a firearm with me of some sort,and the procedure is pretty much the same now in every airport I've been to.

You only need a sturdy hard sided case, material doesn't matter, that you can lock. Do you want your gun(s) getting beat up in transit? Some baggage handlers make the samsonite gorilla look like a geisha girl.

You will have to declare that you are checking a firearm, the ticketing agent will check the gun to see if it is loaded (If I'm flying with a rifle I cut out a placefor the bolt to lay in plain view in the case), ask you where the ammo is, give you a little orange card to fill out and put inside the case. You will have to lock the case (get a pair of locks that are keyed alike) and very likely immediately hand over your keys soa TSA agent can go through the case again, buncha crap.

Ammunition cannot be put inthe casewiththe firearm, but if you are putting your firearm case in another bag the ammunition can be in that bag.

Don't quote me on the airline weight limits on ammo, but it is somewhere around 11 or 12lbs.

Get to the airport a few minutes earlier, like 10 or 15, than normal in case there is a hang up and you have to wait for a TSA agent or a qualified ticket agent.

You cannot use curbside check in if you have a firearm.