Flying with your CCW, all TSA rules are open to interpretation it seems.

(As preface, two of the three people I describe interacting with in this post know me through my sitting on the Board of Directors of this airport for the past 4 years)Upon checkin I declared my firearm to the airline employee as usual. She requested the obligatory visual check which I happily comply to, unlocking my hard side gun case to allow her to view my 1911 with cable lock (not required) attached along with two fully loaded magazines. She immediately stated that loaded magazines (she called them clips...sigh) were not permitted and the ammunition must be in an ammunition box. Since I've flown 6 times with full magazines, I assumed the airline employee didn't know what she was talking about so I requested to talk to a TSA employee to clear it up. The TSA employee reiterates what the airline employee told me. So I pull up the TSA website on my phone and read the following:"Ammunition is prohibited in carry-on baggage, but may be transported in checked baggage.Firearm magazines and ammunition clips, whether loaded or empty, must be securely boxed or included within a hard-sided case containing an unloaded firearm. Read the requirements governing the transport of ammunition in checked baggage as defined by 49 CFR 175.10 (a)(8).Small arms ammunition, including ammunition not exceeding .75 caliber and shotgun shells of any gauge, may be carried in the same hard-sided case as the firearm."The TSA employee gave me a puzzled look and then called her boss, who maintained that despite what their website states, namely "loaded or empty", their policy is that ammunition must be in an ammunition box, cannot be loose or in a magazine. Since these people know me I chose to not make a scene about it at the baggage check, called my wife and asked her to return to the airport so I could send my ammunition home with her as they wouldn't allow me to dispose of it in the garbage can. (Honestly crossed my mind to step outside and throw it as far as I could into the parking lot, but decided against that) Needless to say I'm not pleased with the prospect of having to find a store to purchase .45acp ammunition in upon my arrival in IL.Moral of the story, call your departure airport before flying and inquire as to their rules (as the staff on hand interprets them) for transport before check-in because the TSA website is not what they go by. via /r/CCW http://ift.tt/1Ym0WuY