Interesting.........I used to fly with my competition pistol quite a bit from Sky Harbor to the Carolinas, TX, NV, MO, and similar, and never had a problem. But was some years ago, although later the 9/11. The procedure was to verify the pistol was unloaded at the check-in counter, insert a carbon copy of a firearm form into the locked pistol case, inside of my checked regular suitcase, and then they put a tag on the suitcase indicating a pistol was included and had been "Checked" by the airline personel, and sent it down the conveyor belt. Never had a problem, and the checked bag always came off the carousal intact. Sounds like a lot more complicated (and unorganized) now. Good info, as I may be flying out of state again soon, and will more than likely be wanting to take a handgun with me to let a relative try it out.