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Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: TomK on February 03, 2008, 10:16:00 PM
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Going on a hunt this coming week. My Bow Tube is 69" long. Has this been a problem for any of you? Just don't want to discover that the rules have changed when I'm standing there at check in. Thanks!
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call your carrier-they may have an oversize charge for your tube. That is the reason i went to t 3 piece
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Shouldn't be a problem on AK air. Tons of rod tubes come up every year and they are big too.
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I've travelled with fly-rods many times and have not been charged.
Had a few rodtubes bent and squashed though.
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Definitely check with the carrier. I was going to TX last year and they wanted to charge over $100 each way for the oversize tube... so I bought a TD :)
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I forgot to mention I manage an airport, and times have changed in what you can bring and what they charge for. Call your carrier....
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Thanks to all! I got this info from the Continental Airlines web site:
Home > Travel Information > Baggage Information > Sports Equipment
Sports EquipmentArchery Equipment
Continental accepts one item of archery equipment per customer in lieu of one piece of free baggage. All items must be properly encased in a suitable container.
An item of archery equipment consists of:
1 bow case containing bows
1 quiver with arrows
Maintenance Kit of sufficient strength to protect items from accidental damage.
Archery equipment carried in addition to the free baggage allowance will be assessed at current excess baggage charge.
Continental is not liable for damage to archery equipment that is not contained in a hard-sided case.
Tom
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1-800-523-3273 Continental Airlines Customer Service, I fly 75 plus flights a year.
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Consider sending bow and arrows via fedex/ups if you have spare and time. That can really be important if you are going remote and can't afford to wait for delayed/lost luggage. Imagine landing someplace and finding out you can't make the next led because your gear is in Kazakstan.
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I used to work for Delta and have flown quite a few times with a longbow in a pvc tube. I've had it broken two or three times and I use the heavy scedule 40 stuff for my tube. Most times it broke it was on the end like it fell and landed on it. The pvc is thick but it must be a little brittle. It also costs about $40 or $50 bucks to build a tube out of the heavy pvc so when I had mine broken I went ahead and filed a claim and got money to make a new tube. I've watched my bow tube roll out of a bag cart when being taken out to the plane and saw it go rolling across the ramp.
I've had it get stuck in the conveyor system and cause a bag jam. I've had it get lost or deliberately left off of a flight because it was a large item. It always turned up again but still... I've also stood at the baggage carousell and had it not show up at all only to find that it was either hand carried up to the baggage office or sent up a different conveyor. Dallas is notorious for this. They have a couple straight conveyor systems for bulky or long items like golf bags, skiis and bow or gun cases that are nowhere near the regular bag returns.
I got to where I'd usually ask in advance if it would be hand carried or sent up a different conveyor at the destination airport. Hand carried is the way to go but sometimes you have to pay extra for it.
Also, try to modify your tube so it does not roll. I've used a couple pieces of wood glued on to give it a triangle shape where it will set flat. That helps reduce the chances that it will roll to the side on a baggage conveyor and get jammed or roll out of a bag cart and get run over on the ramp.
Oh yea, it's been a couple years since I've flown with my bow but after 9/11 the security got changed. You couldn't lock the case or they would cut the lock. If you use a tube, be sure to mark which end gets opened and also be sure to not screw the cap on so tight that they can't unscrew it by hand.
Also, I used to take a piece of foam like from an old sofa cushion and cut two "donuts" about twice the diameter of the tube with just a little hole in the middle so that a longbow in a bow sock will just fit through.
Put a piece of foam in the bottom of the tube.
Put your bow in the sock.
Put a foam donut between mid limb and the tip on each end and start the bow into the case.
Squish the foam down tight so it will go into the tube.
When the bow is all the way in the tube put another piece of foam in to protect the tip.
This way, your bow never even touches the inside of the tube and if the tube gets broken on the end like mine did, the tight fitting foam keeps it from sliding out of the tube.
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Dave,
LKH,
I hear what you're saying. I went on a cougar hunt one time to Northern Idaho and had my bow and arrows end up in Texas. That was a takedown recurve... this will be my first trip with a longbow... I'm chomping at the bit! Thanks!
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I shove mine down the left side of my shirt, through the right pantleg to the foot, then walk like I have arthritis ... no problem! Just don't put a broadheaded arrow in there with it!
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Good advice, call your airline. I have had my bows "lost" for over 3 days. Lucky it was on the way home. My carrier considered my longbow case as "sporting" equip just like a pair of ski's and it was included in my free luggage.
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I didn't expect the announcement that came out today for another month or so-extra bag is $25. all airlines are to follow ssuit.
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Here's another tip...
To avoid an extra bag charge carry a roll of duct tape with you and if you end up with one extra bag and say two of your bags are a bow tube and an arrow case, you can tape the two together and viola! They now count as only one. Don't laugh, been there done it. Actually had it suggested by a helpful baggage agent.
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I've got a question for ya'll....kinda along the same lines. Can you carry a two piece t/d longbow (in a small tube or soft case)as a carry-on and just check the arrows? DAVE
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I kind of doubt that you could carry the T/D longbow as carry-on. Once I tried to carry-on a golf club (and this was even before 9/11) and they made me check it. Things weren't quite as serious in those days, and I offered to let the stewardess hide it so I couldn't attack anyone with it, but they still made me check it. The other reason you probably can't carry it on is that they have pretty strict size requirements for carry-ons, and I would imagine your T/D longbow would be to long to fit the dimensions.
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I've carried fly rod cases that hold anywhere from 2-8 fly rods with no problems before,before and after 9/11.Other times I've had to check them.It really depends more on the attendant than the airline in most cass it seems.Same airline on one flight,not a problem,on return flight it had to be checked.Seems it just depends on who ever decides these things' mood at any given time.
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Here's another example of the injinuity that bowhunters have. Traveling back from Idaho once, I was afraid to entrust my mountain lion trophy to baggage handlers. I put the pelt and head in newspapers and packed the whole thing into a Penzoil cardboard box, wrapped the whole thing in duct tape, tied on a shoulder strap, and took it aboard as a carry-on. Other than the gal at the x-ray machine shouting "what the hell is that?" everything went smoothly on the trip home. Tom
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Originally posted by TomK:
Other than the gal at the x-ray machine shouting "what the hell is that?" everything went smoothly on the trip home. Tom
Now that just strikes me as funny :biglaugh:
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If you can find a hard case for a goose gun your bow may fit, my 62" longbow just fit with room for bubble wrap at each end. you may be able to fit you arrows in with modification to the foam on the inside. As for the airline I would check for prices. Good luck!!
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May not be an option, but I ship my hunting bow a head of me when I fly out west. I use UPS 3Day. My back up bow is a two piece the fits in my luggage. I flew Delta this past fall and they wanted $100 each way for my bow. I know UPS damages and looses stuff, but as I sit here and watch the news the airlines as a hole lost 7 pieces of luggage out of every 1000 pieces checked in 2007. That doesn't include the stuff they damaged. Bet UPS fairs alot better than that. dino
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No problems with 76" flyrod case. If its large enough, they know better than to try to put it on the conveyor. Most (but not all) consider it sporting equip. and oversize in length is free.
I've used the duct tape trick before with tying it to another bag. Worked great until this summer during a very heavy travel day when an outstanding airline baggage professional lost his mind over the whole concept and insultingly guaranteed me it would be damaged. I had to sign a damage waiver tag to put on the bag (which I had the opportunity to remove from the bag on the way to the X-ray... no sense in leaving a "KICK ME" sign on it). I spent the rest of the trip worried to death of losing my gear and having the bags split up. But it was fine... everything arrived in perfect condition in the special oversize area.