Fear & Loading: Top 10 TSA Guns

by
posted on April 11, 2018
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **
tsacheckpoint.jpg

If you’ve flown recently and someone sneezed 20 rows back, you know how effective airplanes are at incubating and spreading cultures. I recommend you get some rest, drink plenty of fluids and find a surgical mask vending machine before your next flight.

There’s a lot to remember before flying and when you add all those little things up, including disease, it’s easy to forget something. For those of us who carry, overlooking the handgun that rides daily in our bag or on our side would be disastrous and carries a potential of a $13,066 fine—per violation—when TSA discovers it.

It still happens to some, unfortunately, even with the fatiguing repeated and loud warnings. To put things in perspective, though, it’s no epidemic. TSA processed 771.5 million passengers last year and discovered only 3,957 firearms. That’s one person who forgot their gun for every 194,971 people coming through a checkpoint.

Yes, this blog is yet another reminder, but at least it’s more digestible than an airline snack. Here are the top 10 handgun makes TSA confiscated at security checkpoints for the two-week period between March 19 and April 1 (data that’s only been posting since last month, for some unexplained reason).

 

Naturally, there are assorted inert grenades, mortars, knives, snow globes and munchies, many of which you can view at the TSA blog. The weirdest stuff from 2017 is highlighted in the organization’s top 10 video blog.

And one more thing: Even if you’re an NFL wide receiver heading to Hawaii with a female friend, never, ever, ask if she remembered to pack the explosives while you’re checking in. I heard a rumor she was enjoying the beaches of Waikiki with a cabana boy named Joey. Odds are you haven’t heard that rumor either, because I’m not very practiced at spreading them—yet.

Latest

Whittington Center Adventure Camp 11
Whittington Center Adventure Camp 11

The NRA Whittington Center's Adventure Camp: An Outdoor Education For Kids

If you have kids between the ages of 13 and 17, there is quite simply no better summer experience you can give them than the NRA Whittington Center Adventure Camp.

Army Testing New XM8 Carbine (No, Not That XM8)

Some members of the U.S. Army will begin receiving a new XM8 carbine for testing, a shorter, lighter version of the M7 rifle introduced under the branch’s Next Generation Squad Weapons (NGSW) program.

When Price IS the Object

You get what you pay for, right? Maybe yes, maybe no.

Review: Taurus 66 Combat Revolver

Taurus’ new 66 Combat shows that even revolvers can get with the times.

New For 2026: Silent Steel USA Streamer Series PCC Suppressors

If there are two things that are popular in the firearms world right now, it is suppressors and pistol-caliber carbines (PCC). Silent Steel USA has both bases covered with its new Streamer Series PCC suppressors.

The Armed Citizen® March 30, 2026

Read today's "The Armed Citizen" entry for real stories of law-abiding citizens, past and present, who used their firearms to save lives.

Interests



Get the best of American Rifleman delivered to your inbox.