Many of us hate to have our bags out of sight when traveling, and as airlines ratchet up bag-handling fees skyward, it’s an unpleasant thought that staffers are rummaging through our belongings on our own dollar. However by taking advantage of the TSA’s own security rules, savvy travelers can sidestep this little issue with one easy trick: pack a gun.

Basically, if you have any equipment or luggage that you’d prefer to have locked up and watched more closely than the rest of the luggage down in the hold, you can pack a firearm with your stuff. It doesn’t even have to be an actual gun, the TSA considers a starter pistol as a firearm and as such, it needs to be checked in and secured properly.

According to Bruce Shneier, a security and privacy blogger, a number of creative professional photographers have been using this trick to their advantage and secure their expensive camera equipment.

A “weapons” is defined as a rifle, shotgun, pistol, airgun, and STARTER PISTOL. Yes, starter pistols – those little guns that fire blanks at track and swim meets – are considered weapons…and do NOT have to be registered in any state in the United States.

I have a starter pistol for all my cases. All I have to do upon check-in is tell the airline ticket agent that I have a weapon to declare…I’m given a little card to sign, the card is put in the case, the case is given to a TSA official who takes my key and locks the case, and gives my key back to me.

That’s the procedure. The case is extra-tracked…TSA does not want to lose a weapons case. This reduces the chance of the case being lost to virtually zero.

It’s a great way to travel with camera gear…I’ve been doing this since Dec 2001 and have had no problems whatsoever.

A basic starter pistol costs around USD$16-20, and considering you can pay much more for an easily broken luggage lock, it’s a small price to pay for a bit of security and to ensure that your luggage will be opened only in your presence.