Not that big of a deal really. Go to your airline ticket counter, when you go to check your bag, tell them you have a firearm to declare. Have it in the suitcase, in a lockable case. Ammo cant be inside the lockable case or gun. They will direct you to the TSA folks, who will verify it all and proceed. I think the longest it has taken me to do it with a pistol was 10 minutes.
