TSA only rarely even looks at guns and I have not had one verify they are unloaded in years. Different airports have different ways of doing things and at some you cannot see what goes on with your bags, while others check them right in front of you.
Some airlines want the ammo in the same bag, others want it separate. AK Air wants it in the same bag, Delta wants it in a different bag if you have two bags.
There have been two negligent discharges in the Anchorage airport that I recall... both were LEOs from Michigan. A counter agent is still deaf in one ear from one, a 338WM right beside her head...
We flew out of Anchorage in '08 with a pistol in my luggage. They sent me to a separate area where a TSA agent opened the gun case, checked it carefully, and ran a sniffer over the suitcase.
It was much more extensive than I'd had in Seattle on the way to AK. In Seattle, they just made sure the case was locked.
