Yeah, I think I'd be a bit hesitant to remove the Heavy tag unless it was quick/easy to do. I'm nearly always connecting onward from the U.S. entry port so if a CBP agent asked me why I did it I'd have no good answer.

(I'd probably just say "Because the Heavy tag makes you guys grab me for secondary all the time" since at that point, it's happening anyway.)

On the opposite end of things, I've checked empty airline-safe wine cases before. Those things can be a pain in the butt to find on a Sunday afternoon when you've got 24 bottles sitting in the trunk and you're on your way to the airport for your flight home.

For example, none of the vineyards in Virginia wine country sell them and neither do area UPS/Fedex stores. They are easy to find in Napa/Sonoma (obviously) but somewhat harder to find in Carmel/Monterey. So from now on, I'm bringing the ones I already have with me...