I've found that the gun-checking procedure varies with the ticket agent. A DL agent in PSC went ballistic and tried to find any reason she could not to let the gun on the plane (in the appropriate hardshell case, locked, unloaded, and the case inside another locked and checked bag). Then, not long ago, I came back through RNO with no fewer than seven guns (long story and already told here). The TA (again, DL) took my word that they were all unloaded, gave me a red tag to sign and place in each case, and sent me on to TSA.

As with the TSA, there doesn't seem to be a lot of consistency./