DL policy for transfer of bags says they'll transfer between DL flights up to 12 hrs apart. Thus I'd figure they'd be willing at 430. It's really gonna be an agent and YMMV situation.

So I need to fly to DCA to attend a funeral at Arlington National Cemetery. I arrive DCA at noon, funeral is at 2:00pm so I'm thinking the metro should allow plenty of time? I then have to catch a flight to ATL/RSW at 6:00pm or 7:00pm. Any idea if can either check my bag to final destination - Fort Myers or claim it and recheck and then head to the funeral? Otherwise if I just don't claim it upon arrival would Delta Baggage Service just pull it off the belt and store it until someone comes looking for it?

time
 

How would it work for 6am and 7am flights? Seems like the night before would give them better time.

As of Nov 2019, I was limited to 7 hours. Since I live in a small town, there is only one flight per day to MSP, and to make it work for an overnight international flight out of ATL, I need to connect in MSP with a huge layover (8-10 hours). Delta calls anything over 7hours a "stopover" (not a layover) and requires me to claim my luggage when I arrive at MSP, then recheck the bags.... But I can't recheck them until 7 hours before my departing flight. I've experienced this several times in the past year at MSP.

Data point: Checked a bag at CLT today just under 6 hours before my flight (~1:15 for a 6:59 departure). Agent seemed a little surprised but accepted it without hesitation. According to the app, the bag was actually put on an earlier flight, which is something to note.

That is common and, when there are earlier flights, something to consider if there is any chance that you will later choose not to fly.

I've noticed this does happen sometimes when I check in a bag unusually early. I presume the baggage handlers sort by destination rather than by flight number in some cases, and if a bag gets mixed into the wrong bin for an earlier flight to the same city, they probably have a policy of just sending it on its way.

As bag matching no longer occurs domestically, DL regularly sends bags on next flight. One less bag to worry about on a later flight.

Yep, had that happen to me quite a few times. Always just waiting either by the claim or by baggage services.

Will be departing from DCA at 12:30 pm, and then have another DL flight at 7:00 pm on a separate ticket. It would be very convenient for me to check the bag early in the morning. Would DL accept it at 8:00-8:30 am, and check it through my final destination?

I could claim it at JFK but would prefer to stay airside and not to deal again with TSA at JFK.

4 hours before wont be a problem. Most US airports DL let's you drop anytime same day, when counter is open. As for checking through no issue since connection is under 12 hours.

I agree with the above on the early bag drop- that shouldn’t be a problem. Your bag is likely to be sent to JFK on an earlier flight, however, and you would pick up at the baggage service office at JFK in that case (if your bag isn’t through-checked).

However, I disagree with the above poster on the through-check, as you mentioned that you booked these segments on separate tickets. I’m almost certain that your bag would be delivered to claim at JFK by default. While I’ve never tried this, it certainly couldn’t hurt to explain the situation to the agent on check-in and see if it’s possible to do a through-check. However, I wouldn’t expect them to do this. If you have a free bag allowance on both flights, especially if you’re a Medallion member, your chances might be a bit higher.