TSA confiscated a record number of firearms in the past year

The Transportation Security Administration has confiscated 1,855 firearms so far this year from travelers at airports. That is already more than was confiscated in all of 2013, and there is still a month and a half to go until 2014 ends.

Seventy-nine percent of the confiscated firearms were loaded.

“This is an example of the good work the men and women of the Department of Homeland Security perform on behalf of the American people,” Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson said in a statement.

The airports where the TSA confiscated the most firearms this year are: Dallas/Fort Worth International (104), Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (90), Phoenix Sky Harbor International (66), Houston George Bush Intercontinental (62) and Denver International (61), according to the TSA blog.

Travelers are able to check firearms, but the unloaded firearm must be stored in a hard container, and declared at the ticket counter. The TSA has a PDF guide for anyone who plans to travel with a gun.

The agency shares many of the dangerous or just weird things it confiscates from travelers on its Instagram account.

A disturbing range of firearms have been confiscated, in addition to a replica Roman dagger, a Samurai sword and a replica of a land mine.

#TSACatch - This loaded firearm was discovered in a carry-on bag at the #Reno-Tahoe (#RNO) International Airport. Firearms are always prohibited from carry-on bags. However, firearms may be transported in your checked bags as long as the proper guidelines are followed. Read more at TSA.gov.

A photo posted by TSA (@tsa) on Nov 11, 2014 at 5:09pm PST

#TSACatch - This replica Roman dagger was discovered this week in a carry-on bag at the #NewYork Kennedy (#JFK) International Airport. While all knives are prohibited from being transported in carry-on bags, they may be packed in your checked luggage.

A photo posted by TSA (@tsa) on Oct 10, 2014 at 6:37pm PDT

#TSACatch - This inert grenade was discovered in a carry-on bag at the Hartsfield-Jackson #Atlanta International Airport. Items such as this grenade can cause significant delays while the explosives detection professionals resolve the alarm. Grenades, real or otherwise, are prohibited from both carry-on and checked baggage.

A photo posted by TSA (@tsa) on Nov 11, 2014 at 5:11pm PST

These are just nine of the over 200 firearms that were discovered in carry-on bags in October; 174 of the 200 were loaded. Unless you’re a law enforcement officer with special permission, firearms are never permitted in carry-on bags. Read more at TSA.gov on how to properly travel with firearms in your checked baggage.

A photo posted by TSA (@tsa) on Nov 11, 2014 at 3:00pm PST

#TSACatch - #TSA Officers find around 40 pounds of prohibited items a month in traveler’s carry-on bags at the Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport in #Mississippi. These are just a few of those items. Go to TSA.gov to read more about prohibited items.

A photo posted by TSA (@tsa) on Sep 9, 2014 at 4:12pm PDT