If you’re flying to a dreamed-about fishing destination, you don’t want to arrive and find that your gear has not managed to join you. Even worse, you don’t want to get stopped and possibly arrested because there was something dangerous or illegal in your checked or carry-on luggage.

Remember, if you’re traveling internationally it’s critical to know not just TSA’s rules, but also those of the country or countries you’ll be visiting. Many of us were reminded of this recently when a Massachusetts tourist was detained on the islands of Turks and Caicos when authorities found ammunition that (assumedly inadvertently) was left in his bag. You don’t want to end up in any jail, but your legal problems are likely more difficult to resolve outside of your home country.

Before traveling with any potentially questionable items, be sure to read the TSA guidelines and your airline’s policies. In fact, you should print out those documents and bring them with you to the airport. While it is legal to check firearms to certain destinations on certain airlines with appropriate procedures, it goes without saying that you should not try to bring them on the plane on your person or in your carry-on. Last year TSA detected nearly 7,000 firearms at security checkpoints. That’s not a position you should put yourself in. However, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Here are more articles about oddball items travelers tried to bring along for the ride: