Obviously this only works on domestic flights but the airline will not lose your luggage if they know they are dealing with a legally declared gun. If they do, they get sued by the ATF. Your luggage will be given first priority if you just throw a shitty cheap gun from Walmart in there.
Does a starter pistol work?
Yeah even if it fires blanks. You do need a hard case as well, it can't just be wrapped in a sock or whatever.
I'm not sure how much better it's handled, I've known people whose luggage containing a firearm were lost during flights.
perhaps the bigger advantage is that the gun thing means you can use like a big (within weight limit) pelican case with non-TSA locks on it