Believe it or not, in the last 3 years I got on a plane 28 times, 12 of these were this year, and I was NEVER stopped to be checked, and I have always carried my gear with me, and after the abolition of the one-bag restriction, I also carry my 120-300 f2.8, which looks like a small cannon, in its own case as extra handbag. They just put them in the X-ray thingy with no questions asked.
What I did for the gear that is either too big to carry with (eg tripod, big lenses) or that it just doesn't fit in your carry bag is that I bought a really hard Samsonite that I trust that it wont crack and check it in. I paid quite a lot for it but everything is quite safe inside, if you wrap everything up with towels and clothes or probably some bubble-wrap.