Travel to Canada w/ handgun

[Rebel]

Securing the weapon in a safety deposit box in the US makes sense. If you carry an automatic strip it down to parts and bag them in several plastic bags. A quick squirt of lube will prevent rust. Gun parts are not longer a weapon. Traveling the US requires research into the state laws. The CHL laws are different. Ignorance is no excuse.

That is not true, the serialized part of a gun(frame most the time), is a firearm no matter what. Yes it may not be able to fire, but it is a firearm. Try just taking a frame on an airplane and see what happens when you tell them it's not a gun.

[warhorse10_9]

Securing the weapon in a safety deposit box in the US makes sense. If you carry an automatic strip it down to parts and bag them in several plastic bags. A quick squirt of lube will prevent rust. Gun parts are not longer a weapon. Traveling the US requires research into the state laws. The CHL laws are different. Ignorance is no excuse.

That is not true, the serialized part of a gun(frame most the time), is a firearm no matter what. Yes it may not be able to fire, but it is a firearm. Try just taking a frame on an airplane and see what happens when you tell them it's not a gun.

The same thing applies to shipping a firearm for repairs if you ship the just the frame you have to use an FFL or pay the big bucks for Fedex/UPS.

[RVN War Dawg]

Securing the weapon in a safety deposit box in the US makes sense. If you carry an automatic strip it down to parts and bag them in several plastic bags. A quick squirt of lube will prevent rust. Gun parts are not longer a weapon. Traveling the US requires research into the state laws. The CHL laws are different. Ignorance is no excuse.

That is not true, the serialized part of a gun(frame most the time), is a firearm no matter what. Yes it may not be able to fire, but it is a firearm. Try just taking a frame on an airplane and see what happens when you tell them it's not a gun.

I am not talking about shipping or flying that way. I am talking about storing in a bank in a non CCL state. Where I don't want to walk into with a firearm.

[Ameer]

Banks rent safe deposit boxes by the week now?

[suthdj]

Whats interesting is the original post is over a year old and by a person that has a post count of 1. However the topic is still valid for those in the future that would care to travel up there.

[Rebel]

Securing the weapon in a safety deposit box in the US makes sense. If you carry an automatic strip it down to parts and bag them in several plastic bags. A quick squirt of lube will prevent rust. Gun parts are not longer a weapon. Traveling the US requires research into the state laws. The CHL laws are different. Ignorance is no excuse.

That is not true, the serialized part of a gun(frame most the time), is a firearm no matter what. Yes it may not be able to fire, but it is a firearm. Try just taking a frame on an airplane and see what happens when you tell them it's not a gun.

I am not talking about shipping or flying that way. I am talking about storing in a bank in a non CCL state. Where I don't want to walk into with a firearm.

Again you still are walking in with a firearm, doesn't matter how many parts you have in different bags. Serialized part is a firearm no matter what. In my other post I used the flying example to show that even in parts a gun is a gun, and that using the "in parts" excuse wouldn't negate the fact that is was still a firearm.

[Jumping Frog]

For storage, service or repair -
According to the rules, unless it is a pawn and return from pawn, no NICS is required. It is classified as a transfer, but does not require a NICS to return it to the owner. No NICS is required unless someone other than the person who dropped it off is picking it up. I have one hunter that drops off his hunting stuff for me to ship to Montana (from Texas) so he can take the plane to go hunt. He could check them, but he takes more stuff than the airline wants him to take, and charges him more than I do to ship and do the logs. He has them shipped back to me and then comes to pick them up when he gets back home. He also has me go through them and have everything nice and clean and ready for the safe by the time he returns.
They do have to go in the log for inventory and inspection purposes.
This information came directly from the BATFE because I called my local contact person and asked what the proper procedure should be.

The part people have not thought through is you can give a handgun to an FFL in a different state but you cannot get it back!

As you note, giving the handgun to an FFL is a transfer. When you want to go to the ID or WA or whatever state FFL to get your handgun back, they cannot transfer a handgun to an out-of-state resident. The best they can for you is ship the handgun back to your Texas FFL.

[Interblog]

Quite a few years ago...... At the border, I declared that I had a handgun and they had me fill out a form or two then they locked it up in a safe or somethingorother. Then when we crossed back over into the U.S.A. we made sure to cross at the same place. Showed proper ID, (driver's license) and signed for the pistol and were on our way. I guess that could still be an option if you're planning on crossing in the same place both times. Unless the laws have changed, of course.
...

I am hoping to resurrect this thread because it was last active some years back, and because I am wondering if anyone on this forum has actually gone through this procedure of declaring and leaving their gun at the border and picking it up upon their return, as the poster above describes.

This procedure is still widely referenced; e.g., in this 2017 news clip, which states "...many don’t realize they can legally declare firearms and leave them behind as they enter the country."

https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/201 ... uency.html

Does it work in practice as well as in theory? Any lessons learned? Does it draw undue attention to the person making the declaration, for instance? Trigger extra searches or scrutiny or whatever?

There are important logistical questions for which I don't currently have answers. For instance, many border crossings have what I call "double chutes" - entirely separated lanes for entry into Canada and exit from Canada. So what happens is that the owner would leave a gun in a different physical location than (s)he would be driving through in order to get home. At some point, the owner would need to stop at the drop-off location, re-acquire their gun, and proceed from there to the U.S. port of entry. At the border crossing with which I am most familiar (Houlton ME), this would obligate a short transit (about 1,000 feet) across Canadian soil with a handgun in possession which, on its face, would be a violation of Canadian law (unless there is a superseding provision that I don't know about). Other crossings have even more widely separated and intentionally-isolated border control facilities, so that pick-up would be even more challenging. Hence, my question - does anyone actually do this kind of thing in practice, and if so, how does the procedure actually take place, step by step?

Thanks.

[RPBrown]

IANAL but it appears that you can declare your firearm at the border

http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/cfp-pcaf/fs-f ... te-eng.htm

[Interblog]

That declaration is only for legal guns. Handguns are not legal to possess in Canada, with very few exceptions (none of which apply to visitors, as far as I know).

[flechero]

Any suggestions on what I can do with the gun in Washington and at the Canadian border will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Take it to a gunsmith and leave it for "cleaning" or "safety check"... Just let them know you will be a few days before picking it up. Although most smiths around here take longer than you need them to hold it, just to inspect. ...lol

I've never had to transfer a gun back and forth for gunsmithing work of any kind, so residence shouldn't matter. But call ahead to verify they can/will do it.

[Beiruty]

That declaration is only for legal guns. Handguns are not legal to possess in Canada, with very few exceptions (none of which apply to visitors, as far as I know).

Not true. Handguns are restricted not illegal.
If it is legal in Canada you can import it when you cross the border. Now, for a vistor the most likely reason to import a gun is for sporting purpose (sport shooting/hunting). I have no clue what is needed to temp import your firearms.

SBR are legal in Canada and classified as restricted.
Subcompact and pocket handguns are illegal in Canada.

[Interblog]

Arrrrghhhh. That article I linked above was published in the Toronto Star, Canada's largest-circulation newspaper, which should have relatively high accuracy standards where reporting is concerned. But what they stated in that article was completely false, according to the border agent with whom I just spoke by phone. Fake news comes in an increasing number of diverse forms, it appears.

The agent told me that Houlton Station will not hold American handguns under any circumstances, and that she is not aware of any other Canadian border port that would do so.

Rather than bank box or gunsmith, she told me that my first point of inquiry ought to be with the local law enforcement jurisdiction on the American side (which in their case it would be the Town of Houlton Police Department), because THEY will often agree to hold guns for people crossing the border. Or, if for some reason they couldn't do that, they would be a good point of contact to find out alternate means of securing the guns on the American side in their immediate area.

It sounded from her tone of voice like she had answered this question before, so hopefully this suggestion of hers is not wishful thinking that materialized in a baseless manner from thin air. But these days, you never know.

Myself, if I decided to try this, I wouldn't actually inquire with the local police until I was quite close to my departure date, just in case the policy changes in the intervening time, as it often does.

[Interblog]

...
Not true. Handguns are restricted not illegal.
If it is legal in Canada you can import it when you cross the border. Now, for a vistor the most likely reason to import a gun is for sporting purpose (sport shooting/hunting). I have no clue what is needed to temp import your firearms.

SBR are legal in Canada and classified as restricted.
Subcompact and pocket handguns are illegal in Canada.

Sorry - I wasn't sufficiently precise in my speech. Smaller pieces are effectively illegal in my implied context, which is personal self-defense as a visitor to Canada.

It's a tricky subject in Canada, given that self-defense is so strictly regulated and limited. For instance, pepper spray is also not legal to possess in a self-defense context if one's intention is to defend against human beings. But it IS legal in defense against wildlife, which of course Canada has in abundance, to the point where personal safety is a real concern.

So when I got to the border last year, I was asked about pepper spray, and I replied, "Yes, I do have one in my possession, and it's the brand that has the bear's picture on the front of the container, which is legal here - I verified that in advance."

That response was correct. The agent didn't even ask to inspect the pepper spray. Having a depiction of wildlife printed on the product makes it acceptable in the Canadian legal context. At least it does for the moment.

[Soccerdad1995]

Any suggestions on what I can do with the gun in Washington and at the Canadian border will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Take it to a gunsmith and leave it for "cleaning" or "safety check"... Just let them know you will be a few days before picking it up. Although most smiths around here take longer than you need them to hold it, just to inspect. ...lol

I've never had to transfer a gun back and forth for gunsmithing work of any kind, so residence shouldn't matter. But call ahead to verify they can/will do it.

This was going to be my suggestion. Even better would be to find someone that does custom work, and get some improvements done while you are up in Canada. I'm thinking about an outfit like Cajun Gun Works, or CZ Custom, but which is located in Washington state.