riggins_83
New member
One of my relatives is moving to Alaska and sent me this email after crossing into Canada. Researching laws is a good thing prior to crossing the border!!
My misadventure at the border revolved around my revolver. Yep, the Colt 45 handgun got me turned around at the border. At least they didn't confiscate it. I should have left it with you. The Canadians turned me around after I answered yes, I do have guns. They didn't mind the rifles or shotguns - no problem. But, a handgun??? You'd have thought I said I had a nuclear bomb in my trailer.
They made me pull over to the side with lots of space around my vehicle and trailer and I was told to stay in my vehicle. Two of them came to the window like a highway stop - up from the side and a little behind me. After giving my ID, vehicle registration, and passport, they had me step out. I was then escorted to the building. They both walked behind me and when I slowed down to talk with them, they stopped and had me continue ahead to a room inside the building. These guys were not in good humor.
I got the whole series of questions: where am I from, where am I going, reason for trip, how long staying in Canada, etc, etc, etc. Having been in sales for several years helped. I finally got them to smile and loosen up a bit. I was polite and cooperative, of course. Besides, I had / have nothing to hide. I'm going for a job, afterall.
Well, back at the truck, they wanted to see my rifle first that I had in the truck with me. It was cased but I did have a box of shells. No problem. They wrote down the serial number, model, etc. Then I opened the trailer and got out my other rifle and two shotguns. Same run down - serial numbers, models, etc. Then the handgun. I had to dig for that one since it was in a box up front in the trailer. I carefully handed it to them handle first like a knife and same rundown - serial numbers, etc.
Back inside, they ran the serial numbers against the description and cross-referenced it with some national database. Whew! They all came back clean. Good for me because I'd probably be in jail instead of emailing you.
They filled out a 4457 form form me which is more or less a registration. But, it did not have the 45 handgun on it. I had four options:
1. Turn it over to the border agents
2. Sell it
3. Cancel my trip and not cross the border
4. Go back 100 miles to Minot, North Dakota, buy a case, find a licensed gun dealer, pay him to ship it to a licensed gun dealer in Alaska, and pay non-stop overnight air freight, and then pick it up from the gun dealer in Alaska.
Well, option 1 was very tempting since the 45 was probably worth $100 max. But, value was not the issue. So, I decided on option 4 - the most costly both in terms of time and money. And it cost me an entire day, $8 for the case, and $40 to the gun dealer to ship it. And probably another $40 to retrieve it from the gun dealer in Alaska.
That was the short version of what happened. Lots of other interesting, frustrating, and time-consuming tidbits occurred throughout the day. For example, one incident - the main border guard showed me how to break down the double barrel shotgun to find the hidden serial numbers.
My misadventure at the border revolved around my revolver. Yep, the Colt 45 handgun got me turned around at the border. At least they didn't confiscate it. I should have left it with you. The Canadians turned me around after I answered yes, I do have guns. They didn't mind the rifles or shotguns - no problem. But, a handgun??? You'd have thought I said I had a nuclear bomb in my trailer.
They made me pull over to the side with lots of space around my vehicle and trailer and I was told to stay in my vehicle. Two of them came to the window like a highway stop - up from the side and a little behind me. After giving my ID, vehicle registration, and passport, they had me step out. I was then escorted to the building. They both walked behind me and when I slowed down to talk with them, they stopped and had me continue ahead to a room inside the building. These guys were not in good humor.
I got the whole series of questions: where am I from, where am I going, reason for trip, how long staying in Canada, etc, etc, etc. Having been in sales for several years helped. I finally got them to smile and loosen up a bit. I was polite and cooperative, of course. Besides, I had / have nothing to hide. I'm going for a job, afterall.
Well, back at the truck, they wanted to see my rifle first that I had in the truck with me. It was cased but I did have a box of shells. No problem. They wrote down the serial number, model, etc. Then I opened the trailer and got out my other rifle and two shotguns. Same run down - serial numbers, models, etc. Then the handgun. I had to dig for that one since it was in a box up front in the trailer. I carefully handed it to them handle first like a knife and same rundown - serial numbers, etc.
Back inside, they ran the serial numbers against the description and cross-referenced it with some national database. Whew! They all came back clean. Good for me because I'd probably be in jail instead of emailing you.
They filled out a 4457 form form me which is more or less a registration. But, it did not have the 45 handgun on it. I had four options:
1. Turn it over to the border agents
2. Sell it
3. Cancel my trip and not cross the border
4. Go back 100 miles to Minot, North Dakota, buy a case, find a licensed gun dealer, pay him to ship it to a licensed gun dealer in Alaska, and pay non-stop overnight air freight, and then pick it up from the gun dealer in Alaska.
Well, option 1 was very tempting since the 45 was probably worth $100 max. But, value was not the issue. So, I decided on option 4 - the most costly both in terms of time and money. And it cost me an entire day, $8 for the case, and $40 to the gun dealer to ship it. And probably another $40 to retrieve it from the gun dealer in Alaska.
That was the short version of what happened. Lots of other interesting, frustrating, and time-consuming tidbits occurred throughout the day. For example, one incident - the main border guard showed me how to break down the double barrel shotgun to find the hidden serial numbers.