doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Canadian Firearms License(PAL)

Tom et al.,
I've had a PAL since about 2002 (renewal was free, no cost). Once you get a PAL you can register one or more hunting guns into the Canada system. The gun registration is the simple part, very easily done by phone & internet, although it takes a month or more to actually get the reg certificate from the RCMP main office in Miramachi NB. Crossing the border to the north couldn't be easier. I've crossed nearby you at the Peace Bridge. You declare the gun(s), show your PAL and the reg certificates(s), and you're in. NO additional paperwork, delay or cost.

Returning to the US requires a US Customs certificate for the gun(s). Be sure to get them registered with US Customs before leaving the US. Usually the US agent asks what we've been hunting, how did we do, I tell him/her I have the Customs certificate and the agent bids us adieu. However if using a US airport the agent almost always asks to see the gun and Customs certificate.

Regarding getting a Canada PAL, you must have taken and passed a CANADIAN Hunter safety test as a prerequisite. A US Hunter Safety test won't do. I took the Canada test one year while in Saskatchewan, and didn't do any special preparation. I believe anyone who is a safety conscious hunter with reasonable thought process, should be able to pass it without a problem. With you being near Buffalo, you should be able to find a Canada Hunter Training Instructor to administer the test just across the border near Hamilton ON, etc.

I hope this helps you and others. Silvers

Let me put things in perspective for you fellows. My 13 year old grandson sat in on about 4 hours of instruction last summer. He took the manual home and spent 2 or 3 hours studying it. He went back the following Sunday, wrote the exam and did the hands-on test, and got 98%. If you can function in the English language, or the French if desired, and are possessed of even a modicum of common sense, you can walk thru the PAL process with no problems whatsoever!
As an aside, and as stated elsewhere above, you will have a LOT less trouble with Canada Customs at the border, than you will with US Customs. I've crossed back and forth NUMEROUS times since 9/11 and my only hang-ups have been with your people, not ours. Quite frankly, most of the US Customs people with whom I've had to deal are totally clueless as to correct procedures and requirements.

That 'customs certificate' is ONE way of proving you owned the gun or computer or whatever BEFORE you left the country. A bill of sale or other written proof is sufficient under CUSTOMS REGULATIONS, but the customs guys all seem to think the certificate is required. They're a pain to get unless you live in a city with an international airport or a port. My customs certificate on the gun I travel with is signed by my local POSTMASTER as ex-officio customs officer, with a Valdosta GA postmark. I've asked here before whether that's legal and nobody seems to know. I have never been able to find a regulation authorizing the Postmaster to sign...Geo

I have all the guns (at least a dozen)that I use in Canada registered on the American side.
In the 30 years I've been hunting and shooting in Canada, I've been checked twice and, both times, by the same customs agent.
Thanks for all the good information and advice. This is 30-45 minutes at the bridge that can easily be avoided.
There was a time when none of this was necessary. If there had been two more votes in the Canadian Parliament last year, we wouldn't be having this discourse.

When returning from Canada a year ago, I mistkenly handed the US Customs officer the US Form for an O/U. The gun I had in the car was a pump (obviously different S/N.) He opened the gun case, looked at the gun, then closed it up and waved me thru. Doesn't give much comfort about their ability find the bad guys.

Since the gun law went into effect we have been paying $50 Canadian per year to import three or less longguns for hunting. US Customs has never asked us about guns, only game, at the Maida, ND station. But things may be different in other states. We download the Canadian forms and have two copies plus the original all filled out except for our signatures which must be done at Canadian Customs. Never a problem or delay.