doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com mailing an antique gun to Canada

anybody here have actualy experience taking an antique firearm to the post office and mailing it to Canada? i know it's legal but my concern is the reaction i'd get from the USPS clerk if i put anything with the word "firearm" in it on the customs form.

roger

Do you mean you think it is legal from the US standpoint, the Canadian standpoint or the postal services of both countries?

Last year I sold an "antique" 1880's Webley .450 revolver to a gentleman in Canada. After multiple inquiries, it appeared legal to ship; but I was not 100% comfortable doing so. (Maybe excess caution on my part.)

He arranged for me to ship it to a friend of his in Washington state; and he drove down to pick it up himself; and take it home.

JERRY

Jerry, we went through all this before. I sold a Webley Mk II 455 revolver to a friend, because of its age and a non-readily available source of ammunition, we had to get a certificate from the Firearms Office declaring it an antique and not subject to registration. If your customer did not have such a certificate he could not have imported the gun legally. We do not have the pre 1898 antique status for any gun for which ammunition is readily available. An 1873 Colt revolver in 45 Colt is subject to registration. Maybe one in 41 Colt is not as shells are not readily available.

i figured there would be something like that involved. i didn't expect it'd be as simple as just mailing it. this is a similar case, an antique revolver in 44 webley. think i'll just keep it in this country.

thanks!
roger

Just to further complicate things, our postal service will not accept firearms from another country.The only method available is to ship it via air freight and you don't want to go there, trust me.... The best route is what Jerry said. If it's an antique in the U.S., have it shipped to a U.S. border town and have a Canadian pick it up and take it to the border and sort it out with Canada Customs.

Gentlemen,
Now that that's been sorted out I too have a question for my friends from the Great White North. What would be the Canadian governments regulations regarding a single shot muzzle loading pistol, either a vintage gun or a modern replica, something like a dueling pistol. Could an American carry something like that into Canada unmolested by the authorities? Anyone have any actual experience here?
Steve

The firearmas import form is very clear what you may bring into Canada for temporary use.It is the RCMP form Called non resident firearm declaration...You can download it for free. It even has pictures...

Well Chuck, you got me researching the law myself. My God, you couldn't pay me enough to be a lawyer, anywhere! What a bunch of double talk and general gobbledygook. I looked through the regs and almost nowhere does it address muzzle loading pistols specifically. Now as cranky as the Canadians get over handguns, you'd think they'd want to be very specific about things in that regard. Anyhow, I tried, it's not a big deal so I'll drop it unless any of our Canaadian friends have a specific answer or can point me to a specific law regarding muzzle-loader black powder pistols, either antique or replicas.
Steve

Hi:

Bringing a handgun into Canada, lots of luck!

Franchi