Shipping rifle to Canada

hornet

What's involved in shipping a 22 target rifle to Canada?

hornet

Is there anyone out there that can give me any imformation on how to ship a rifle to Canada. I have a fellow up there that wants to buy one of my rifles. But I don't know how to go about shipping it to him. Any help will be very helpful.

Hornet

RancheroPaul

If it were me, here's what I'd do. I'd contact the fellow in Canada wanting to buy my rifle. I would tell him He needs to go to his local Gun Dealer and find out how to get it shipped to him. I'm sure there is some sort of transfer required by Canadian Lawn, if the gun is permitted at all. Put the problem onto the shoulders of the Buyer. I think there is very little you will be able to do from the U.S. to accomplish a sale in Canada. It think you can ship it out to him, but you are going to have to do that according to the BATF rules and regulations also. While the Buyer is finding out How to get it imported into Canada lawfully, you can call your local BATF and find out what you need to do to ship it to Canada legally. This would at least get something started. Good Luck!

"Life is FRAGILE!" Handle With Care!

mark christian

Actually the BATFE cannot and will not provide any information on the exporting of firearms out of the United States. Only firearms importation provisions are administered by the BATFE. Export provisions, Section 38 of the Arms Control Act of 1976 (22 USC sec.2778) come under the preview of the US Department of State and use the dreaded Form DSP-5 which is a total nightmare and requires that you register as an exporter using Form DSP-9 and pay a flat $250 per year fee (export 1 firearm or 1 miilion, it all costs the same). Trust me when I tell you that you don't want to go here as the red tape runs for miles more than one dealer, who thought he knew the ropes of the firearms industry like the back of his hand, threw up his arms in disgust (I won't mention his name).

As luck would have it, certian "sporting" shotguns and firearms shipments to Canada are exempt form the Arms Export Control Act and their movement is controled by the Commerce Department, who are much easier folks to deal with than State. Here is the drill: Contact the Bureau of Export Administration, Export Counselling Division, Department of Commerce, Washington DC 20230. I have a phone number but it is a few years old: 202-482-4811. What you need to obtain from the Commerce Department is a Shipper Export Declaration (Form 7525-V). This is not as much of a hassel as it may appear...but don't plan on doing sales to Canada too often or you'll need to register with the State Department and this is MADNESS (been there, done that).

Now that your end is covered it is going to be up to the buyer to wade through the Canadian red tape on his end. My suggestion here is that you get the rifle paid for up front with the understanding that if the buyer does not or cannot come through on his end, that he forfit a certain portion of the sales price (say 30%). This ensures that the guy is serious and won't just leave you hanging for weeks or months while he tries (or claims to be trying) to get his paperwork in order. Trust me when I say that many of these types of transactions can drag on FOREVER, but if I already have the guys cash and "his" rifle in my safe, I'm not in much of a rush and if it falls though on his end I'm still money ahead for my time. Frankly I feel that all of this is more trouble to you than it is worth, but if you enjoy new experiences and want to brag to your buddies about being a big time arms exporter, you can make it work. Be sure the price you are selling the rifle for is equal to the amount of extra time and effort you'll be putting into this particular sale. If you are just breaking even on the selling price you'll be killing yourself when you add up all of the hours you'll have used up on this transaction verses selling the rifle to someone in Nebraska. Good luck.

Mark T. Christian

neatguns

Would all that export stuff apply to a pre 1899 antique? I am selling a Snider Carbine and a Canadian has e-mailed me about this. I just told him that as long as he handles ALL aspects of receiving it in Canada, then I welcome his bid. I sent a couple antique cartridge rifles to Europe last year via US Mail and just filed the Customs Declaration. Listed "antique Rifle, made in 1895" on the contents line. No problem.

mark christian

The Arms Export Control Act of 1976 does not apply to antique firearms which meet the defintions outlined in the Gun Control Act of 1968, section 921, (16) A and B inclusive. These antique are not regulated by either the Deparment of State of the Commerce Department and can be exported without restriction other than the usual Customs declaration. How they are treated on the receiving end is another matter entirely and it is up to the buyer to ensure that the firearm can be delivered to him in compliance with his own countries laws. This is why I like the 30% hold back, I don't have the time to find out whether the guy on the other end can get his paperwork together or wait around for him to research his own countries firearms laws. Get the money up front and then it becomes the buyers problem and not yours.

Mark T. Christian