Any experience importing from Canada as a C&R?

[Brian Dick]

I don't think common carriers like UPS or FedEx will ship directly, (they certainly won't send firearms cross border from the USA and never did). Sending firearms via Canada Post cross border is no longer allowed either as far as I know but I could be wrong. My importing from Canada pretty much came to an end in 2007 after a lucrative ten-year run. Money exchange and pricing made importing nice firearms for resale no longer cost effective. I met Joel from Borderview in 2010 at an Import/Export conference in Washington, DC when he was just starting his business. Since he specializes only in Canada-USA shipments and has all of the proper contacts in place, his company is where I've sent all of my clients from the past since I gave up brokering in 2019. I've heard nothing but good things and well, $400 is cheap at half the price in my humble opinion. Looking for cheap deals cross border just isn't realistic anymore. I was lucky and drove for my Canada shipments when the getting was good, clearing them face to face with CBP in Port Huron, Michigan. I made four trips one year but normally at least two or three a year for ten years and had a great working relationship with dealers and regulators alike on both sides of the border. I still have a valid PAL and will continue to renew it. When the USD was $1.65 CDN, it helped cover a good chunk of the overhead cost of importing. The past few years importing directly from the UK has become increasingly painful and there are only a couple of airlines that will carry firearms from there now. Australia, New Zealand and South Africa have become nearly impossible, mostly because of red tape and a lack of air freight carriers. Too be honest, it got to a point where I dreaded those jobs. Anyhow, it's 2023 now and the real world strikes. I've heard some recent stories of problems with approvals on ATF F6 permits regarding firearms that I imported legally before so I'm guessing politics has something to do with it and not common sense or existing law. It's best to leave this work to those in the know in the fast changing atmosphere and pay the price. I'm glad to be out of it. Now I'm scaling back the repair shop and will concentrate on my website and retail shop. I have tons of items to sell. Best of luck.

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[Agambard1990]

I don't think common carriers like UPS or FedEx will ship directly, (they certainly won't send firearms cross border from the USA and never did). Sending firearms via Canada Post cross border is no longer allowed either as far as I know but I could be wrong. My importing from Canada pretty much came to an end in 2007 after a lucrative ten-year run. Money exchange and pricing made importing nice firearms for resale no longer cost effective. I met Joel from Borderview in 2010 at an Import/Export conference in Washington, DC when he was just starting his business. Since he specializes only in Canada-USA shipments and has all of the proper contacts in place, his company is where I've sent all of my clients from the past since I gave up brokering in 2019. I've heard nothing but good things and well, $400 is cheap at half the price in my humble opinion. Looking for cheap deals cross border just isn't realistic anymore. I was lucky and drove for my Canada shipments when the getting was good, clearing them face to face with CBP in Port Huron, Michigan. I made four trips one year but normally at least two or three a year for ten years and had a great working relationship with dealers and regulators alike on both sides of the border. I still have a valid PAL and will continue to renew it. When the USD was $1.65 CDN, it helped cover a good chunk of the overhead cost of importing. The past few years importing directly from the UK has become increasingly painful and there are only a couple of airlines that will carry firearms from there now. Australia, New Zealand and South Africa have become nearly impossible, mostly because of red tape and a lack of air freight carriers. Too be honest, it got to a point where I dreaded those jobs. Anyhow, it's 2023 now and the real world strikes. I've heard some recent stories of problems with approvals on ATF F6 permits regarding firearms that I imported legally before so I'm guessing politics has something to do with it and not common sense or existing law. It's best to leave this work to those in the know in the fast changing atmosphere and pay the price. I'm glad to be out of it. Now I'm scaling back the repair shop and will concentrate on my website and retail shop. I have tons of items to sell. Best of luck.

Thanks for the thorough response. I meant no disrespect in regards to Borderviews export price, I was just trying to save a few bucks since it seems that I could import with my C&R. I've spoken to some BATF agents a few times in the past week and they have been helpful. Without explicitly saying "yes" they were encouraging that my Form 6 could be approved for this particular rifle. I recognize now the logistical nightmare is really finding someone to ship the rifle and help clear CBP. I live close enough to Canada (maybe 7 hours from Ontario) that it could maybe be worth getting my PAL some day - but until then I'll have to likely rely on established exporters.

The rifle in question is not a beauty queen - just something a little uncommon down here (1895 Winchester in 303 Brit) that is priced affordably. At this point, I may just pass on it since this has been such a hassle. Good luck on those sales, Brian - I hope you can take a well-earned break from the repairs.

[capt14k]

I don't think common carriers like UPS or FedEx will ship directly, (they certainly won't send firearms cross border from the USA and never did). Sending firearms via Canada Post cross border is no longer allowed either as far as I know but I could be wrong. My importing from Canada pretty much came to an end in 2007 after a lucrative ten-year run. Money exchange and pricing made importing nice firearms for resale no longer cost effective. I met Joel from Borderview in 2010 at an Import/Export conference in Washington, DC when he was just starting his business. Since he specializes only in Canada-USA shipments and has all of the proper contacts in place, his company is where I've sent all of my clients from the past since I gave up brokering in 2019. I've heard nothing but good things and well, $400 is cheap at half the price in my humble opinion. Looking for cheap deals cross border just isn't realistic anymore. I was lucky and drove for my Canada shipments when the getting was good, clearing them face to face with CBP in Port Huron, Michigan. I made four trips one year but normally at least two or three a year for ten years and had a great working relationship with dealers and regulators alike on both sides of the border. I still have a valid PAL and will continue to renew it. When the USD was $1.65 CDN, it helped cover a good chunk of the overhead cost of importing. The past few years importing directly from the UK has become increasingly painful and there are only a couple of airlines that will carry firearms from there now. Australia, New Zealand and South Africa have become nearly impossible, mostly because of red tape and a lack of air freight carriers. Too be honest, it got to a point where I dreaded those jobs. Anyhow, it's 2023 now and the real world strikes. I've heard some recent stories of problems with approvals on ATF F6 permits regarding firearms that I imported legally before so I'm guessing politics has something to do with it and not common sense or existing law. It's best to leave this work to those in the know in the fast changing atmosphere and pay the price. I'm glad to be out of it. Now I'm scaling back the repair shop and will concentrate on my website and retail shop. I have tons of items to sell. Best of luck.

There are no airlines that will transport firearms from Canada. However trucking is just as easy. My last permits from Finland were approved in 3 days. There are less flights coming from Europe and prices are up. However I just imported 8 Rifles from Germany and 16 handguns and 16 rifles from Finland that went relatively smooth. Took 4 months all total for both imports.


For the record $400 for a single firearm is a great price. I need to import 8 or more to get the costs to around $300 each.