Mailing Pistol parts over the border from U.S

JPainter

JPainter

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Good afternoon,

I am seeking advice today on bring pistol parts up from the U.S. I have a friend who is willing to ship pieces up to me as I am sure many of you also do. The parts I am having shipped up are a set of fiber optic sights, and a DAO trigger kit.

On the declaration sheet what needs to be listed as to not cause trouble for customs?

ie./

"Pistol Parts"
or
"handgun trigger kit and fiber optic sights"


Thanks again for any input!!
Cheers!
Jeff
 
When I order from Brownells they put the product description on their customs declaration, for example on one order I made the form says "45 ACP Extended Ejector". And I have yet to have a problem with Canada Customs.
 
take the time to read the STICKY in LEGALESE cos the trigger is a "significant" part under the US law so export papers are required.
 
If the total value of the parts is under $100 US and they are not "signifigant parts" I.E. Barrels than it is fine. Ammunition can also not be shipped from the US (or at least not by Joe Blow that just wants a box of X).

With this being said, I've recently bought a Firedragon Barrel for my .40 XD. No problems with it coming across other than it was held up for a month in customs. Very smartly, they declared it a "Stainless Steel Machined Part". I myself would avoid putting anything the the 3 letters GUN in the declaration, if it can be avoided.

So I'm not sure why "officially" barrels cannot be brought across, but "unofficially" they can.
 
targettarget said:
If the total value of the parts is under $100 US and they are not "signifigant parts" I.E. Barrels than it is fine. Ammunition can also not be shipped from the US (or at least not by Joe Blow that just wants a box of X).

With this being said, I've recently bought a Firedragon Barrel for my .40 XD. No problems with it coming across other than it was held up for a month in customs. Very smartly, they declared it a "Stainless Steel Machined Part". I myself would avoid putting anything the the 3 letters GUN in the declaration, if it can be avoided.

So I'm not sure why "officially" barrels cannot be brought across, but "unofficially" they can.
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"unofficially" it's illegal - the person exporting has to be a licensed exporter regardless of value or whether the item needs a license.
 
JPainter said:
Good afternoon,

I am seeking advice today on bring pistol parts up from the U.S. I have a friend who is willing to ship pieces up to me as I am sure many of you also do. The parts I am having shipped up are a set of fiber optic sights, and a DAO trigger kit.

On the declaration sheet what needs to be listed as to not cause trouble for customs?

ie./

"Pistol Parts"
or
"handgun trigger kit and fiber optic sights"


Thanks again for any input!!
Cheers!
Jeff
Click to expand...

You're better off not having your friend involved. Buy the parts directly from Brownells or other supplier and have them do the paperwork. That way the supplier fills out the paperwork and being a licensed exporter has proven credibility. Example: recent purchase of 8 round pistol magazines. Paperwork from the supplier reads "Stamped metal parts". Legal and clean. CBSA inspected but not opened as usual.
 
Like I said, under $100.

" Q4. I want to buy parts in the US for my firearm and import them into Canada.
A4. The US controls on the export of firearms extends to parts also. For small orders worth less than US$100.00 the US Department of State allows an exemption from the export license. This exemption, however, does not cover ‘significant’ parts which includes; barrels, slides, cylinders, bolts, frames and receivers. It should be noted that there is no equivalent exemption offered by the Department of Commerce for shotgun parts. Further, there is no exemption for ammunition or ammunition components. Canadian importers should follow the procedure outlined in Q1 (above) to import parts not exempted. "

Example, you cannot import a $99 gun barrel, but you can import $99 worth of sights and springs.

Good thing I imported a machined part as opposed to what it non-technically is.
 
I think bolts are a no-no as well. Tried to order a 10/22 bolt from Numrich and they said they weren't allowed to under US law.
 
I ordered 4 mags from S&W and they only sent 3 due to the value being over $100...guess I should have made two orders.
 
misfire said:
I think bolts are a no-no as well. Tried to order a 10/22 bolt from Numrich and they said they weren't allowed to under US law.
Click to expand...

Each US supplier develops it's own policy based on gun export regulations, and it's own interpretation of the rules. This has led to suppliers either:
1. Refusing to send anything to Canada.
2. Sending limited gun parts up to US $100.00 worth.
3. Not paying too much attention to the limit as long as there aren't barrels, frames and receivers involved. (Grips are classified as a gun part but only some suppliers know that)

I've had good experience with Brownells, Mec-Gar and Kimber. Sig wouldn't give me the time of day. I have found it's usually best to call by phone rather than try online buying from the US so you aren't disapointed three weeks down the road expecting a shipment only to find out "Oh, we don't ship to Canada" even after your info has been accepted online..
 
Play with fire...

targettarget said:
If the total value of the parts is under $100 US and they are not "signifigant parts" I.E. Barrels than it is fine...
Click to expand...

Like JohnC said, this US$100. exemption is for (U.S. Dept. of State) licensed exporters only.

Playing this outside of the rules is one very dangerous game.
Never mind the Government of Canada; just try to cross the border after you've been caught violating U.S. Export law(s).

How much are those parts really worth?
 
"...value of the parts is under $100 US..." $500 for Canada, according to Gunparts. Still depends on the firearm though. Generally, there's very little available Statside you can't get here without all the fuss.
 
sunray said:
"...value of the parts is under $100 US..." $500 for Canada, according to Gunparts. Still depends on the firearm though. Generally, there's very little available Statside you can't get here without all the fuss.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't depend on info from Gunparts. The figure is $100 whatever way you look at it. They may have a different internal policy or outdated information that is not consistant with the actual regulation.
 
Playing this outside of the rules is one very dangerous game.
Click to expand...

I beg to differ. If you are sent something from the states that is illegal to send from the U.S. but in Canada is legal to receive, you can not be held responsible for what a retailer in the U.S. does. From a Canadian perspective, it is not illegal to import firearm parts from the U.S. It is only illegal for the shipper to export out of the U.S. without a Canadian import permit. It is the American who is breaking the law, assuming of course the parts in question fall into the restricted parts catagory.

How can you be held responsible for some elses actions in the U.S.? One gun dealer in New York (a large one at that) actually delivers your firearm, in person, to Canadian customs where you take possession of it and declare it and pay for the taxes. Theres no export permit, no import permit, nothing. Its perfectly legal and they've been doing it for years and eveyone knows about it (in Ontario that is). If it were illegal the BATF would have shut them down very, very quickly and besides, they have a lot to loose so they make sure everything is above board. And believe me, the BATF is on top of things. DPMS once got reamed out by them for sending me parts over $100 and these were warranty parts with no cost to me. DPMS separated them into smaller packages under $100 each and off they went with no problem.

In the end, its the reseller in the states needs to make sure its OK to send them out of the country, not you.

But then, thats just my two cents.:)
 
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