Antique Colt 1860 export to USA

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marathonman123

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I have tried to research this and can you some tips. Thank you.

My cousin has a 1860 colt revolver in Montreal that I want to receive in California. I have found that it’s an antique according the RCMP website and that it can be exported but not shipped via Canada Post. Also I need a BATF form 6 but no FFL license if it has a letter of authenticity. Or I can see if a company called OIF can handle the whole thing.

I would be greatly appreciative if someone can help me unwind this.

Thank you.

Randy
 
I don't know why Canada Post won't ship but though it would cost you, you can use Borderview. They broker cross border deals in firearms as a matter of course. Have you looked into Purolator or FedEx? Good luck to you.
 
I can see a couple of snafu's for you to get over before you get that pistol. A "form 6" is a permission slip for a Canadian to "TEMPOARILY" import into the U.S. anything entering US under a form 6 must also return to Canada within the year that a form 6 is valid.
The other thing , is if that 1860 is martialy marked, it will be refused entry back into the states due to the U.S. legislation on not returning lend -lease or surplus sold guns once owned by the U.S. military.
 
fingers284 said:
I can see a couple of snafu's for you to get over before you get that pistol. A "form 6" is a permission slip for a Canadian to "TEMPOARILY" import into the U.S. anything entering US under a form 6 must also return to Canada within the year that a form 6 is valid.
The other thing , is if that 1860 is martialy marked, it will be refused entry back into the states due to the U.S. legislation on not returning lend -lease or surplus sold guns once owned by the U.S. military.
Click to expand...

Um, no. Form 6 is the _permanent_ import form. You are thinking of the form 6nia.

For imports made of pre-1898 guns no import permits are required (scratch what I had earlier - here's a doc https://www.help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-210?language=en_US).

The shipping by post bit is questionable - I have reports of people doing it with no issues... Is it guaranteed to work? Can't say.
 
KotKotofeich said:
Um, no. Form 6 is the _permanent_ import form. You are thinking of the form 6nia.

For imports made of pre-1898 guns no import permits are required (scratch what I had earlier - here's a doc https://www.help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-210?language=en_US).

The shipping by post bit is questionable - I have reports of people doing it with no issues... Is it guaranteed to work? Can't say.
Click to expand...

That document summarizes the process very well and should prove helpful to most folks. Nonetheless this is my cautionary tale of "proceed with caution".

Several years back I required gunsmith work on an antique that only was available in the US. I found that none of the usual
parcel carriers would accept a firearm from lowly private citizen and transport over international border regardless of antique status. After doing my due diligence research I ended up deciding to drive it across the border and mailing via USPS once across. First stop was on the Canadian side to fill out a customs declaration form indicating the item was returning and should not require additional taxes or duties upon its return. The Canadian customs guy was pretty chill and just wanted to verify serial number and see it it was safely secured, he came to my vehicle to verify. Upon hitting the US border, I honestly answered their question about being possession of any firearms and added that it was a pre 1898 antique entering temporarily for gunsmith work. Nonetheless I seemed to cause quite a bit of excitement with the border agent and I was promptly treated like the second coming of Pablo Escobar, quickly seconded into a small windowless "waiting room" suspiciously similar to a holding cell for over an hour while they went to town on my truck. Only after they found nothing other than the declared antique they were somewhat more civil and asked me for proof of antique status. Despite it being present with the gun(now in their possession and presumably already examined by them) my RCMP status letter proved to be sufficient but they also indicated that historical book references may work as well. Eventually bringing back the handgun into Canada was no big deal. Anyways long story short despite me doing things properly/legally I was sufficiently traumatized by the American agents that I will likely never try that again and probably just use an export service in the future.
 
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marathonman123 said:
I have tried to research this and can you some tips. Thank you.

My cousin has a 1860 colt revolver in Montreal that I want to receive in California. I have found that it’s an antique according the RCMP website and that it can be exported but not shipped via Canada Post. Also I need a BATF form 6 but no FFL license if it has a letter of authenticity. Or I can see if a company called OIF can handle the whole thing.

I would be greatly appreciative if someone can help me unwind this.

Thank you.

Randy
Click to expand...

Being an antique you don't need any paperwork for the ATF. Yes, Canada Post will not ship any sort of firearm across the border, nor will FedEx. UPS does from the US to Canada, but I have not tried it the other way. The easiest would be to drive it across the border with proof of antique status and fill out the import form at US customs (or get it on line - https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/2024-05/cbp_form_7523.pdf), then mail it by USPS. Should not be an issue. Brokers will charge you a couple of hundred dollars to do the same. Not sure what California laws are, though. I know they rival ours in terms of ridiculousness.
 
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