I will start bringing surplus ammo across border!!!

gushulak said:
The facts without fear mongering.....read on oh unenlightened one!

I'm just telling it like it is. Lots of CGN have been stopped coming back through when they were at US gunshows only to have their lives torn apart.

Think I am making this up, search around a little more rather than making smart ass comments about what hypothetically happens. I had my car sitting in the parking lot of a large shopping center that happened to contain a gunshop. I did visit it but didn't buy anything except for some maps and stuff.

I got stopped about 1km from the Canadian border by US ICE. First question out of their mouth..."was I at such and such gunshop recently?" After I said yes and produced the reciept, they had me bring my car to customs for a detailed search.

When was the last time you crossed the border living in NWT?

So, don't just figure that because your car isn't near the gunstore, that they are too dumb to figure things out.

This doesn't happen just at the stores just across the border. I have been asked at customs if I had visited Cabela's in Rapid City, SD on such a day. I was researching rattlesnakes in Wyoming at the time and somebody got my licence number and forwarded it to US/Canada customs, which is about a 12 hour drive away. I was coming through customs about a week later when I was asked if I was at Cabelas in RC. Its a bit unnerving knowing the full extent of US law enforcement......

Wanna start fear mongering now?

Short and sweet, don't think your fooling them because your car isn't parked in front of the gunstore. As a Canadian, you will be tagged and they will follow up.

A funny aside note. I had shipped some live snakes to Florida from Minneapolis several years ago and got a call from the FBI because I put my Canadian address on the box. It cleared USFWS when I brought them in, somebody on the ball saw the foriegn address and contacted me. My package sat in Louisvelle, KY until I could produce the proper documents stating that the animals were legally brought into the country. I had the shipping documents inside the container but they demanded that I fax all the documents to them. This was at about 1am when I was sleepily driving home on the interstate.

The US alphabet boys play hardball. It is not pretty trying to explain something completely legal to them, imagine if you get caught with components in your car during a stop, what do you think their reaction will be.
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There's something about you or your vehicle(plastered with bumper stickers?) raising red flags to Homeland Security.

I cross about once a month for the past 7 years and have never been stopped before I hit the Canada Customs booth. On 85% of these visits, I've been at a US gun store, mostly Cabela's in Grand Forks.
I generally don't cross on weekends and the little booth for Homeland Security is unmanned during the week, from what I've seen.

I'm not saying it doesn't happen, just never happened to me and I cross relatively often.
 
pmt said:
Tagged how?......well they been know to use the old fashioned way of recording plate numbers, as well as make/model/colour. They also have used such tricks as marking your vehicle by cleaning one headlight, or applying a piece of clear cellophane tape to your headlight. They get creative during winter months.

Crossing 3 or 4 times a year really isn't that much. Those of us living near border towns cross 4 to 6 times a month. Random checks leaving the US are not that rare, and are becoming more frequent. Vehicle searches at primary are becoming more prevalent. Dogs are regularly used at NEXUS crossings.

Point is, just because you rarely see it, doesn't mean it's not happening.
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I never once said it doesn't happen. :rolleyes: I said it was business as usual with regards to myself and gun stores minus buying things that I can't possess or export. And that I haven't been checked. Matter of fact, the last gun store I went to in the US, I walked to 6 blocks from the hotel I was staying at, paid cash for a set of dies without saying a word, and left. No wonder they didn't "tag" me......


OK. You cross 4-6 times a month, or at least 48 times a year. How many times have you been stopped? Just curious. Maybe there is a lot more smuggling happening at the crossings you frequent.

BTW, did you know you can buy most gun related items short of components at WalMart in the US? Wonder if there are secret agents in all those parking lots as well. As Canadians do we have to stay out of that part of the store?

Once again, I'm not advocating any illegal activities. I'm a little disappointed however, that some would suggest that as a firearms owner I can automatically expect some special treatment when I cross the border, when it has been my experience that isn't true.
 
Okay guys, let's get back on point with this thread.

I will start off apologizing to joe-nwt for my rude comments in my earlier post.

I base my encounters with the US because I grew up in a border town, attended part of my schooling in the States and because I seem to be on that side of the border lots researching snakes in various gorgeous spots. I am not stopped all the time, but I have seen many random check stops occuring just outside of the Can/US line, about a mile or two from customs. A lot of others I have talked to have experienced this as well, I have always been crossing into MN, ND or MT.

My vehicle is an old four door, no gun stickers, maybe its the "Support the Troops" thingie? Other than looking for snakes, most of my activities in the US are of the more normal variety. I do deal with USFWS, so maybe thats the reason?

Have any others experienced this? This doesn't happen lots to me, these are four incidents in about eight years now for me. Seems to be more than it should.....

Oh well, I understand their laws and abide by them when I am visiting their country. Their rules.

Once again, sorry for my crankiness in my earlier post.
 
A guy from upstate NY that I shoot with went through a US export control (US side before Canadian Customs) yesterday on his way to shoot at the Montreal Skeet Club.

It doesn't happen often, but they do it.

Brad.

bearkilr said:
There's something about you or your vehicle(plastered with bumper stickers?) raising red flags to Homeland Security.

I cross about once a month for the past 7 years and have never been stopped before I hit the Canada Customs booth. On 85% of these visits, I've been at a US gun store, mostly Cabela's in Grand Forks.
I generally don't cross on weekends and the little booth for Homeland Security is unmanned during the week, from what I've seen.

I'm not saying it doesn't happen, just never happened to me and I cross relatively often.
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Hey Gushulak, I wasn't looking for any kind of apology. Just discussing things.:)

My crossings have been in the west, so I can't speak for how things are in the east. My only point is that for the most part, I'm sure MOST random stops are just that; random. In your case, it seems to me like they were tipped off. Once a report goes in, I would guess someone has to respond.

I just find it hard to believe that there are agents just sitting for days on end in front of a gun store in buttfuch, MO hoping someone with a Canadian license plate is going to show up. And not only that, unlike Canada, where we are being conditioned to expect uber dangerous ammuntion to be available in only select outlets, every hardware store, WalMart, gas stations, etc all sell ammo in the US. Even if they wanted to, I doubt they have the manpower to monitor all the outlets.

But I still wouldn't want to be caught on the wrong side of the law down there. If it's my turn for a random check then so be it. Nothing I can do about that.
 
joe-nwt said:
BTW, did you know you can buy most gun related items short of components at WalMart in the US? Wonder if there are secret agents in all those parking lots as well. As Canadians do we have to stay out of that part of the store?

Once again, I'm not advocating any illegal activities. I'm a little disappointed however, that some would suggest that as a firearms owner I can automatically expect some special treatment when I cross the border, when it has been my experience that isn't true.
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I wasn't suggesting that as firearms owners we can expect special treatment. The secret agents around here frequent all parking lots in the US. Like I said, I'm in a border town and I know they watch the Outlet Malls, The large Galleria Mall in Buffalo, Buffalo Guns, Gander Mtn, and especially the Rochester Gun Show.

Most of my crossings lately have been with handguns, so I get stopped frequently in both directions. Without handguns, I may get a 'quicky search' 25% of the time, mostly opening the trunk at the booth, occasionally with a dog jumping in.

My post is more of a 'heads up' for people that don't cross often. I'd hate to see some guy end up in a heap of trouble because he bought a brick of .22LR because someone told him that Canada Customs doesn't care and the US doesn't check. They both do.
 
First off - good on him for wanting to do it legally, and not just giving up and rolling over like most people in the gun community.

Yes it's difficult, and yes you have to be very very careful, but is it worth the effort to go through all that and get the paperwork done in order to tell the libs and the gun grabbers to F* off?

Yes. Yes it is.
 
it is illigal to bring it across without proper permits from the U.S gov and right now i doubt they will approve any of them....
 
joe-nwt said:
I just find it hard to believe that there are agents just sitting for days on end in front of a gun store in buttfuch, MO hoping someone with a Canadian license plate is going to show up.
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They do look out for Canadian plates in WA State gun stores(not sure how often) near the border and at gunshows. I purchased reloading dies from a dude in WA who is some kind of Border Patrol guy AND a member of CGN, so ya they are out there and on here. :)
 
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