IMPORTING A GUN FROM HOLTS IN ENGLAND
- Thread starter Cow Town Bill
- Start date
KotKotofeich
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Ottawa Valley
I have. It is VERY expensive for a single gun between what an exporter charges and minimum charges from an airline. Only worth it for a dozen or more.
EthanisAwsome
Member
- Location
- Thunder Bay, Ontario
Current Contact for Canada is CSC if you do a Co load with him if live anywhere with a International Airport Toronto,Halifax,Winipeg, and other major city's you could have it shipped direct did that once. Holt's generally deals with Cordline directly and they are the ones to generally deal with it and have shipped some items up to and then up from the states. I mostly buy antiques son the price for shipping i figure into overall price, If i remember correctly a co load to CSC starts at 500 pounds and then add another 100 pounds per gun after the fact and then shipping from CSC to you dirrect, now shipped direct to an airport was about 800 pound's plus other fee's when in country in 2025. If not a firearm Cordline will mail direct except empty cases need to "properly" imported as a "firearm" I had that done in december os 2025.
Maybe your friend imported a very valuable gun---hence the $2500 cost.
I did a search on a US based forum and substantially less costs are quoted: https://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=667793&page=1
I have emailed Holts and also an English gun exporter. Lets see what they have to say.
My own experience with imports has been varied, with each time being different. I could never predict how much extra it was going to cost, it depended on the mood of officials that day, it seemed. But I haven't brought anything in from the UK for about a decade now.
Here is a Holt's rep email response that I received from July 2022, see below.
Reads like 845 pounds plus, so generally 2000 CAD bucks after insurance, duty, tax, and storage?, plus the time and effort figuring out some additional logistics.
Seem to remember that price per gun was less on subsequent guns, maybe 400-500 pounds per after the first?
It would be great if there was someone Canada-side who had this figured out and offered the service with plainly listed fees.
Although I suspect that generally it would be too expensive for most importing scenarios.
Overall I found it cost prohibitive and not worth trying to figure out the unknowns either...
There was an interesting conversation on CGN a few years back in which someone relayed their experiences importing guns into Canada by themselves, literally by flying over, picking the gun/s up in person and bringing them back with them on the plane.
It sounded like the cheapest option, or at least price competitive!
I think that thread is buried somewhere in the 'Shows us your guns thread'??
Reads like 845 pounds plus, so generally 2000 CAD bucks after insurance, duty, tax, and storage?, plus the time and effort figuring out some additional logistics.
Seem to remember that price per gun was less on subsequent guns, maybe 400-500 pounds per after the first?
It would be great if there was someone Canada-side who had this figured out and offered the service with plainly listed fees.
Although I suspect that generally it would be too expensive for most importing scenarios.
Overall I found it cost prohibitive and not worth trying to figure out the unknowns either...
There was an interesting conversation on CGN a few years back in which someone relayed their experiences importing guns into Canada by themselves, literally by flying over, picking the gun/s up in person and bringing them back with them on the plane.
It sounded like the cheapest option, or at least price competitive!
I think that thread is buried somewhere in the 'Shows us your guns thread'??
KotKotofeich
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Ottawa Valley
The reason the fees cannot be listed plainly is because there are a lot of variations from time to time. I get regular shipments from Holts via Chordline direct to me and the costs fluctuate wildly - the transport requirements in the UK can be bizarre and their classification system is hard to figure out. Air freight costs swing wildly.... Estimates like the above are the best you can get with UK. Yes you can go pick up the guns yourself but you are still faced with transport requirements while in the UK and those services are not going to be free most of the time.
I used to do this years ago, from Holt's, Bonham's & Gavin Gardner. The guns were picked up by me at Air Canada Cargo in Winnipeg, after I received the documentation, then took it to the Customs office [also at the airport], paid the duty & taxes, then took the documents back to the cargo office & got the guns. It was relatively painless at the time. The last time I checked, the L800 was for up to 5 guns. If you're buying a single gun, unless it is a Purdey, Holland, Boss or Woodward, it isn't worth it. Now if you're buying one of each, plus another for good measure, then the L800 cost is peanuts.
When not using Holt's but buying from a dealer, I paid for the special licensed courier from the store to the airport over 300pounds for what was basically a 1hour drive. Holts seems a better option, if they have what you want.
Thanks everyone. I'm slowly getting the picture that importing a single gun is pricey---the more you have, the cheaper it gets.
What about importing a nice English gun case---is it as simple as putting it in the mail or do English laws complicate the matter?
What about importing a nice English gun case---is it as simple as putting it in the mail or do English laws complicate the matter?
CTB: It is simpler, except that the prices for cases, especially if they contain the requisite implements, will astound you! A full length canvas & leather rifle case, with Rangoon oil, cleaning rods, cleaning funnel, &c. now goes for +L1,000.
OUCH!!!
