US sources for antique guns

wbaad

wbaad

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Hi all,
Been keeping an eye open for an antique status handgun that I can put to use, without a second mortgage,and was wondering if anybody knows a place that will ship to canada. Lots of this old stuff down south! Looking for something that uses relatively available metallic cartridges (.455, 8mm, etc).
 
All the guys selling Antiques on the EE won't like this thread, as they are making decent money, & people are paying high prices. But in reality, Anyone can have an antique shipped to Canada from the US. In the US, they are still pretty pricey, in some cases, but you will save a Huge enough chunk to be worth it. An antique in the US is classed as a non firearm, same as it is here. You can buy from the US. Most likely bigger auction places will know the rules.(that they can export antiques to Canada) Don't get it shipped via UPS. Once it gets into Canada. They suck! & its a good idea to have a copy of the RCMP letter, shipped along with it(email them a copy) so if someone at the border isnt sure about re: antique status. Ive just been gathering info myself, Im new to this concept as well, but it isnt too difficult with some research. If you see guys ads in the EE, most say something like: " coming soon yada yada...Expecting A-B-C in shortly etc. is because they just bought them online in the US, from estate or auction houses, & are waiting on them to sell. You can do the same thing. The US can ship antiques, no itar regs on them. Just do a search here & google.. You can bring them back in person, obvi. you declare them at the border. Fully legal. My info may not be 100%, but just what I have found out doing a little research recently.(so far) Im sure someone will politely :) lol correct me in any case!

Cheerz .. ~
 
When all is said and done, you have to ask yourself... is a few hundred dollars in savings worth the wait, worry, and monumental hassle? For most people, it isn't. A nice antique pistol is going to cost a pretty penny here, but our exchange rate is dropping (back down to .91 cents per USD), and you have to rely on a description and photos to determine condition. Very rarely have I seen a description of an antique bore that was accurate!
 
The hassle shouldn't really be that much worse. As I am now I have to rely on descriptions and photos anyway as I have nowhere to buy in person. There is also not as much selection in canada. Anybody know if gunbroker or any auction sites will even entertain canada?
 
I used gun broker. Some sellers do ship here. To be honest... you are taking chances. I got a few that were absolute gems others junk> Asking questions and photos is the key. As to where else? well google is the good choice for finding the ones who will ship..as far for others they wont share information cause there is money to be made on re-sale here. You need to understand that. I will give you one who i bought from is antiquefirearms.com had no trouble with him and stuff he sent was as described. take a look.
 
wbaad said:
The hassle shouldn't really be that much worse. As I am now I have to rely on descriptions and photos anyway as I have nowhere to buy in person. There is also not as much selection in canada. Anybody know if gunbroker or any auction sites will even entertain canada?
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I've bought several on GB. But each individual seller on GB decides if they ship internationally, not the GB site itself. Look at the ads - each one says if the seller will ship outside USA. Most will not but some do.

Buying from one of the several reputable dealers here on CGN is as close to 100% foolproof as you can get. Their descriptions are accurate because they have a small market and they can't afford to cheat or improperly describe their wares. The same cannot be said of all or even most sellers in the US, lots of them leave out critical pieces of description and won't mention problems unless you specifically ask. I've bought quite a few in the US and it's not hard but it can get complicated and drawn out, too. I'm a fairly knowledgeable and experienced buyer and I have about a 75% success rate, which means 1 out of every 4 antiques I have bought have been somewhat disappointing when they arrive, and about 1 out of 10 has been a complete stinker. Some of the US sellers turn into liars when they sell to Canadians because they think we have no way to come back at them, and they are mostly correct. There is a sticky about a guy who screwed several Canadian buyers on Gun Broker.

If you buy in the US it is important to find reputable sellers. That's the hardest part and if you can do that you'll be OK. Don't expect too many people to share their honey-holes with you. There's not so many good places to buy and not so many good antiques left and people are in competition for those guns.
 
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These are the ones I have used:

http://fulmersantiqueguns.com/index.asp
http://www.jjmilitaryantiques.com/catpage.asp?CategoryType=handus
http://www.antiquearmsinc.com/antiquehandguns.htm
http://www.collectorsfirearms.com
http://www.antiquegunlist.com/index.php?catid=29
http://www.merzantique.com/catalog_C0_38_1.php

I have not used these sellers but they list as will ship to Canada, though this list is a few years old.

http://www.joesalter.com/
http://www.1898andb-4.com/index.php
http://www.dixiegunworks.com/default.php?cPath=21&osCsid=jahuepl4017vppb9el4hjp9c95
http://www.armchairgunshow.com/index.htm
http://www.antiqueguns.com/
http://www.antiquefirearms.com/pages/HandGunsUS.htm
http://www.aaawt.com/html/firearms/f456.html
http://www.antiquearmsinc.com/antiquehandguns.htm
http://www.gunsinternational.com/
http://www.gunsamerica.com/

With the auction sites it is up to the seller whether they will ship to Canada. Tom Burness & Ed Cox on Antique Gun List will ship to Canada if they are still active. I have actually had better success in the US than the EE getting good properly described antique guns without issues. I wish you luck.
 
If the seller won't ship to Canada you can use some of the exporter services - I have used Borderview a few times with antique guns. The seller ships to Borderview (which is an FFL dealer) and they hold the gun until the RCMP letter arrives. They ship the gun to Canada once they have the letter (to make the CBSA inspection go easier). They charge about $100 for that service plus shipping costs.

Also - some guns are antiques in the US, but are considered firearms in Canada (say a pre-1898 45 colt single action) - Borderview charges the same fee for those guns as US antiques (because it isn't subject to the ITAR restrictions).
 
..pretty sure if you needed an FFL to have it shipped/handle importing the antique, IRUNGUNS does a service like that with other classes of firearms, so I dont see why they wouldnt with an antique as well...
 
IRUNGUNS does indeed offer their service for importing antiques. They imported an antique S&W revolver for me, that the seller insisted go through a FFL exporter.

100% satisfied with their service.

Regards,
Powderman
 
powderman said:
IRUNGUNS does indeed offer their service for importing antiques. They imported an antique S&W revolver for me, that the seller insisted go through a FFL exporter.

100% satisfied with their service.

Regards,
Powderman
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What were you charged? There is no reason to go through an FFL, no paperwork required, so I'm curious if you were given a discount.
 
Antique firearms in the us don't require an ffl to handle transfers or sales for that matter. There are several dealers that deal only in pre 1898 guns because there is no paperwork involved.
 
Some US sellers of antiques are reluctant (or won't) ship antique firearms to Canada - even though it is legal for them to do so. One guy on Gunbroker nearly lost his mind when I won an auction on an antique - even though I had it shipped to an FFL. He called my FFL a whole bunch of times (after he received payment) to make sure that we weren't engaged in some scam. Some of these guys are really fearful of the ATF (Alcohol, Firearms and Tobacco), even though they are selling antique guns that are not subject to US regulations.

I bought an antique Colt at Little John's Auction and they wouldn't ship to Canada - it had to go through an FFL. So - it ends up costing more to send it to an exporter and then sent to Canada.

I just figure the added export cost when I am bidding on a gun (I assume I will have to pay that extra $100) and am happy when they will ship directly to me.
 
41 Colt,

There was no discount for an antique. It is my understanding that IRUNGUNS still fills out some sort of paperwork even though it is not required for antiques, as they like to dot every I and cross all the T's. They researched the FRT# to confirm antique status.

Don't recall the exact cost offhand, but it was in the neighourhood of $250USD.

Regards,
Powderman
 
powderman said:
41 Colt,

There was no discount for an antique. It is my understanding that IRUNGUNS still fills out some sort of paperwork even though it is not required for antiques, as they like to dot every I and cross all the T's. They researched the FRT# to confirm antique status.

Don't recall the exact cost offhand, but it was in the neighourhood of $250USD.

Regards,
Powderman
Click to expand...

Makes sense on their end, and I guess if you REALLY want that gun it's worth it.
 
Borderview will do the shipment for $79 for the first antique and $50 for each additional gun in the same shipment (Am plugging them a bit - have used their services four or five times now in the past few years and have been happy with their services) - shipping is extra to the $79 - which can add to the costs.
 
From the Borderview site...

United States law (specifically the “ITAR” – International Traffic in Arms Regulations”) allows for the export without an export license of firearms (rifles and pistols) that were manufactured before January of 1899, or replicas of such firearms. This guide provides some details about the so-called “Pre-1899 Exemption.” Here are the basics:

Does not apply to Shotguns: shotgun exports are regulated by the U.S. Department of Commerce rather than the U.S. Department of State, and there is not an equivalent exemption for shotguns.
◦Proof of manufacture before 1899 may be required. This may include information about the specific make / model of the firearm, but doesn’t need to be actual factory records.
◦This “exemption” can only be used and claimed by a DDTC Registered Exporter (not just any business, nor a foreign individual traveling in the US).
◦As the Registered Exporter, we must still file documentation online (using the Automated Export System, or AES) to notify the government that we’re using this exemption, including the item description, tariff code, value, weight, date of export and Port of Exit.
◦Turnaround time on pre-1899 exemption shipments is typically 1-2 weeks.
◦We can usually still ship by US Postal Service, but that depends on your country’s postal mail import restrictions. Shipping by other methods can be much more expensive.

They seem to imply that the antique exemption can only be done by certain businesses? Am I reading this wrong?
 
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