I have been a long time member of this forum and enjoy reading the posts and looking for new and exciting places to hunt. I recently took an extended trip to Australia to hunt Buff and then continued the trip into a vacation with my wife.
I was advised by the outfitter that it is against the law to keep the firearm in my possession while staying in the hotel and not actively hunting. So he kept my .416 Rigby CZ and that of my hunting partner. The hunt was conducted back in July 2018. It is near the end of October 2018 and the Exporter is telling me that there is no way to get the rifles out of Australia.
I certainly wish that I had just kept the rifles with me for the duration of the trip and flown home with them back to the USA.
Does anyone know of an option besides $1500 plus 10% VAT AUS tax per rifle for DHL to try and get it to the US?
Thank you for your help.

Are you saying you flew out of Australia and left the rifles there instead of taking them with you?

Yes. I flew in to Sydney then on to Darwin. Hunted Darwin for 5 days. My friend and I left the rifles with the outfitter in Darwin while we flew to Sydney to meet our families and we spent the week in Sydney on vacation.
We were told that it was against the law to have rifles with us at the hotel in a locked rifle case. They would be "unsecured" and needed to be in a special locked room or Locked Safe?
So yes we flew home from Australia with empty rifle cases with the expectation that the Outfitter will drop off the rifles to a licensed exporter.
Now the exporter is telling me months later that there is no way to ship the rifles out due to their strict gun laws.
I am extremely frustrated.

A great reason not to hunt in Oz!

BH63

How long is your firearms permit good for? Sounds like flying back over, taking possession of your firearms and applying for an export licese there, getting approved, and flying home with them might be an option. (it only takes about 4 hours to get the export paperwork)

quote:

Originally posted by BuffHunter63:
A great reason not to hunt in Oz!

No. It's a good example of why you never leave country without checking your firearms as baggage and taking them out with you. Because he left them behind they now have to be exported from OZ and imported into the USA the same as if he had never made the trip. They should have swung by the Outfitter's and picked up their guns on the way out. Their transport paperwork to take them from USA to OZ would have covered them for transporting them back from OZ to USA. It's not a problem with Australia. I don't know of any country that would've handled it differently.

I would try writing to the Attorney General's Department, asking what has to be done. They should at least give the Federal side but you may need to contact state authorities as well.

Our state police told me to contact the AG's department about re-importing skinning knives (though they didn't care, in fact).

quote:

Originally posted by JustOneMoreShot:
Yes. I flew in to Sydney then on to Darwin. Hunted Darwin for 5 days. My friend and I left the rifles with the outfitter in Darwin while we flew to Sydney to meet our families and we spent the week in Sydney on vacation.
We were told that it was against the law to have rifles with us at the hotel in a locked rifle case. They would be "unsecured" and needed to be in a special locked room or Locked Safe?
So yes we flew home from Australia with empty rifle cases with the expectation that the Outfitter will drop off the rifles to a licensed exporter.
Now the exporter is telling me months later that there is no way to ship the rifles out due to their strict gun laws.
I am extremely frustrated.

Who is the exporter?

From my understanding the rifles would be in limbo status under the current regs as they arent registered to an Australian licencee therefore an Australian licencee cant convince Border force to give them an export permit....

What paperwork do you still have from their import? Surely this contains the details of when and how they were supposed to leave the country?

And by the way, DHL Australia wont touch firearms or even scopes...

I fear Hogbreath may have the easiest solution

If your outfitter told you to do this, I want to know the name of the outfitter so I can avoid booking with him.

quote:

Originally posted by BuffHunter63:
A great reason not to hunt in Oz!

BH63

Name a country which would handle this situation differently.

I agree with everything said here, it is not an Aussie issue it is a you issue but done in innocence because of misinformation and perhaps a touch of naivety.
If planning on traveling on around the country after a hunt in possession of firearms it might have been prudent to check up with authorities on what is needed to ensure you can do so and how to do it.

At this stage I agree with Sambarman, you could try checking with authorities to see if anything can be done but I'm pretty sure it is now purely an export/import issue and ignorance or innocence of the law plays no part in this area.

As for BuffHunter's response, that is just silly, NZ would have the easiest and friendliest gun laws in the world in terms of hunters bringing firearms into the country for hunting and traveling with them once here but I guarantee you JOMS would have been facing exactly the same situation as he is now if he had hunted here and left his firearms behind. No reason to put countries on a list of not where to go hunting.

Unfortunately a hard lesson learned.

NEW ZEALAND.

You can fly out with any hunting gun and no questions asked. We do NOT have an export license requirement. You just need an Import license at YOUR end or you will be in trouble at YOUR end.

When traveling overseas with guns, we just get a Re-entry IMPORT permit. This works as an "export permit" for other countries who ask for one, though we do not need one.

In NZ it may also be illegal to keep a rifle in a hotel in a locked case.

The problem with OZ is the multiple state permits required.

I would have taken the guns with me and asked a gun shop to hold on to them for the days I was a tourist. Then I would have just flown out with the rifles.

quote:

Originally posted by Lhook7:

quote:

Originally posted by BuffHunter63:
A great reason not to hunt in Oz!

BH63

Name a country which would handle this situation differently.

Actually it is illegal to not be in possession of your firearms at all times in NZ except where they are locked in an approved gun cupboard or safe at your residence or the residence of another licensed firearms owner. Obviously hunters are traveling all over NZ with firearms so our Police recognise the need for common sense to prevail and provided you make every effort to secure your firearm and keep it under surveillance they would not prosecute for not having it with you at all times.
If traveling by vehicle around the country to a hunting area and stopping to rest and food you are expected to keep the firearm/s out of sight in your locked vehicle and at least try and park where you can observe your vehicle from say a cafe etc. Likewise when staying overnight in motels, hotels,etc., the firearm must be taken into your room and again put out of sight in a cupboard or under a bed preferably in a gun case or cover.

I've travelled a bit with firearms and never had any issues with motels of hotels, never said I have firearms and never questioned.

Most DOC back country huts now have gun racks in them designed so hunters can take a small wire type gun lock with them and lock their firearms so others cannot access them. A few idiots in the back country nowadays so a good safety thing.

quote:

Originally posted by Grenadier:

quote:

Originally posted by BuffHunter63:
A great reason not to hunt in Oz!

No. It's a good example of why you never leave country without checking your firearms as baggage and taking them out with you. Because he left them behind they now have to be exported from OZ and imported into the USA the same as if he had never made the trip. They should have swung by the Outfitter's and picked up their guns on the way out. Their transport paperwork to take them from USA to OZ would have covered them for transporting them back from OZ to USA. It's not a problem with Australia. I don't know of any country that would've handled it differently.

Swung by Darwin from Sydney?? Pretty sure that is a 3-4000 mile swing, not to mention the airline ticket to do it. It would probably be cheaper and easier to buy a new rifle than pay all the fees and shipping.

FYI I talked to a booking agent about this and they informed me that they have provisions in Sydney to store your rifles legally. In my case I left with outfitter picked them up and came home. Sounds like a nightmare I'd go back over and get them

Not on tiger air $250 each way and easy to take guns easier than qantas

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:

quote:

Originally posted by Grenadier:

quote:

Originally posted by BuffHunter63:
A great reason not to hunt in Oz!

No. It's a good example of why you never leave country without checking your firearms as baggage and taking them out with you. Because he left them behind they now have to be exported from OZ and imported into the USA the same as if he had never made the trip. They should have swung by the Outfitter's and picked up their guns on the way out. Their transport paperwork to take them from USA to OZ would have covered them for transporting them back from OZ to USA. It's not a problem with Australia. I don't know of any country that would've handled it differently.

Swung by Darwin from Sydney?? Pretty sure that is a 3-4000 mile swing, not to mention the airline ticket to do it. It would probably be cheaper and easier to buy a new rifle than pay all the fees and shipping.

quote:

Originally posted by Nakihunter:
NEW ZEALAND.

You can fly out with any hunting gun and no questions asked. We do NOT have an export license requirement. You just need an Import license at YOUR end or you will be in trouble at YOUR end.

When traveling overseas with guns, we just get a Re-entry IMPORT permit. This works as an "export permit" for other countries who ask for one, though we do not need one.

In NZ it may also be illegal to keep a rifle in a hotel in a locked case.

The problem with OZ is the multiple state permits required.

I would have taken the guns with me and asked a gun shop to hold on to them for the days I was a tourist. Then I would have just flown out with the rifles.

quote:

Originally posted by Lhook7:

quote:

Originally posted by BuffHunter63:
A great reason not to hunt in Oz!

BH63

Name a country which would handle this situation differently.

What you are describing is not what happened. Please try to pay attention.

You asked to name a country that would have handled it differently. I trust you paid attention to that.

I described the NZ scenario and gave my opinion of what I would have done.

The outfitter obviously gave poor advise.

I didn't realise this was some sort of a class room for kids!

quote:

Originally posted by BuffHunter63:
A great reason not to hunt in Oz!

Been sayin' that for years. It's worse than the hassles you get from Canuk airlines and Canuk officials.

If you don't already live there, it's just not worth the time, expense, and virtually guaranteed frustration to fly there and try to hunt.

The Eastern European venues seem to offer less hassle and more benefit.

quote:

Originally posted by A.J. Hydell:

quote:

Originally posted by BuffHunter63:
A great reason not to hunt in Oz!

Been sayin' that for years. It's worse than the hassles you get from Canuk airlines and Canuk officials.

If you don't already live there, it's just not worth the time, expense, and virtually guaranteed frustration to fly there and try to hunt.

The Eastern European venues seem to offer less hassle and more benefit.

Canada is very easy and only $25 and easier than a foreigner trying to bring a firearm in the states ....

quote:

Originally posted by Nakihunter:


You asked to name a country that would have handled it differently. I trust you paid attention to that.

I described the NZ scenario and gave my opinion of what I would have done.

The outfitter obviously gave poor advise.

I didn't realise this was some sort of a class room for kids!

Poor advice from the Australian outfitter. You could have had a dealer store the firearms in Sydney for you for a nominal fee.

As for the comment re. hunting in Australia being too difficult perhaps you should look at what is involved for a foreigner to bring their rifle to the U.S. For a hunt.

quote:

As for the comment re. hunting in Australia being too difficult perhaps you should look at what is involved for a foreigner to bring their rifle to the U.S. For a hunt.

I have never traveled to Australia with a firearm so cannot offer a personal perspective. I have been to the USA twice with firearms and found the reception and processing by CBP very uncomplicated, professional and straightforward. I am going again in February 2019, with my rifle. I think hunters should not be put off the idea of going to the USA with firearms. If you are a non-criminal and obtain the required permits beforehand, present yourself in civilised manner at the port of entry, everything should go smoothly.
My one and only disappointing USA experience was before departing Houston and undergoing the TSA procedure. Let's just say I've had better treatment from TSA officers at other US airports.

A have traveled to Australia with a firearm, no problem at all.

My trip over was not apples to apples. I did not do any touring away from the hunting company, or other states in Oz.

Yes, their gun policies are confusing to a US citizen, but can you imagine how this would have worked for a Aussie who decided to tack a trip on to NYC?

My issue with Australia’s gun issues are that it requires a lot of involvement with border force staff and you tended to have to wait around for things like your export paperwork, necessitating a day’s stay in town at the end...no big deal, but it was sitting around dealing with bureaucracy.

I would really recommend dealing with folks who know what they are doing- travel agents and hunting operators both- and frankly, if you are hunting, hunt, don’t play tourist and have to deal with firearms in a place where they are controlled and you are not personally intimately familiar with the rules.