Gentlemen,
I am trying to by a gun in the States, and wonder if there are any really tight hoops that I have to jump through to get it here. I am going to call the Canadian Firearms Center on Monday to find out all I can, but does anyone here have an opinion or advise on how to do this most painlessly?
Regards,
Graham

If you are looking for the most painless way, contact Questar International at www.questar.ca They have a service that does all the work for you and you pay them a fee. 150 CAD for the import and 30 CAD for the FFL transfer.

If you want to do it yourself then here is the steps you need to follow:
1) Contact International Trade Canada and get an IIC (international Import Certificate) form mailed to you.
2) Fill out form and send back to ITC. Wait @ 2-3 weeks for them to send it back to you with your import permit.
3) Find a FFL dealer in US to that is licenced for exports (most are not now that it costs 1500 USD year for FFL exporters licence).
4) Get firearm transfered to them.
5) Send them IIC and completed DSP-83 form.
6) They complete US state department Export permit. Wait 2-3 months (no I am not kidding) for US export Permit.
7) Get gun shipped with all permits up to Canada.
8) Get gun cleared through Canada customs
From here on this might change with our new firearm friendly gov't:
9) Have firearm verified and entered into CFC database
10) Recieve registration certificate

Check out this link for contacts on the various agencys involved:
http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=51557

I personally am going the questar route as they handle all the paperwork. For brass and such though I do the import myself. Hope this helps

Canuck32

Thanks for the info. It sounds like quite an ordeal to do it myself. What if the deal is private? Do the same conditions apply? For example, if I am buying the gun previously owned from the owner directly, do we still have to jump through these hoops? Or is there one standard for all firearms imports, regardless of status?
Thanks again,
Graham

Back in the 80's my parents crossed the border out in the Dakotas at an obscure town. They were with another couple in their late 70's. They were held up for 4 hours while the female Canadian officer searched their car for firearms. I guess it was all she had to do that day but it was the last time they went to Canada.

It doesn't matter weather it's private sale or from FFL. I'm not exactly sure how the US system works for firearm transfers, but I think that all gun sales have to go through a FFL dealer. Again I am not too sure on this.

Dr. Duc,
Sounds like they are now prisoners in their own country if that is all it takes for them to stop visiting Canada. They should see how fun it is now to travel in and out of US.

Canuck32,
Thanks for the input. How do I kick start this process? I am assuming that you have done this before. Do I notify Questar.com that I am interested in a used American firearm, give them the info on the gun(make, model, capacity, bbl length, serial number, and all that), along with my PAL, as they say on the website, or do I need to pay for the gun first, and then talk to Questar? I am a little unclear on how I need to start the process or what I need to do to let them know what I want. Thanks for taking the time to help out with this!
Regards,
Graham

Seems Questar.com is a natural gas company. Are you sure about the name?

the chef

quote:

Originally posted by Canuck32:
If you are looking for the most painless way, contact Questar International at www.questar.ca They have a service that does all the work for you and you pay them a fee. 150 CAD for the import and 30 CAD for the FFL transfer.

If you note it is www.questar.ca Not .com

You can contact them by either email, Sales@Questar.ca or by phone. They explain the process pretty good on their web pages.

Thanks to all who posted. I am going to give this thing a try and see if I can actually get this thing across the line. It is just a M70 classic, nothing restricted or anything crazy like that. Thanks again for all the help.
Regards,
Graham

Let us know how it works out!

Howdy Ya'll,
This is just a quik update. I sent the documentation to Questar on Mar 10, and will be sending the payment to the owner as soon as I can on Monday. I am expecting that if all goes according to plan, I should have the gun by June or July. Thanks for the interest in this!
Regards, Graham

From what I have gathered, Questar is a top notch, no BS company that youshodl feel fine dealing with!

Gatehouse,
Thanks for the high estimation of Questar. Mark seems to be a very professional man, in my one conversation with him.
To anyone who has dealt with Questar before, How long did it take for you to get your firearm after you sent them the information they needed? I sent mine on March 10, and am expecting to get the gun in about July or so. What are your experiences?
Regards,
Graham

quote:

Originally posted by M70classic:
Gatehouse,
Thanks for the high estimation of Questar. Mark seems to be a very professional man, in my one conversation with him.
To anyone who has dealt with Questar before, How long did it take for you to get your firearm after you sent them the information they needed? I sent mine on March 10, and am expecting to get the gun in about July or so. What are your experiences?
Regards,
Graham

4 months to get the rifle across the border, is that normal?

It shouldn't take 4 months as Questar ha ,I believe, a blanket permit set up. I think that Alberta Tactical Rifle can do this as well. He can for parts.
As to those who think this is a PIA (and it is) you should try to import a gun into the US. All but impossible. Also, my friends from MT. won't come up for supper anymore because of the hassle they get trying to return to US.This is a strange turn of events and I hope to see the end of this soon. A 60 yr. old couple having to endure a 45 min. search of their car after being out of the US for 3 hr. I can remember going to MT. pheasant hunting and all the border guys cared about is if you had any citrus fruit and if your dog's shots were up to date. They could not have cared less about guns, ammo etc. I guess the good old days are gone. Mark

Just a comment on Americans with a PAL bringing guns into Canada.

You need to register them before you reach the border, via the Registry website. You do not need a verifier as you would in Canada so just leave that part blank.

Maxx,
Four months does seem like a long time, and I am hoping that it will be a lot shorter than that!! The Questar web site says that it will take two to three weeks to get the Canadian import permit, and 8-12 weeks to get the US export permit. That and a week or two for shipping bring it pretty close to four months. I am also giving it a little extra time so as to cover unexpected delays. Hope that explains the math a little
Regards,
Graham

35404,
Thanks for the ray of Hope!
Graham

Howdy Y'all,
Just a quick update here. I sent the MO on March 14, and the seller recieved it today, March 24. He is shipping the gun on Monday to Questar. Things are well on their way!
Regards,
Graham

Just got an update for my import using questar.
Started process Feb 7, 2006 for my new CZ in 505 Gibbs.
March 30 Questar has all paperwork back from US and Canada.
Gun should be in Canada by 17 th April. And to me with a week or 2 after that.
Then the fun begins

So 3 months seems a resonable time frame for this. Also note that 505 Gibbs is above US policy of nothing above 50 cal for export. This was the first gun that Questar tried above 50 cal, so it was a bit of a test case too.
My shoulder cannot wait

Canuck32,
Keep us updated on the date at which you get your gun. I will have waited 1 month at the end of this week, and Mark said that it usually takes 6-10 weeks. I hope you get yours soon!
Regards,
Graham

Canuck32,
Did you get your gun yet? How is it going? Did Mark contact you when he got your rifle, when the papers were finally done, or jsut before he shipped? I emailed him about a week ago and there was still no word on mine. I am not trying to ride him on the process, since he can't make it go any faster than anyone else. Just wondering how much correspondence you had with him throughout the process.
Regards,
Graham

Just called Mark this morning to confirm my payment for the customs and shipping fees. The rifle should be here late next week. I will post when it gets here. Thanks to all who posted.
Regards,
Graham

IT'S FINALLY HERE!!! The gun was supposed to be delivered on the 23, but it got here yesterday! What a beautiful piece of work. Does anyone know offhand how many of the Wincheseter M70 stainless Featherwights were produced in 6.5x55? would that be on their web site for tracking serial numbers? Thanks again to all who posted. I appreciate the input.
Regards,
Graham

Just a quick update for everyone, My gun finally arrive on May 18th and I was able to pick it up today. The process takes quite a while, and there were several delays ( All due to questar) but is better than the option of not at all.

Lonny