Canada hunt question

[Hififile324]

I have hunted Canada twice. I brought my own rifle and stayed in hotels in Winnepeg with no problem. The hotel front desk there was used to hunters and rifles. When you enter Canada you will need RCMP firearm paperwork. Keep that with you and you will be fine.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

You may choose to do the cbp4457 for added peace of mind, but cpb told me it’s not really necessary for this per se as your Canadian non resident firearms declaration clearly indicates that you had the guns before leaving the States.

@RedTag This is not good advice, in my opinion.

A couple years ago, I was coming back to the US after a BC hunt. We cleared US customs in Vancouver, BC. I gave my boarding pass to the CBP officer and he scanned it. Two photos popped up on his screen and he turned it to where I could see it. The photos were of my two checked bags, a duffle bag and a rifle case. The CBP officer pointed to the photo of the rifle case and asked, "What is this?" I told him it was a rifle case with one rifle in it. He then asked to see my Form 4457. I produced it and also mentioned a copy was inside the rifle case. I quickly received the standard "Thank you, have a nice day" response.

My hunting buddy was in another line and it wasn't moving very fast. I waited quite awhile for him to clear. The problem was the two guys ahead of him in line, dressed in camo, didn't have a Form 4457. They were getting invited to the little room and getting their rifles confiscated.

Bottom line: If you are taking a rifle out of the US and plan to bring it back when you return, get a form 4457.

 

[MauserDuff]

I've taken firearms into Canada from the U.S. on three occasions. Twice I had the Form 4457. Neither time was it asked for or shown. The first time, I asked to get a 4457 from the customs inspector from a local international airport, and he'd never seen one. The second time, I asked U.S. Customs (while re-entering U.S. from Canada on a different trip without a firearm), Customs said I needed one. Upon entry into Canada later with the firearm (driving) I got one with inspection but no hassles. Re-entry into the U.S. it was not requested. However, the U.S. Customs site says you need one, so there's that...... Sorta like TSA, you don't know what they'll let pass.

 

[RedTag]

@RedTag This is not good advice, in my opinion.

A couple years ago, I was coming back to the US after a BC hunt. We cleared US customs in Vancouver, BC. I gave my boarding pass to the CBP officer and he scanned it. Two photos popped up on his screen and he turned it to where I could see it. The photos were of my two checked bags, a duffle bag and a rifle case. The CBP officer pointed to the photo of the rifle case and asked, "What is this?" I told him it was a rifle case with one rifle in it. He then asked to see my Form 4457. I produced it and also mentioned a copy was inside the rifle case. I quickly received the standard "Thank you, have a nice day" response.

My hunting buddy was in another line and it wasn't moving very fast. I waited quite awhile for him to clear. The problem was the two guys ahead of him in line, dressed in camo, didn't have a Form 4457. They were getting invited to the little room and getting their rifles confiscated.

Bottom line: If you are taking a rifle out of the US and plan to bring it back when you return, get a form 4457.

That’s interesting. I did the 4457 my first trip through Canada with firearms when moving to Alaska 18 years ago. I was filling in the paperwork and having them check everything before crossing the border as I wanted no question or hassle getting back into the US. Spent hours at US customs to get it done as it was a low volume crossing and they were super busy at the time searching some hippies in a van returning from Canada. The customs agent who checked me out said in the future I could just show my Canada non resident firearms declaration for reentering the US, and that they didn’t care about our household electronics and so forth. This was obviously the opinion of one customs officer, possibly not correct, and he maybe just wanted to get on to his lunch. But I have since traveled back and forth several times and did just that, skipped the 4457 and showed my Canadian paperwork reentering the States. And so far so good, including one trip with handguns and a Canadian authorization to transport restricted weapons. These have all been land crossings, never by air, if that matters but it shouldn’t. I appreciate your advice, and the cautionary tale is duly noted. I will make a point to do the 4457 going forward.