# Land of the Free?



## saskcoyote (Dec 30, 2006)

Yo, don't know if this is the place to discuss this but because it has an ammunition/reloading connection, I'll go for it.

We gun-loving, gun-owning Canadians have been more than a little annoyed by the gun laws and gun-control legislation that's been driven by the left-wing, socialist movement in our country. With the election of a Conservative Party majority government last May, we're encouraged by this government's moves to ease the restrictive gun laws that penalize law-abiding gun owners. We've always felt the gun-control laws that have been enacted over the last 20 or so years were a precursor to eliminating private gun ownership.

So, today, as we Canadians await legislation that will eliminate the long-gun registry, we see your government enacting laws that appear more and more restrictive for gun owners. Here's my example although, to be honest, I can't say whether it's indicative of an overall movement in the US to discourage and restrict gun ownership.

Our Canada Customs regulations allow us to import from the US up to 5,000 rounds of loaded ammo, up to 5,000 primers, and so on. As far as I know, there wasn't any restriction in the amount of non-explosive reloading components one could bring into Canada from your country. All we had to do was declare what we bought and pay the relevant duty.

Our regulations haven't changed but yours have to the point they're downright stupid. Today -- and I don't know when the law changed -- in an apparent attempt to find terrorists, jihadists and assorted bad guys under every rock, your government is demanding that I and everyone like mehas an Export Permit if we want to buy any reloading components in your country and take them back to Canada.

Here's my example. In June when I was returning from Montana from a prairie dog hunt, I bought a package of VMax bullets for a friend in Canada. At the border the Canadian Customs officer told me it was illegal for me to take those out of the US. I was obviously surprised but because it was legal for me to take them into Canda she let me pass.

A couple weeks ago an acquaintance told me about a hassle he had at the Canadian border with a Canadian Customs agent who threatened to turn him over to US Customs agents because my acquaintance didn't have a US Export Permit for some ammo he was bringing across. Again, because he told the Canadian Customs agent he was honestly unaware of US regulations but was following Canadian regulations in the amount of ammo he could bring into Canada, he was able to get the ammo back into Canada.

In the meantime I had ordered some bullets from Ohio (Woodchuck Den 30-grain Golds for .17 as recommended by Kdog) and had them sent to a friend's place in ND where I intended to pick them up and bring them home following our annual October pheasant hunt.

But after hearing about my acquaintance's problems, I checked with Canada Customs which confirmed I needed an Export Permit from the US. I decided to find out about the requirements for an Export Permit. l called US Customs which could not give me an answer but referred me to the BATF. The BATF in West Virginia was unable or unwilling to give me an answer but in turn referred me to the US Department of Commerce for information on an Export Permit.

This morning I called the Department of Commerce but after being put on hold for 20 minutes and listening to some God awful music, I hung up in frustration.

From a bit of research on the Internet I have learned that if I was caught by US law enforcement officers trying to bring back a pack of gopher bullets to reload without an Export Permit I was liable to a $5,000 fine and seizure of my property including my vehicle.

Yet, bringing those gopher bullets back into Canada was perfectly legal under our laws.

Wow, I always thought our laws were restrictive while American firearms laws allowed for individual freedom. What I can see, it's getting to be exactly the opposite. While our government is working toward loosening our laws that infringe private gun ownership, your government under the guise of Homeland Security or terroristsm prevention -- or whatever else it chooses to adopt -- is becoming more restrictive to the point of becoming ridiculous.

I said in an earlier post a couple months back that I had less problem dealing with Canadian Customs officers when I crossed the border than I had crossing the border and dealing with US Customs officers.

Crossing the border into your country and observing the firearms laws Americans had was a pleasure a few years ago because I could see the freedoms American citizens enjoyed. Now, that's changed -- and certainly not for the better.

While we're getting government out of gun owners' lives in Canada, government seems to be intruding into gun owners' lives in America.


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## duckp (Mar 13, 2008)

Sad to hear about.Part of the continual nibbling away of our rights.God protect us from the leftist morons in DC. :******:


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## xdeano (Jan 14, 2005)

Awesome post Sask! Gun infringements are getting worse and we the people need to get things figured out pretty quick before our 2nd amendment rights become just a piece of paper with some scribbles on it that they keep in security control vault. Oh wait it already is...

keep up the fight.

xdeano


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## Csquared (Sep 5, 2006)

Good post! But FYI, it's always been a bigger pain coming back into the US than it was to get into Canada. Maybe it's just our group


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## xdeano (Jan 14, 2005)

It's probably just you. Pretty sure they have a picture of you up on their suspicious persons board.
xdeano


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## Csquared (Sep 5, 2006)

....does that mean the flowers I bought after each cavity search were a waste of money?


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## xdeano (Jan 14, 2005)

they must take that into account. oke:

xdeano


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