Powder Importation

[bpd459]

Greetings,
Curious if anyone has brought smokeless powder into the US from Canada. I understand our neighbors to the north (in British Columbia) have plenty of Varget. I have spoken to an ATF Agent and two US Customs Officers. All I hear is the ATF form 6A is what is needed, but there is no definitive answers or info on this matter. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
John

 

[madderg]

I've checked several sites in Canada and none of them will ship outside the country...it's really to bad.

 

[Larryh128]

You should be seeing Varget in a lot of places soon. It's showing up in a lot of the independent shops now. Not so much in the chains.

 

[bpd459]

Greetings,
Thanks for the responses. I'm interested in bringing it back myself as
BC is a 2 hour drive away.
Thanks guys,
John

 

[dickn52]

Not trying to start anything, but if ATF and CBP gave you info towards the question, then what are you asking for exactly? I'm retired from Customs and the ATF form 6-6A is pretty standard. Wish you luck, but please don't try to go around this, as those guys are very unforgiving when or if they catch up with you.

 

[bpd459]

PM Sent

 

[hedditch]

DickN52
We had customs give us a briefing at the Montana Aeronautics convention a few years back. Both US Customs and Canadian Customs attended. US Customs said they could do anything they want to anyone crossing the border from Canada into the US. US Customs boasted they can detain anyone for any length of time, months even, with no phone calls allowed, under the pretense you are a terrorist. In other words, when detained you lost all your rights as a US citizen. Please confirm. The purpose of the meeting of pilots with customs was to find out why pilots were getting badgered by customs coming back into the US. It was a very pretentious hour with the pilots becoming very angry with the arrogance of the US Customs officials. I have not ventured back into Canada because of my past treatment by Customs. I have had very good experience with some US Customs officials so not all have a "attitude" toward US Citizens. I have no criminal record and was very cooperative at all times. Accidently run a stop sign once 50 years ago. I retired from the military and have a Silver Star for Heroism. That said, I refuse to put myself in situations where I am considered a second class citizen. I believe I am not alone in this situation.

Back to the origional subject. The last time I was in Canada I noticed the price of gun powder was about twice the price of that in the US but that was long before the shortage here in the US.

Dave

 

[dickn52]

Can't respond to the meeting you had, but it does sound as if they overplayed their worth a bit. True, they can in fact do all those things, and more, but can't for the life of me figure out why they would want to. As for losing all your rights as a citizen, not hardly. I do know that you have not returned to the US until such time the USCS/CPB officer officially signs the declaration. No matter where you might be standing when he does his inspection. You fly, so you know the FAA and Customs rules about altered aircraft, tanks etc... We have encountered so many violations in our past, that we had to become a bit skeptical at times. I apologize for that, but it's earned sometimes. On a personal note, I managed the training for USCS in 2002 at the winter Olympics is SLC Utah. Part of that training was with the private pilots flying in and out of SLC and Heber City etc... The USAF gave a short brief on security at the games. His comment was simple. "I fly an F16 and have the authority to enforce security over and around the no fly zone of the Olympics. I cannot think of a single thing that I could do to you that would be in your best interest from 1ft off the ground and up." It was an eye opener for sure and I know some of the pilots felt a little bit hostile towards that comment. But it was what it was at those times after 9/11. I also served and appreciate your service. My BS/v is definitely a backseater to your SS.

 

[bpd459]

Greetings,
Guys, thanks for the info and your service. I received some more definitive answers and as long as the amount is "reasonable and for personal use" I will be just fine. My definition of that is probably a bit different, but I'll stick with one 8# this time.
Thanks again,
John

 

[hedditch]

dickn52
Thank you for your reply and thank you for your service.
Dave