Might be moving to Alaska

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grubbylabs

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Another thread prompted me to ask since I am graduating and will probably be applying for a job in Alaska.

How do you handle the move if you are driving yourself? Will the Canadian Authorities have a come apart or will they allow me to carry all my guns with me. I only have two hand guns a few rifles and a couple of shot guns. I guess it really does not matter what the quantity is.

Any advise? Any one been through this before?
 
Gets really cold in Alaska and men outnumber women by a very large margin. No day light in winter nor night in summer either. snicker.
"...will they allow me to carry all my guns with me..." Absolutely not.
Go here and scroll down to 'Option 1'. It's going to cost you $25 just to pass through. No limit to how many though.
If you have anything that is prohibited under our law, you cannot bring it with you. Prohibited doesn't just mean 'short barreled handguns'. .25 and .32 calibre handguns that aren't specifically exempt(high end .32 cal target pistols) are evil too.
http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/cfp-pcaf/fs-fd/visit-visite-eng.htm
The list of what firearms are evil is here. Includes rifle mags that hold more than 5 and handgun mags that hold more than 10. Either must be permanently pinned to their respective legal capacities to be allowed in. M1 Rifle clips and Lee-Enfield mags are exempt.
http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/cfp-pcaf/fs-fd/prohibited-prohibe-eng.htm
Don't even think about ignoring the whole thing either. First question you'll be asked at the border is, "Do you have any firearms?" Get caught BSing our Customs types and you'll be arrested, escorted to the border, turned over to your Homeland Security types and not allowed back in.
 
Makes so happy to have such friendly neighbors to the north.


I know it gets cold, it gets cold here too. And I am not worried about the guy to gal ratio since my wife will be moving with me.

And the no day light will probably be fine since the winter is for working any way. Summer is for bug nets, skeeter dope and possibly even some fun.

So my assumption that I would not be able move my hand guns with me though the border is correct. I guess my only option for those and others that may qualify would be to ship them to an FFL for retrieval upon my arrival?
 
Self-To-Self Shipping

It is my understanding that it is entirely legal to ship guns from yourself to yourself.

You would, of course, have to have a valid address at the other end.

If, for example, I were going to spend a month with a friend up there, I could ship a rifle to myself at his address.

At least this is my understanding.

 
Go onto Canada's website. There is a way to transport guns through Canada. People do it all the time. You have to fill out some forms and when entering Canada, declare the weapons with the forms. They will inventory the weapons and seal them. When you leave Canada, you will have to stop so they can complete the paper work and remove the seals. I have a friend who hunts in Alaska and takes his RV up there with his guns. I takes a little effort and patience but it can be done.
 
ArfinGreebly said:
It is my understanding that it is entirely legal to ship guns from yourself to yourself.

You would, of course, have to have a valid address at the other end.
Click to expand...

Not necessarily; UPS is glad to hold a package for you at their hub (within reason; they're not going to let it take up space in their warehouse for months).
 
What about powder and primers and the such. I don't have a tone of ammo but I am just shy of a 1000 rounds right now not including 22 ammo.
 
You don't say where you're moving.

Are you sure you can drive there?

I'm not trying to be a jerk, but when I lived in the bush, I heard stories of people not realizing that you can't drive everywhere in Alaska. They had planned to drive to Dillingham, and were surprised to learn that they had to fly.

You can mail long guns to yourself. At least in the bush, even if you don't have a PO box yet, mailing things to yourself "general delivery" is acceptable. They'll hold your mail at the post office until you get there. If there are only 1100 PO boxes for the whole town and one post office, you won't have problems doing this. But if you're moving to Anchorage, I wouldn't recommend it.

So give us some more info.

Aaron
 
Ship em to me, I'll keep em safe:D
Applying for a job and getting a job are two different things. Start with the job and worry about the guns later. IF you get the job you may be able to ship them to your employers address.
 
Don't drive, if you can at all help it. Sell your car, buy a used vehicle up here. Keep in mind, you only want to keep the car as long as you are up here.

Be prepared to spend a couple nights in a hotel before you find a place. (I recommend staying at the Residence Inn. Best hotel in town. :)

You can ship guns up to yourself just fine. If you have a reservation at the hotel, that counts as a valid address. Otherwise you can ship to a FFL up here. Gunrunners is nearby to the Residence Inn, and costs $35 a gun to receive.
 
I will be applying for a job as a high school teacher in an area that I can drive to. We have to be near a large enough hospital that my wife can find a job as well. We plan on staying at least 5 years hopefully longer so taking our cars up is not a problem.

I did realize that you can't drive every where up there, my wife lived there as a child so we have a small idea of what moving up there entails. Here family drove there and back with 9 people in a 1979 extra cab ford. 3 of them were just out of or still in diapers. Talk about a family road trip.

I am sure that for many that is a big surprise that they have to pay to fly places instead of drive, and I could not imagine the shock on their faces when they realize just how much of their stuff they will be leaving behind.
 
Nobody ever listens to me when I tell them this, but the smart thing to do is to put your guns in the trunk or a trailer, then put your car on the Alaska ferry system in Bellingham, WA, and take the inside passage to Juneau, then change ferries and continue up to Valdez or Whittier.
When you consider the cost of gas and hotels, it's competitive with driving through Canada. Plus, you get to take what's virtually a cruise ship tour through the inside passage - 1500 miles of splendor that you can't get to by car. You'll see some quaint little towns, whales, glaciers, mountains and everything Alaska is famous for, all from a lounge chair and with your own cabin, a bar, restaurants, etc.

You can check out the schedules and make reservations here: http://www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/index.shtml
 
Wow KodiakBeer that is a great idea. I did not think about it, I bet my kids would go nuts over that. Unless they spend the whole time chumming fish:D. I would almost feel bad for them, but I would be too busy enjoying the scenery. Plus the advantage of maintaining possession of my firearms the whole way.

I will be visiting before I accept a job offer just to see what the place is like and then if I do accept a job I will come back to set up housing and all the other fun stuff.
 
You can take your long guns through Canada. Just google up the Canadian form CAFC 909. You can probably complete it on line and present it to Canada Customs. Don't even show up at the border with handguns. On the U.S. side you have to declare them, also. Google up CBP form 4457. You can download it and declare all your firearms, their descriptions and serial numbers, as well as other valuables like cameras, computers, and even jewelry if you wish. When you arrive at the border go to the U.S. side with the declaration. They will clear all the serial numbers that you give them, stamp the 4457, return it to you, and you are on your way. Best of all it is free and the form is valid as long as you own the property listed. You keep the form(s) (in case you have more than one). CBP doesn't keep a record of the form or the property. This is NOT a back door registration. But it is the law.
 
Make it easy on yourself, and just avoid Canada if you can, I had a friend who is probably still wanted on gunrunning charges from a PCS move that he chose to drive up instead of taking the ferry. They take umbrage at blackpowder revolvers and NSN shotguns etc.

Point is, he lost his family guns, quite a few, and was told by the judge that if he stayed it would be a VERY long time before he saw his case tried, so he bailed and left Canada.
 
Yup, from what I've heard from people who've driven to AK it can be interesting. The Canadian authorities have NO sense of humor at all, nice enough people probably, but take their jobs VERY seriously. All Americans pack guns and like to shoot people you know! :uhoh:

The Alaska State Ferry from Bellingham would be my choice, and since it's pretty much right on the way you could stop at Kesselring Gun Shop between Mt Vernon and Bellingham on WA highway 9. Maybe not you might be tempted to buy something.... :D One of my favorite places when I lived in the Seattle area.
 
I just noticed they've added a direct run to Whittier.

In May the MV Kennicott will begin direct cross-gulf service from Bellingham, WA to the port of Whittier, just 60 miles south of Anchorage. The cross-gulf run will stop in Ketchikan, Juneau and Yakutat for connections throughout the system with continuing service to Kodiak Island.
Click to expand...
 
I'd just about bet that the guy that lost his family guns didnt follow the rules in some way. No, the Canadian customs people don't have much sense of humor, but if you follow their rules (it is their country after all) they are not too bad to deal with in my experience. I believe they hate for Americans to try to tell them how screwed up their laws are and how things ought to be, or try to claim what rights we should have in their country. Act like a courteous, respectful guest, and they have been plenty easy to deal with for me. Act like a heathen (in their eyes) and they can make your life miserable. Try to sneak things in and get caught, you can truly be in misery.


I've driven up and back several times, I thought it was a blast! I camped along the way. I declared my guns at the border, had zero problems coming or going (yes, I declared them on the US side before leaving also) other than one time they asked to see them, which I showed them, and they said "OK, have a nice trip". They each time asked if I owned any handguns, to which I replied yes, they then asked "where are they", and I produced the shipping receipt (from myself, to myself in care of a friend), to which they looked at it and seemed happy enough.

I believe you can take 2000 rds of ammo, a thousand primers, 2 kilos of powder per person. Check with the Canadian Firearms people, they have a decent website.

From all I've heard, the Canadians in western Canada are easier to deal with regarding guns than the eastern Canadians. If I were driving from somewhere in the eastern US, I'd get to western Canada before entering.
 
If you're going through Canada make sure you have a birth certificate [no Obama jokes please] and no DWI's [no Bush jokes either].
I made that trip 3 times and no question #4 would be on the ferry. The Yukon is a mighty lonely place and a simple car breakdown could turn into $$$$$$ and waiting weeks for parts.
 
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