Posting a flint gun kit from the US to Canada

[aragorn]

Has anyone in Canada had the experience of ordering a flintlock kit or gun from the US? Apart from Customs dues, which you usually pay here at the Post Office, are there any other border-crossing snags? Would it be best to have lock, stock and barrel sent separately (as in fact would be the case anyway with some kits)?
Because flintlocks in Canada are not considered firearms (bizarre but true, and I'm not complaining!), legally there should be no problem in respect of their status - they are considered 'antiques', even modern ones. On the other hand, I wonder how many border officials would really know the difference between flint and percussion, and, faced with a gun of any description, would kick up a fuss anyway.
I'm sure I can get good advice about this from the kit makers I'm interested in, but I thought the forum would be a good place to start in case there is some insuperable red tape snag to doing this.

 

[Gary]

My useless response - ask the firm you're buying from whether they had any trouble with the Canadian Postal Authority or Customs.

 

Strider,
give me a few weeks and I should be able to answer your ?. I'm going to try my hand at a Chambers kit. Ordered it a month or so ago and Barbie figured I'ld have it by Christmas. It should be here anytime. I'll let you know how it goes.

Cody

 

[aragorn]

Cody Tetachuk, I'd love to hear how you get on - as it happens I've pretty well decided on a Jim Chambers too, though I haven't yet spoken to them or ordered (maybe a York, 40 or 45 cal, though several of the others are equally attractive). What barrel make did you order?
I guess being in 'Berta you have no PST headache, anyway!

 

Strider,
I've always used getz barrels and went with a Getz with this kit as well. I ordered the Pen fowler with xtra fancy walnut (that is whats causing the delay). I've ordered barrels & locks and stuff before but all seperately from different suppliers. It will be interesting to see how this shakes out. So where do you call home?

 

[Henry]

Same thing here , I ordered the parts from different
makers at different times and never had problems .

If you insist I could tell you how it went
when I ordered a bagpipe , this is a real horror story .

Henry

 

[Henry]

Small detail


When I order something , by phone , I ask not
to write " GUN KIT " on the box , Antique repro
spare parts or custom castings , sound better
even when it comes from " The Rifle Shoppe "

 

[Alberta Black]

Friends in Albeta have ordered flint guns from TOW and Jackie Brown with no trouble. WE also order lots of stuff from October Country and TOW without difficulty.

AB

 

[aragorn]

Thanks Henry, this is encouraging. The question is, was your bagpipe flintlock or percussion ...!

 

[Keith]

Gotta ask. What happened with the bagpipe?

 

Strider,
I recieved the barre; for my chambers kit today. No problems. $15 duty

Cody

 

[aragorn]

Cody, thanks for letting me know. As soon as I find the cash I'll be ordering a kit too. Meanwhile I hope you have a great time building it. I'd be interested to hear any more opinions you might have about the barrel, as I guess that's the one variable in ordering one of these kits with three different barrel makes to choose from (actually, I'm sure they're all equally good!)
In answer to your earlier question, I'm in southern Ontario, in Wellington County on 100 acres of mixed bush and arable. I posted a bit about it on the 'What's it like where you are' thread, and also in the new 'Persona' thread because the first white settlers on our land were American immigrants who fought on the British side in the War of 1812, which I thought would interest some of the people on this forum (actually, the first people on the land we have evidence of were First Nations - we found flints in one field dating back at least to the Palaeo-Indian period, c 10,000 years ago).
I haven't yet got together with other BP enthusiasts in this area, but maybe will if I get more into hunting or rendezvous - I know there are plenty of others around from the place where I bought my Pedersoli from, which seems to do a lot of BP business (I work abroad a lot so difficult finding the time to do more than just bang away in my back woods when I'm here!)

 

[Halftail]

Strider,
I have got the Early York kit from Jim Chambers and I just love it.Chambers stuff is second to none!! :redthumb:

 

[aragorn]

Halftail, everyone seems to say that! What caliber and barrel make do you have?