Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Moving to Alaska, best way to get guns there

Something no one else has mentioned yet, if you take some of them, check them in at the U.S. side of the border. They have a form they will fill out. If you don't, there is a chance they will say you may have bought them in Canada and U.S. Border Patrol will charge you taxes on them. With the form, you have proof that you brought them in and out of Canada.

I did the ferry thing in the winter of 2008 going back to the lower 48. I'd recommend you fill up in WA or at least in Haines. The stretch from Haines to Haines Junction took a lot more gas than I expected. The wind up there is brutal and killed my gas milage. Make sure your spare is full, I'll let you guess why I know that one. I had a lot of 12ga target loads and 222 Mag rounds along with other ammo and it wasn't an issue either side.

As a side note, people think jeeps are great in the snow and they are pretty good in the powder type stuff, but they usually suck on icy roads that you are sure to come across in the trip. Studded tires are recommended, but not all states allow you to use them and other limit the time of year that you can. Are you going to Fort Wainright(sp) or Fort Richardson? Ft Wainright is in a colder part of the state and you will need a core heater for your engine or you may have starting issues. Make sure your antifreeze is fresh.

Hahaha good to know. This has been a wealth of information everyone I really appreciate it. Part of me is contemplating what all an import license requires for ammo so I'll look that option just for [bleep] and giggles to see if it's feasible. I've also seen the 5,000 round limit and components to make 5,000 rounds.

I agree UPS here sucks and I used it for the last time last week. I had to mail a replacement motor back to IL for the HRV in our house. $69 to ship through UPS uninsured at that.

Sitka, Fed-Ex is contracted up here as well. One of neighbors claims to have the Fed-Ex ground contract from Kenai to Fairbanks. I’ve never had a problem receiving packages from UPS, it’s mailing them out that’s the issue usually.

When we moved up in 2002 we used a container company. They dropped off a trailer with a connex and we loaded all our household, guns, reloading, verything except what we needed to get by a couple of weeks while the container was on the way. Drove up through Canada with just the two vehicles, the dog, a Uhaul trailer with our bed, freezer and a few clothes and dishes, and the boat behind my wife's Blazer. The container arrived on schedule, delivered to our door and left for 12 hours so we could off load. Worked great and no hassle with powder, primers, ammo, handguns etc since it all went by container barge. They run year round.

We were set up to do the same thing last year when we were planning to move outside but decided to stay in Alaska. The quote last year from Alaska Marine Lines, a part of Lynden Transport, was $6400 for a 20 foot container dropped off at our house in Wasilla for loading, then delivered to Orofino, Idaho. The weight limit was 7000 pounds with a charge of $23.10 per hundred for anything over that.

I don't know if that helps but Alaska Marine Line can be reached at 1-800-326-8346. Good luck on your move.

Back in the 80’s while transferring from Kodiak to Clearwater I dropped three handguns in a wardrobe pack while the packers were working in another room of the house. I noted the number on the box and when the shipment was delivered I found that box first and was pleased to find my guns untouched. Back then we were always worried about pilferage and handguns are might tempting, the reason I didn’t want them listed on the manifest. It worked out for me but I guess I’d do it differently today.
I just realized I’m now officially an old guy, telling old sea stories....
Mike

How long will you be in AK for and how often will you be using your guns? Dividing the amount of money it will cost you to bring everything up by the EHT (expected handling times) will give a benchmark number of $ per outing,
I bet, just buying a stainless steel Ruger .30-06, set of ring and scope and handgun of choice with ammo for both up there will be much cheaper?

Odd man out here, maybe, but for a two or three year stint maybe worth consideration?

I got quite a bit of ammo shipped here that way. The movers told me to put it in a drawer and they would seal it off. They did, and nothing was touched when I saw it a month later delivered to the house. That was almost 9 years ago now, probably wouldn’t do it for people now.

Mail them up to someone you know, and have them not open the boxes. Good to go. Ammo sell where you are to pay for postage on the firearms. Sidearms take on the plane or have to send FFL to FFL.

Sorry, but no need to send handguns FFL to FFL when shipping to yourself. You cannot send by USPS. You must use a "common carrier" like UPS, FedEx, etc. While they have their own internal rules about shipping, they are not laws.

Reading the quote on importing 5,000 rounds of ammo, it says "per individual"....

You're an individual, and your girlfriend is an individual.... split ownership, and you can import 10,000 rounds.

Just a thought.

Assuming you are military, ship them with your household goods. That's the easiest and most risk-free method.

Some guys do a DITY move, find out they can't aren't supposed to put guns in a POD, and then try to sneak guns across the Canada border and get caught. Or they travel back down south, pick up the ARs and pistols they had stashed at Dad's and try to sneak them across the border. And get caught. Don't risk it.

The idea to buy a rifle and pistol when you arrive isn't a bad one. Guns in AK aren't more expensive than down south; at least that was my experience.

Print the regs for ammo travel through Canada. I decided to go with 200 rounds and leave the rest at a friend's.

When I crossed the border, the guard asked if I had guns or ammunition...I replied that I had ammunition. No problem, but he was curious why I didn't have guns also. I showed him the shipping manifest for my guns and I sailed on through, right past a guy whose van was being completely tossed.

If you take accessories or handgun ammo prepare to be questioned best to have a way to verify that they were shipped. Had holsters and ammo quite a process to insure I did not have them with me. Have a inventory sheet of all your goods that you have with you speeds the process.

Thanks for all the continued input everyone. I've decided I will ship my guns with HHG via the military. I might take a lever action and/or O/U shotgun on the way up so I have something to use and keep me busy while also being legal to take into Canada. The laws state I'm allowed to bring 3 guns into the country. DITO on the 10,000 round count for the two of us. However, when I called the border agency up there the man stated I could take 50,000 rounds. Essentially, there's three different sources on Canadian official government websites that stipulate we are authorized either 3,000, 5,000, or 50,000 rounds per individual. I gotta do a complete tally of all my ammunition but suffice to say it'll be close to 20,000 rounds. I'm gonna send some to my parents but I'm leaning towards re-calling that border agency, recording the conversation of them saying I can take 50,000 rounds, and show that to the border guard if they try to say something different. Risky but is it a terrible idea? Also please advise if that may be illegal lol.

Regarding the "buy guns once you get there thing", shooting really is my biggest hobby by a mile and I have too many guns I would miss shooting once I get up there for my 3 year tour. I go shooting every single week if not multiple times a week on a consistent basis. I understand your logic but it'd be too hard for me to go without lol.

What is your pcs destination?

is that a new law that you can only bring 3 long guns through Canada? i just moved from AK to Montana last fall and took my whole rifle collection which was many to say the least. i shipped everything else to my new address here in MT. as far as ammo i have been told 5000 was the limit when i went through, i know i took 5k and my wife took 5k in her rig. i also shoot black powder rifles a lot and we took 34lbs through which was the limit. i have made the trip 7 times and i always have brought several guns and ammo with me except once and that is when they searched my trailer LOL.

A little over a year ago I took 8 long guns through no problem....with the requisite paperwork and fee of course.

Don't know anything about this company, but might be worth looking into.

https://alaskagunshipping.com/

ETA: Just hit the cost page, and doesn't seem all that practical...