as soon as he said he needed to avoid Canada, I knew it had something to do with taking pistols from one State to another... nothing against Canada!
LOL, border agents do take it seriously, as they should! Funny story - several years ago, I traveled with my parents and son to Niagara Falls, Ont. My dad was driving and he's a little hard of hearing. We approached the border, and he headed for the short line in the French speaking/firearms to declare lane. As I speak some French, I saw the error, I was directing him to change lanes, in vain. An avid hunter, he misunderstood, and kept answering 'yes', when the border agent asked if he had any firearms to declare, and I tried from the back seat to remind him he didn't have any weapons with him. We were asked to pull to the side and another official came over. Again, it was misunderstood. Finally, I asked the official if I could get out (they were 'very' official) and he also got out, and they searched the trunk and I explained to the still stern, not amused official that he is a little hard of hearing and misunderstood which lane to choose. The official 'suggested' sternly that I drive through customs next time, and I did.
bringing guns into canada:
been in and out a few times recently with firearms in canada. absolutely no hassle. last time, the guy didnt even open the gun case, just waved me thru after i paid the , i think $30 fee. before that the only thing the guy said was "man thats a nice gun, what kind of scope u got on it?"
honestly, easier than getting them back in to US.
so the slam on canada isnt right.
cept for the pistole, of course. but if u need a weapon in alaska, its gonna be a rifle or 12g. dont even think about trying to stop a big bear with a handgun. been done, but not a high percentage shot.
and i have a 454 casul i sometimes bring to alaska.