I'm planning a 4,500 mile road trip from Texas thru the western U.S. to Vancouver, Canada this summer.

Anyone have any idea how/where I could store a firearm or 2 before I cross the border north of Seattle? I watched a Youtuber stash his pistol in the grass on the side of the highway for a day trip across the border. I'll be in Canada for 10 days, I'd like a better system than that! Any gunshop provide lockers or something? I'd prefer to get it stored before the border and not involve either govt.

I’m right off I-5, 45 min north of Seattle (or 2 hours, depending on traffic..), 75-90 min south of the border.

If you needed to leave a locked box of stuff you don’t want to carry across the border, I could probably make room for it in my garage for a week or two.

Email in profile.

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I don't know if this is a good idea because I don't know Washington gun laws...

Safe Deposit box rental at a bank???

There is a Wells Fargo with safe deposit boxes located at 1855 MAIN ST STE 101, FERNDALE, WA (360) 384-1213.

Advantage of a bank, they don't need to know what you're placing in the box and the box areas I've seen don't have cameras. You do need to be careful how you enter the bank building and look up WA's "sensitive places" laws if they have them.

Also, is WA a state with a 10 round or less magazine restriction in place?

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quote:

Originally posted by sleepla8er:
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I don't know if this is a good idea because I don't know Washington gun laws...

Safe Deposit box rental at a bank???

There is a Wells Fargo with safe deposit boxes located at 1855 MAIN ST STE 101, FERNDALE, WA (360) 384-1213.

Advantage of a bank, they don't need to know what you're placing in the box and the box areas I've seen don't have cameras. You do need to be careful how you enter the bank building and look up WA's "sensitive places" laws if they have them.

Also, is WA a state with a 10 round or less magazine restriction in place?

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No restrictions on banks by the state, bank may have their own rules though.

Yes, WA now has a 10 round law banning “importation or sale”. Possession is not illegal, but nothing in law addresses or clarifies what “import” means as it pertains to someone traveling through. Probably better off to have 10 rounders, but no one is checking.

Boss thanks for the offer!

I did some internet looking around and found Borderview in Lynden, WA 4 miles from the border does storage for $100. Place in Montana would do it for $10. I'm guessing there are dozens of options along the border.

Using storage does limit me to going in/out the same road, and some places timing M-F 9 to 5, which is probably okay. I would like the freedom to do a big loop inside Canada, go in thru Montana, come out Seattle, but I'll make it work.

Picking up my old thread. Drove thru Canadian Border yesterday. Stopped at a gun shop full of very nice people in Lynden, Washington 4 miles south of the border and stored my gun for the week.

I felt profiled! F150 pickup with Texas plates, passport with Oklahoma address and 4 different Border Patrol Officers each played 20 questions about guns! How many, what kind, do you have pistols, rifles, shotguns, when did I last touch one, on and on. I told the truth, but didn't feel the need to go into ANY detail about how many were back home in the safe, I wouldn't want to scare them

After they searched my truck for 20 minutes, they wanted to see receipt from the gun locker storage and they let me go on my way. I did feel like my rights were shrinking after the search. I spend 80% of my time in Texas and Oklahoma and can say I'm happy to live where I live!

quote:

Originally posted by ibanda:
when did I last touch one

That’s an interesting one.

Have a great trip!

Curious what you saw them carrying. H&K P2000?

quote:

Originally posted by vthoky:

quote:

Originally posted by ibanda:
when did I last touch one

That’s an interesting one.

Have a great trip!

I answered "30 minutes ago" (Canadian Customs Officers eyes got big), "when I dropped it off at the storage locker in Lynden." He calmed down a bit, but they still searched my truck.


@diets I didn't notice what they were carrying.

I went back into US Sunday to take a friend to Seattle airport thru the bigger I-5 checkpoint, line was an hour long. I was 3 cars back from the checkpoint and US Customs didn't like something about the front car in line and 8 Officers came running out of the building and tossed that car.

Came back to Canada last night, no holdup this time just stated no guns twice and sent thru. I drove the sea to sky highway to Whistler and it is a pretty drive.

25 or so years ago three of us went up to Vancouver Island on a fishing trip. We took my F250 and camper and crossed over via the ferry to Victoria from Port Angeles. It was dark when we got off the ferry so fairly late in the evening. Must have been a slow night for the Canadian customs guys. They tore my rig apart for about 45 minutes looking for who knows what. They were assholes. Wouldn't tell us what they were looking for, or why. When they finally decided we weren't smuggling <something>, we had to put it all back together again ourselves. Did I mention they were assholes?

I concur, my daughter got a job in Madawaska Maine and we crossed the border to get stuff for her apartment. Canadian border police searched my truck 5 ways from sideways and of course found nothing. The guy kept asking
If I had been to Canada before and I told him no. He kept saying he couldn’t believe I’d never been before so I asked him when the last time he was in Pittsburgh. Thinking back, that might not have been the right thing to say, but he was an asshole. Damn Canuck.

I used to drive a truck from Burlington Vermont to outside Montreal five days a week. I did this for seven years. A while later I was with my family crossing the border and asked if I had been to Canada before and how many times I said two thousand maybe a few more. The Canada Customs officer lost his mind and told me to exit the vehicle. I kept quiet for a minute then told him I was a truck driver. He calmed down and let me on my way.If they would only ask relevant questions…

Can they refuse entry if you refuse to answer other than you aren’t carrying anything illegal?

quote:

Originally posted by ruger357:

Can they refuse entry if you refuse to answer other than you aren’t carrying anything illegal?

I don't know the answer to your question, but I'll bet that they can refuse entry for any arbitrary reason, or even no reason at all. I could be wrong.

How things change!
Back in the late 70’s to mid 1980’s I lived near the CA border and was in a rifle league that used a Canadian armed forces range for our matches. I recall driving up to the border -
Where you going - rifle range
What you have- 4 rifles, 800 rounds of ammo
OK have a nice day!

Once when crossing into Ontario they did a full search on my truck amd found an old, corroded 22lr casing (just a casing), and forthwith stripped my truck darn near to the frame. They removed the seats, floor liner, headlinder and center console. It was all in a pile beside my truck when they told me I had 30 minutes to load it all up and move along or I would be towed

quote:

Originally posted by badguybuster:
Once when crossing into Ontario they did a full search on my truck amd found an old, corroded 22lr casing (just a casing), and forthwith stripped my truck darn near to the frame.

At least they didn’t charge you with a crime. Right here in this country that would have been possible. What the Internet says about Washington, DC, law:

“A fired casing is legally ‘ammunition.’ and DC generally prohibits ammunition possession without a registered DC firearm. Having a single spent shell casing in your vehicle can technically support a criminal charge if you are not authorized to possess ammunition under DC law.”