re-shipping 106mm mount from continental USA

[Dianaa]

Hi people

One of my vehicle's is a Land Rover "Gun Buggy" modified by the Australian Army to carry a 106mm recoilless rifle, the examples of these rifles in Australia are still in the hands of the military or have been disposed of.



Recently I have found a dealer in the USA who is able to supply the rifles in de-mil'ed condition complete or in pieces and I am seriously considering purchasing one of the mounts and shipping it over to Oz.

The problem once again is that the vendor will not shop outside the US.

This is not an item you can take down to the local Post Office and hand over the counter (even if you have really strong arms and a pickup).



Does anyone know of someone who would do freight forwarding of this sort of thing?

Diana

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Diana,

I think you are running into arms trafficking regulations, rather than the willingness of the vendor or postal services to ship or not.

I would advise to look into the laws and regulations before committing to a buy and finding out you cannot ship it home.

HTH
Hanno

[Roger Lucy]

Hanno is right, the export of even a de-milled reckless rifle from the USA would fall under the US State Department's International Trafficking in Arms Regulations (ITARs) which captures the export of all military goods and technology from the USA no matter how small or ancient, see http://www.pmddtc.state.gov/index.html
It's a bureaucratic nightmare that most small dealers would rather avoid
Also because what you seek is part of an artillery piece your own government probably would expect you to obtain an import permit.

[Matthew Reid]

One option, use a forwarding company.

There are many compaines that freight forward stuff.

They provide you with a U.S shipping adress and then repackage and ship the item/s to you. This is a way to purchase from retailers etc that will not ship outside the U.S. for whatever reason.

Something of this size would be costly and should be broken down in to multiple packages, preferably shipped at different times.

The actual gun could not be shipped. But the mount should present no issue if broken down.

The forwarding company's really have no clue what 90% of the stuff is they ship and most it seems do not really wanna know, and only go by what is listed on the item or is identified as it being by the shipper, most of the time they just guess at what it is.....

I have had stuff shipped and listed as the most ridiculous things. Stuff listed as the part number only with no other description, stuff listed as the manufactuers name with no description, things listed as items not even closely related to what it is. For example vehicle parts listed as kitchen utensils, a Wet Sandblaster listed as a water treatment kit (I can sort of understand that one), one of the latest things was an engine damper listed as "Clark" nothing else just "Clark". It was a new Damper for my M1010 Ambulance, I bought it out of the states from a OEM parts distributor as the genuine GM one was the same cost states side with shipping as the chinesse knock off was at the local Napa with the jobber discount, and a quarter the cost of the GM one here. But according to the forwarding company on the official documentation it was a "Clark", go figure that one out.


Broken down in to separate parcels no one would really have a clue what it is. To the layman it would like some sort of machine mount.

And yes they would handle something that size and weight you just have to pay.

I do not condone circumnavigating shipping regulations so do with this information as you choose.

Matthew

[Mike Cecil]

Australian Customs will jump on it, no matter what you call it.

It's a weapon mount, plain and simple, so advisable to contact the Customs section in Canberra that deal with this type of import (can't remember their exact name), and they will give you the heads up on what is required IF it qualifies for import in the first place.

A nightmare awaits, me thinks.

Mike C

[Private_collector]

I am totally in the dark about present overseas export restrictions, but here at the receiving end, things like this can be achieved, at least in theory. Start by discussing the proposed import with customs & take their advice. Then contact your local state or territory 'weapons licencing branch'.

I have recently been investigating import of a deac Bren Gun from U.K and both Aust Customs and Queensland Police happily sent me the applicable paperwork. Neither agency hesitated in providing assistance. I have spoken to several others who have 'had a friend' who tried to import a weapon etc into Australia and they always say the same thing......"it can't be done". From what I have experienced, the regulations change unexpectedly, current regulations are often interpreted differently from person to person (except once the deal is done & item has arrived) and beurocracy reigns supreme.

Some of the regulations are just unbelievable. For example, I have been told (more than once) that without a collectors licence, I would need to do a safety course and join a club to be able to get a permit to own a Bren Gun that has been deactivated.

Never did get the Bren, UK regulations were difficult/impossible to overcome. Not sure which of these it was. I lost interest before I slipped into madness.

There are a number of dedicated import agents which can potentially decrease the load and stress of dealing with Govt departments. Costs may outweigh the loss of hair on your part.

Good luck!