USFW 3-177 form for Canada/AK travel by road?

[Larry Bartlett]

This if from a guest/friend who drove up from OR to hunt caribou. I have to be honest here, the driving through Canada thing is not my forte, BUT I didn't know anything about this form requirement. Does any of this strike some familiarity for those who drive through Canada to Alaska and return with trophies? Thanks in advance for the education.

"I got hassled by customs when I re-entered the US in Washington. First, he asked to see the ATF form stating I left the US and entered Canada with the two firearms. I told him I had no form. He said I was supposed to get it as I entered Canada. I told him the female custom's agent was informed of the rifles when I declared verbally. Canada on the other hand wanted to inspect. Never asked about anything other than the Canadian form.

The customs agent in WA said I can confiscate the rifles since you do not have proof from the US that you entered Canada with them. I told him the Canadian border entry point was about 1/4 from the US side and I had a time stamp/date on their form. I think I pissed him off.

Then he asked for my USFW 3-177 form. **** ME... that's the one I was trying to get help with but no one (state or feds) knew how to fill it out. After giving me a talking to, he pulled out a blank form and one that was filled in.

That all took 45 minutes and they never inspected anything."

 

[bmrfish]

It’s been a few years but we got sent back from Canadian customs to the us station at the Alaska border to fill out the USFWS form. There was road construction in between and it cost us a couple hours.
At the US border returning from Canada, they told us that we should stop at the US station before crossing into Canada to document our firearms for re-entry. They weren’t hard A on us though.


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[VernAK]

Having been through this many times:

I print out the form and fill it out with pertinent tag and license numbers.......this includes meat not just trophies.
The animal description was/is to be in Latin.....Alces Alces etc.....Duckus Duckus

Get it signed by any USFWS or US border official before entering Canada. Grizzly claws or ivory can draw attention so do your home work there.

To enter Canada with firearms, you must fill out their form and pay a fee unless you have a Canadian PAL [possession acquisition license] [which I have]. I then stop at US Customs and get a form 1651-0010 Certificate of Effects Taken Abroad before entering Canada. This provides proof that you had the gun in USA and didn't acquire it in Canada.

 

[Boston1]

Before leaving the US you should complete a US Customs form 4457 and declare it to US Customs prior to departure- they will inspect the items to be sure all serial numbers are correct. Then stop and declare same items to Canada Customs. They'll have you complete their paperwork (Form 5589?) for the same. I believe the paperwork is valid for 60 days, covers 3 firearms (under their approved list) and under 1000 rounds of ammo -- don't take any hand guns.

Upon your return to the US, if you're bringing any wildlife parts, you'll need to declare them. The standard form for US Fish and Wildlife Service is Form 3-177. If you have questions prior to your trip I recommend reaching out to the US Fish and Wildlife Service and asking for a Wildlife Inspector at (or near) the Port of Entry where you will be crossing.

 

[Rackmastr]

Before leaving the US you should complete a US Customs form 4457 and declare it to US Customs prior to departure- they will inspect the items to be sure all serial numbers are correct. Then stop and declare same items to Canada Customs. They'll have you complete their paperwork (Form 5589?) for the same. I believe the paperwork is valid for 60 days, covers 3 firearms (under their approved list) and under 1000 rounds of ammo -- don't take any hand guns.

Upon your return to the US, if you're bringing any wildlife parts, you'll need to declare them. The standard form for US Fish and Wildlife Service is Form 3-177. If you have questions prior to your trip I recommend reaching out to the US Fish and Wildlife Service and asking for a Wildlife Inspector at (or near) the Port of Entry where you will be crossing.

The Canadian form covers as many firearms as needed (continuation forms exist) as an FYI.

 

[Boston1]

Yeah

The Canadian form covers as many firearms as needed (continuation forms exist) as an FYI.

 

[Boston1]

Yeah, I was just giving a "ball park" answer. I saw the continuation form but didn't want to go into specifics and clutter the answer. I also believe the US is migrating to an electronic system to make things "easier". But no clue when it'll be implemented.