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Post 9/11 that may be true, but before that, depending on the officer and the amount/kind of drugs, it was not always a certainty.

True story. Back when I tripped with 3 other guys, one of them lived in Atlanta Georgia. He owned a couple of Mexican bar/restaurants, and had a concealed carry license.

One year he had to drive up to Atikokan solo because of business problems. In his haste, he forgot that he had a .25 Automatic tucked between the bucket seats of his Dodge van. He also had a small amount of pot for his personal use.

When he hit the border, it was just his luck to get motioned over for random inspection.  He saw the officers with a dog, and assumed it was a drug dog. He knew they would find the pot, so he just decided to make it easy and pulled the baggie from between the seats.

Much to his dismay, as he pulled the baggie out, he saw the butt end of his pistol and realized what he had done. The gun was legally registered but he didn't have proof of that or that he owned it. In either case he didn't feel it would make a difference. They ordered him out of the van, the dog jumped in and found the pot tucked into the ashtray on the engine console. The dog went thru the vehicle and they searched his personal gear, but the officers didn't search his van.

He owned up to the pot, and basically they confiscated it, he had to pay a fine and they put him on a list for future inspection.

When he got up to Atikokan, he was a nervous wreck. We had a lengthy discussion about what he should do with the handgun, but in the end, he said he would take care of the problem and that we were better off not knowing what he was going to do?

Years later it came out that on the way home, he stopped at some no-name lake and field stripped the gun, emptied the clip and threw the pieces into the lake. Not environmental correct for sure, but considering what could of happened, I guess he didn't see another way out of it

The next year, we all rode up together, in a different vehicle. When we stopped and showed our IDs, the officer held onto his ID for a minute, checking something on his computer. Then he said he was free to enter and that he was no longer on that " list".

I'm sure their much stricter now, but back then, it appeared it was very hit/miss, or at least on this occasion it was.

Neat story ST.  I wonder if the right thing to do is to come 100% clean & explain the honest mistake.  It's one thing to surrender the gun at the border, something else to smuggle it in.

I do wonder if they would let him pick it up on the way home.  Maybe Can customs would surrender it to the US officials.  There should be some provision for him to surrender & recover it.  After all, it's his legal property and any issues in the US are between him and the US.

There's no licence issued in any US state the supercedes the laws of the nation you are entering.  I'm not a hunter, but I suspect there's paperwork involved in brining guns from one country to the other.

"Can anyone think of something else that might be on your person (or at least in something like a fanny pack) that might serve as a fuel source ... something that you'd normally carry when in the out-of-doors?"


Duh - TP (or AW if you prefer)

What about balsam and spruce pitch, something that one does not have to carry and is widely available.

Is this quest for a fuel source for warmth or light...ease of ignition...?