I've been going back and forth between Canada and Aus for the past few years, and while in Canada I bought myself a rather nice Browning BLR in 308. I'd like to bring it back with me, and I'm trying to figure out if doing so will be worthwhile. The rifle cost me $1000 in Canada, and to buy a brand new one here will run me about $1900-2000. And if I sold it in Canada I could probably expect $800 or maybe $900 for it. So for it to be worth bringing it back it will have to cost less than $800. And probably significantly less than that for it to be worth the hassle. I found another thread on here that mentioned a crowd in Vic that imports firearms and they mentioned it costing $1800 to have a rifle imported from Canada. This seems utterly ridiculous and there's no way I'd spend that much. My uncle has imported a few rifles from the US and it hasn't cost near that much.
I know to begin with I need a B709 permit and a PTA. I'm hoping I can bring it back on the plane rather than ship, since I'll be flying back and forth anyway. I know its possible to fly with guns, but I can't find anywhere if its actually possible to permanently import a firearm that way.
I'd be flying into Brisbane, and importing into QLD(since I live there). I imagine if I flew into Brisbane with the rifle in checked baggage and a B709 in hand, customs would take possession of the rifle and do their thing with it, and I would have to get a PTA. Or is it possible to get a PTA for a rifle not yet in the country?
But if/when I got the PTA, would customs release the rifle to me, or only to a dealer? I understand this is the case in some states but I can't find any info on this for QLD. It would nice if I didn't have to involve a dealer.
And if it turned out to be a worthwhile enterprise, I may purchase a second rifle in Canada and do two at once.
Any insight is appreciated. I will contact customs and WLB soon too and see what they say.