Rifle scope in luggage from the States?

murph226

Right lads, I'll be ordering a Nightforce 5.5-22X56 and onepiece mount from Alex at Eurooptic during the week:D.

A friend of mine is picking it up for me and bringing it back for me;)

What I want to know is, will she run into any problems in the airport with security/customs?

I take it the best place for it is her main luggage?

I'd really like to hear from people who have brought items like this back from the States?

Cheers Murph

freddieot

Would main luggage not be a bit risky for a very expensive scope like that ? If it were me I'd carry it in my hand luggage. Don't think there is any reason why that's not allowed.

If Customs stop her she will be hit for Customs charges and VAT.

tonysopprano

Scopes and optical equipment are specifically ALLOWED in carry-on baggage according to IAA, FAA and most airline baggage policies

murph226

freddieot wrote: »

Would main luggage not be a bit risky for a very expensive scope like that ? If it were me I'd carry it in my hand luggage. Don't think there is any reason why that's not allowed.

If Customs stop her she will be hit for Customs charges and VAT.

Can she be hit for customs and vat if its for personal use?

johngalway

Are there any export restrictions on that model?

murph226

johngalway wrote: »

Are there any export restrictions on that model?

I don't think so John, he has them advertised on ebay for delivery worldwide; http://cgi.ebay.ie/Nightforce-NXS-5-5-22x56-MLR-Milrad-Tactical-Riflescope_W0QQitemZ390147938910QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item5ad6a11a5e

I emailed Alex already and he didn't mention anything, but I'll be on to him during the week so I'll make sure!

Anyone with direct experience bringing something like this home from the States?

freddieot

Can she be hit for customs and vat if its for personal use?


Absolutely ! If she brings it in then she must pay the Customs charges and the VAT. She is also supposed to declare it to Customs. Often of course, people don't do this and if spot-checked then customs have the option to seize the goods or just ask that the charges be paid. (This is what usually happens as the State want money, not to stock up on things like scopes).

This is of course, is worst case scenario, but you should be aware of it and calculate your costs accordingly IMHO.

I've been stopped several times coming back from the US. Never had enough new stuff for them to bother with (but a scope that costs what 1,000+ ?). It's a risk you need to be aware of.

murph226

Could I get her to post it back and mark it as a gift or secondhand?

bunny shooter

johngalway wrote: »

Are there any export restrictions on that model?

AFAIK there are :eek:

Would check it before I did anything

freddieot

Friend of mine got stopped coming through customs once with a Leupold Scope. He had bought it from a friend in the US after a competition over there . It even had a hand-written drop chart stuck to the side of it, a couple of scratches and was obviously a second-hand job. As far as I know they just let him though with it when he explained that he bought it from a friend for a few dollars.

Making a new scope look second-hand to avoid tax would of course be illegal so don't go down that road.

Gift means nothing if she posts it. The limit for posting a gift is about €45 in value.

I've travelled quite a lot for pleasure but also for work. In about 100 trips including about 12 to US, I've been stopped about 6-7 times. I suspect the price in the US + charges here would still be a bit cheaper than the Irish price so you still can't actually lose ?

deerhunter1

murph226 wrote: »

Right lads, I'll be ordering a Nightforce 5.5-22X56 and onepiece mount from Alex at Eurooptic during the week:D.

A friend of mine is picking it up for me and bringing it back for me;)

What I want to know is, will she run into any problems in the airport with security/customs?

I take it the best place for it is her main luggage?

I'd really like to hear from people who have brought items like this back from the States?

Cheers Murph

I have brought scopes and other optics home and so have friends done for me, best option is well packed and in the main luggage. My wife some time back coming from florida had put a scope in her hand luggage, she was asked to take it out for inspection in USA, the security were iffy if it should be allowed on as hand luggage as they see it as part of a firearm, after much discussion and to and fro they reluctantly let her carry it on board but would have preferred it in the main luggage. They were nice about it but firm, if it was someone awkward it could have been different or if a Male was carrying it i think there would have been snags, but as she was travelling with my daughter it seemed to have done the job. I would say put it in the centre of the main luggage for protection.

.50 (MOA)

dunno how useful this is, but, before christmas there was a woman on gerry ryan that went to new york and bought loads of baby stuff (she was pregnant at the time)- prams and buggies, lots of big stuff- without thinking how she'd get it home. what she did was wrap it all up and post it to herself, and because she was posting something she owned to herself (the delivery name and the sender name was the same- she used the hotel address) it got through without needing to pay any charges.

If your friend did this and had adequate insurance on the package it might work. and the charges mightn't be incurred the same as if it was posted to you.

don't know how good this is or if it really works, i'm only repeating what was said on gerry ryan (WARNING: may not always be accurate), but if someone in the know clarified this it could be a solution.

johngalway

What reticle?

murph226

johngalway wrote: »

What reticle?

Going with the mildot John.

kowloon

If it went on as hand luggage they might ask your friend to take it apart. I'd go with regular luggage, take it out of the box and repack it with more padding.

endasmail

kowloon wrote: »

If it went on as hand luggage they might ask your friend to take it apart. I'd go with regular luggage, take it out of the box and repack it with more padding.

+1
id go with that option

BELOWaverageIQ

Hi,
a one piece Nightforce mount arrived from Alex last week...... With a bill from customs for €48 !!! :-(
before you order, take a look at the used optics section as he has a Nightforce scope in hhe same spec you are looking to order hat was a return that a customer could not pay for and so it is "techically" used and therefore he should be able to put used on the invoice ???

murph226

BELOWaverageIQ wrote: »

Hi,
a one piece Nightforce mount arrived from Alex last week...... With a bill from customs for €48 !!! :-(
before you order, take a look at the used optics section as he has a Nightforce scope in hhe same spec you are looking to order hat was a return that a customer could not pay for and so it is "techically" used and therefore he should be able to put used on the invoice ???

Cheers lad, who shipped it usps, ups?

zulu_dawn

hey guys,
i bought from alex twice last year.
great service, great prices, top bloke (does not say much on the phone!!)

both times, i got my items posted to me via United States Postal Service, very reasonable price, insured and track and trace.
record items as 'tools' 'measuring devices' or 'gifts'
http://www.usps.com/international/deliveryoptions.htm

one package got through with no duty, and the other was stopped, i think about 45 euro, i still saved a packet.

i would advise postage route.

murph226

zulu_dawn wrote: »

hey guys,
i bought from alex twice last year.
great service, great prices, top bloke (does not say much on the phone!!)

both times, i got my items posted to me via United States Postal Service, very reasonable price, insured and track and trace.
record items as 'tools' 'measuring devices' or 'gifts'
http://www.usps.com/international/deliveryoptions.htm

one package got through with no duty, and the other was stopped, i think about 45 euro, i still saved a packet.

i would advise postage route.

Thanks for the info, trouble is the contents of my package has a combined price of 1500 euro, if it gets stopped I imagine they'll be looking for alot more than 45 euro!
Also the scope and mount are the best I could afford for my budget, I cant afford to pay the vat/duty.
I suppose if I do get caught I'll just have to do without a mod & bipod for a while:(

BELOWaverageIQ

Hi Murph, it arrived by AnPost.
I had to collect it from he depot, in hindsight perhaps I should have had it couriered, good service, took about 5/6 working days from order to delivery.

BELOWaverageIQ

Would you consider an IOR scope ?, good value if you are on a strict budget and looking for bang for your buck !
John greene is getting a few in over the next few weeks.

Hibrion

Whatever you do dont put it in the hold because they are usually not pressurized which can damage the scope.

murph226

BELOWaverageIQ wrote: »

Would you consider an IOR scope ?, good value if you are on a strict budget and looking for bang for your buck !
John greene is getting a few in over the next few weeks.

kind of have my mind made up tbh, I'll have a look though, thanks!

murph226

Hibrion wrote: »

Whatever you do dont put it in the hold because they are usually not pressurized which can damage the scope.

Wouldn't it be in the hold if it was posted?

locum-motion

Hibrion wrote: »

Whatever you do dont put it in the hold because they are usually not pressurized which can damage the scope.

Even with an unpressurized hold the pressure differential between the hold at altitude and ground level is less than one bar.
(One bar = normal atmospheric pressure at sea level. Zero bar = a vacuum. Unpressurized aircraft hold = somewhere between the two)
I'm sure the walls/lenses of a scope would be well enough constructed to withstand that differential.

knockon

Hibrion wrote: »

Whatever you do dont put it in the hold because they are usually not pressurized which can damage the scope.

Pressurised airframes (passenger and cargo aircraft) have been flying transatlantic for over 40 years. Airframe being the hull inside the outer skin.

Your scope would be as safe as the dogs and cats coming in on the Aer Lingus A330-300 forward and aft freight compartments every morning into Dublin and Shannon.

Hibrion

Don't appreciate that sort of response! This advice is often given to photography enthusiasts also. Pressure will vary depending on the height at which a plane is flying. It is stated by some manufacturers that leaving items such as this in an unpressurized hold can (but not necessarily will) result in a decrease in the scopes performance due to air bubbles of some sort.

Vegeta

knockon, please keep it civil. There's no need for the coarse language

knockon

Hibrion wrote: »

Don't appreciate that sort of response! This advice is often given to photography enthusiasts also. Pressure will vary depending on the height at which a plane is flying. It is stated by some manufacturers that leaving items such as this in an unpressurized hold can (but not necessarily will) result in a decrease in the scopes performance due to air bubbles of some sort.

Your missing the point.

All aircraft flying passengers and freight across the Atlantic ARE pressurised. The last unpressurised aircraft going over the Atlantic were the DC-3's in the 1940's.

knockon

Vegeta wrote: »

knockon, please keep it civil. There's no need for the coarse language

No offence intended - civility as always.

Grizzly 45

FFIW I wouldnt bother carrying this in hand luggage.I did this once or twce and once I declared it in Heathrow,the security went over my bags extra sure,to see if there wasnt anything in there that could be loaded and fired and attached to the scope.:rolleyes::rolleyes:
In Atlanta,it was "Thats fine Sir...Have a nice flight"[pre 9/11 ].Pack it and wrap it up well with clothes and it will be fine .
48Euros,that must be ther standard fee here in Ireland for customs to open and look in a box.They charged me exactly the same for when my Glock arrived here that I had owned previously for 15 years in the US.

Pkiernan

There is ABSOLUTELY no problem packing a riflescope in ones HAND-luggage.

It is NOT considered to be a firearem component by the TSA.

I brought one in myself last year - a Leupold - in my hand luggage from SFO to Dublin.

The security screeners didn't bat an eyelid.

The only issue is whther or not there is an export restriction on the scope.

If you are more comfortable putting it in a checked suitcase, again there is no issue. Aircraft holds are pressurised to the same pressure as the cabin. Hunters have been flying for decades with weapons and scopes in the hold.

I was much more comfortable with my scope in hand luggage, as it didn't give the baggage handler gorillas a chance to stress test it.

As to Customs - most small gunstores in the US will give you a receipt saying the scope cost $100 or less if you ask them. In any case, you have a duty free allowance and the item may therefore not subject to tax (as long as the total value of the goods you are bringing in from the US doesn't exceed €430). See this link for more details:

http://www.revenue.ie/en/customs/leaflets/pn1878a.html

". Duty-Free Allowances
(i) General
You are allowed to bring in goods (including gifts, souvenirs, perfume and clothing) free of duty, the combined value of which does not exceed:

• €430 in the case of an individual aged 15 years or over
• €215 in the case of an individual aged under 15 years

It is important to be aware that the above monetary allowances do not apply to any individual item the value of which exceeds the relevant limits. If you bring in something worth more than the relevant limit of €430 or €215, you must pay import charges on the full value."

Madigan1234

How did you get on with importing the scope through the airport?

FISMA

Murph,
I have brought back several scopes, none as high end as this, and range finders. I have never been stopped or hassled.

I would NOT post it back to Ireland. I would put it in my carry-on - NOT the checked luggage as it will not be locked - for long.

I doubt they will ask to have the scope opened. Rather, they check to ensure that whatever it is that you have is functional.

What part of the states is she in now?

zulu_dawn wrote: »

both times, i got my items posted to me via United States Postal Service, very reasonable price, insured and track and trace.
record items as 'tools' 'measuring devices' or 'gifts'
http://www.usps.com/international/deliveryoptions.htm

If you do ship it, ask a lot of questions. I have heard that the USPS insurance only covers the item when it is in the hands of the US. Once it is given to An Post, different story. I cannot confirm if this is true, but worth reviewing. I cannot imagine the USPS paying claims outside of the US. But then again, they are bankrupt!

Croppy Boy

Get your friend to post it to your home address but instead of putting Ireland, put UK. When it arrives there they will see it is obviously ment for Ireland and send it on. As it's coming in from another EU country, it will not be caught for VAT and excise. :cool:

zeissman

Croppy Boy wrote: »

Get your friend to post it to your home address but instead of putting Ireland, put UK. When it arrives there they will see it is obviously ment for Ireland and send it on. As it's coming in from another EU country, it will not be caught for VAT and excise. :cool:

You need a export licence to post a scope out of the US.