Dear Hunter,

 

  It is nearly time to go to Mexico on our Coues deer hunt. Many of you have hunted in Mexico with Cola Blanca Outfitters before and know the routine ( if there is such a thing!). But for many of you this is your first time hunting south of the border.

This letter is an attempt to explain the procedure we will follow in and out of Mexico. Mexico has many great hunting opportunities, they also have there own laws and we will need to follow them! Please read this letter carefully so that we may all be prepared to make each trip run as smooth as possible.

  We will all meet (hunters, guides and cook(s)) at Houghton Rd. and I-10, ( north west side parking area) at 7:00 AM the morning of our travel day to Mexico. Those of you fly- ing into Tucson the day before will be picked up at your hotel at 6:30 AM. Once we are all there we will caravan together to Douglas, Az. (approx. 2 hrs drive). where we will top off vehicles with good american gas. Just prior to crossing the border we will stop at U.S. customs to present our rifles and other articles of value. We will fill out the certificate of registration ( CBP form 4457 ) listing these items and there serial numbers. I am attaching a link to this form so that you can print it and fill it out in advance. 

( http://forms.cbp.gov/pdf/CBP_Form_4457.pdf   )   A US. customs agent will check these items and check rifle serial numbers on the computer to verify the rifle is not listed as stolen. When completed he will sign and stamp this form for you to keep for your records. If you have done this before and still have it in your possession it will not be necessary to do so again. The purpose of this form is to prove through documentation that you have taken these items into a foreign country and did not purchase them there and are not subject to any duty or sales tax on these items. This step is prudent any time you are taking items of value into another country.

  Note: Before crossing into Mexico please be sure your vehicle is not carrying any other guns or ammo, no old shotgun shells or .22 shells rolling around the glove box or under the seats! Once we have all completed this step, we will all cross into Mexico. Those vehicles carrying hunters and guns will immediately declare to the Mexican authorities that we have rifles. We will pull into a parking area to the right where you will present your rifles and ammo along with your mexican gun permit. They will check to see that your gun serial numbers and ammo all match. Then they will stamp and date your gun permit.

Note: (we will be presenting our guns several times, it is a good idea to have your gun, ammo and permits together in a case in the vehicle you are traveling in where you can easily get to it).

The vehicles with out guns will go directly around to a parking area behind the building at the west side of the mexican port of entry. Those checking in rifles will meet us there when their guns have been checked and permits signed.

 

Here we will go into the immigration office. Everyone will need to get a Mexican visa. Here you will need to present a photo ID and proof of citizenship, fill out the visa and get it stamped.

Those guides and hunters who will be driving to the ranch will need to get Sonora Only Permits at this time. For this you will need to make copies here of your Photo ID, your birth certificate or passport, your visa, and the title or registration of your vehicle and for any trailer or quads you may be bringing with you. These titles and or registrations must be in your name and you will need a credit card in your name to pay the $30.00 fee. The Mexican authorities will physically check your VIN# (vehicle identification number) and then issue you a permit and sticker. This sticker will go on your front windshield. You must keep the paperwork that comes with the sticker as you will return it and the sticker on your way out of mexico!

Note: If you are driving your own vehicle into mexico it is a good idea to get Mexican Insurance this can be done on-line in advance through Sanborn!s @www.sanbornsinsurance.com or by calling 1-800-222-0158.

Once we have completed this step and everyone has visas and vehicle permits, we will drive together a short distance to the mexican military post. Those with rifles will be escorted on to the post where they will present rifles, ammo and gun permits to be inspected and stamped. Once this is complete we will head to the ranch. There will be one more roadside check station approx. 20 miles into mexico where we will declare we have guns and we will be inspected again. Now we are on our way!

While traveling through mexico please make sure that you and you rifle are in the same vehicle together. (we don!t want anyone stopped with guns that are not in there name). We will use radios and stay together! This all seems like a lot of work but these are the steps we must take to get to 5 days of premium coues deer hunting!

Note: As an Outfitter I cannot accept the liability that comes with providing alcohol for you. But we will be stopping at a local market in Mexico where you may purchase your own beer etc. Please enjoy this in moderation at camp. This is not allowed in the field!

While we are at the ranch we will hunt hard, eat good and have lots of fun. Here we have very few rules. But there are a few: Please don!t litter. If you open a gate close it. Know the ranch boundaries and hunt only on our ranch and don!t shoot any animals other than the deer and javalina which we have tags for. You may not shoot Bobcats, Coyotes, Lions, Jaguar or any other critters which we do not have tags for! If you do you will be responsible for the consequences! And lastly please be safe!!!!! It is a long ride from the ranch to a hospital.

The return trip is similar, we will leave the ranch early on our travel day back to Tucson. Again we will travel together. We will head directly to the Mexican military post where we will present our guns again. They will inspect the guns, ammo and sign off on our permits. Then we will head back to the border and mexican customs where we will re- turn the Sonoran Only car permits, and present our guns and have them sign off on our

  permits one last time. Now we will be escorted back into Arizona. I will need your origi- nal gun permit as soon as we are back in Arizona so that it may be returned to the mexican military and there will be a record that your rifles entered Mexico and exited Mexico properly.

We will declare to the US Customs inspector that we have guns and game. We will then be parked, and will present our trophies and paperwork to a US Fish and Wildlife inspector.

The US Fish and Wildlife inspector will need to see the following items:

1. Tag on antlers

2. A completed US Fish & Wildlife form (form # 3-177) signed by the hunter. *(I will provide this form and show you how to fill it out. We will do this before we leave the ranch.)

3. A copy of the hunter/outfitter contract 4. A copy of the UMA - Ranch registration

5. A completed U.S. Dept. of Agriculture - (form 0597-0049) signed by the hunter. This form is to certify that capes have been frozen.

I will provide you with all the necessary documentation, and will be there to help you. There will be no fee for you to import your own personal trophy into the U.S.

We will also be checked by a US dept. of Agriculture Inspector to see that our deer capes are frozen hard and that we are not passing any live tic!s into the U.S. ( we will have a freezer at the ranch for this purpose.

Once we have completed this U.S. inspection we can head for home and can start counting the day!s until we can do this again next year!