Need help on method of buying Air gun

[sarkarshomit]

Hi Guys,
Need some suggestions about the method i need to follow to import an airgun at my door step considering the total money spent in the whole process. I understand that this question may have been asked a bazillion times (lol) ...but please bear with me.
I still dont have a gun club membership (but will have to go for it)
I have gone thru many forums, discussions about importing an air gun.
I am not looking for match quality, just for back yard plinking fun and am a fan of beretta 92fs / Taurus P92 styled pistols.
Hence i am looking for a Swiss arms P92 CO2 0.177 cal full metal blowback air pistol.
Saw some websites, called up a few online dealers here in India, and the price range difference is freaking huge leading me to doubt that there is something wrong somewhere.

Option 1 : I approached airsoftgunIndia.com guy called Pankaj Kapoor who quoted Rs 30k (no membership needed)

Option 2: I approached relish sports guy called Ali who quoted Rs 23K (membership needed)
Membership for a year here in Pune costing me Rs 10K....so effectively i end up paying for gun + membership= Rs 33k

Option 3: Now i visited Pyramid air wesite where this same gun which i want is listed for $100 Plus priority shipping $80 total $180 = Rs 12k approx...so total of gun + membership = Rs 22k
So will this attract import duties and taxes? i read somewhere 35% of gun cost and shipping ? is this true? for a BB gun costing not more than $100? i read somewhere no import duties for air guns of 0.177 cal and less than $200.
Are there any other hidden costs not known to me while importing a bb air/co2 pistol from pyramid air.

Which option should i follow to bring home my requirement? at lowest cost...i dont want to pay unnecesary money to someone.

Option 1 & 2 seems to be simplest but also seems i am throwing away extra money which i can use to buy addition bb ammo and co2 cartridges.

Option 3 seems feasible but its totally not know to me as i am a first timer in this experience.

Please point me to the right direction.

[bennedose]

Option 3: Now i visited Pyramid air wesite where this same gun which i want is listed for $100 Plus priority shipping $80 total $180 = Rs 12k approx...so total of gun + membership = Rs 22k
So will this attract import duties and taxes? i read somewhere 35% of gun cost and shipping ? is this true? for a BB gun costing not more than $100? i read somewhere no import duties for air guns of 0.177 cal and less than $200.
Are there any other hidden costs not known to me while importing a bb air/co2 pistol from pyramid air.

Which option should i follow to bring home my requirement? at lowest cost...i dont want to pay unnecesary money to someone.

Some poor guy in Coimbatore tried to import a fully legal fake, non working, replica pistol and got arrested by customs in Chennai.

Customs is god and what they do is beyond human comprehension. If you are a star competition shooter and are importing serious maal worth over 1 or 1.5 lakhs then it's a different ball game. Here you are asking how you can save a few thousand bucks by gambling on customs. Why not accept the extra cost and simply buy off the shelf with no membership and start shooting soon.

[sohampaul11]

As of now. PyramydAir still doesnt ship anything that shoots to India.

[Ultimate Sniper]

sarkarshomit,

There are only two option here that you can choose among:-
1. Easy & Expensive way - Your Option-1
2. Very difficult & Cost Effective method - Your Option-2 & Option-3

1. Easy & Expensive way
This is going to be really easy, but you will endup paying hell lot of money for guns that are not really worth it. No hassle of club membership or anything else, all you need is the moolah...
Please note that the website that you had mentioned in option-1 deals predominantly with airsofts (china made versions as well) and not pellet guns, which actually costs about $10 to $100 in the US, etc and are sold here to the helpless, option deprived gun enthusiasts at 20K to 60K or even more. Also have heard that the guy who runs this website is a fleece who has been banned from this forum due to illicit dealings.

2. Very difficult & Cost Effective method
This method has two variations, both unfortunately needs the Club membership.
> a. Take the risk and buy the gun from any website that is willing to ship it to India, PyramidAir doesn't do it these days, but there are a few others if am not wrong. Once it reaches the customs, they will ask you to reach out to them with all documents and then you can go to them with the club membership and get it cleared - Easy rite? Yes it is, so long as it goes with the ideal case scenario. But as you know, it is never fair and transparent here. You will need to go through a lot of hardships and you might endup loosing the gun itself; worst case, end up in jail like the poor chap in Chennai. However, if you have good contacts in customs or ministry level and you know how to pull the right strings, at the right time, you might have a chance.
> b. Seek help from forums like RelishSports, who are kind of middlemen, who help us get through the customs complications and get the gun delivered without much of the complexities. This would cost you a little more but still manageable as it would be much less than what you endup spending via method-1 (1. Easy & Expensive way). Also might get to buy better guns.

There are still more technicalities like Deal Wood Test, etc which comes in between as villain. Am not sure if RelishSports team byepass these as I have seen very high power PCP AirGuns being imported, which I dont think by any means would clear the deal wood test.
Read through the other posts in this forum, there are huge wealth of information available in this forum, please invest some time to go over them.

Oh, By the way, Please do not choose to join the Shooting Club, just for importing guns, due to this (bad) practice many shooting club do not provide membership these days and have increased the membership fees. Use the facilities they offer, to learn more and do practice well there under experienced people, this would change your experience & attitude to this sport entirely.

-Arvind S.

[Harish Asnani]

I really feel for new entrants into this excellent sport, I can't import the Airgun since I don't have membership and I can't take membership since most of the clubs these days are stringent and yes it is not even professional to simply get into the club and use their membership but not the wealth and experience it offers. It really gets frustrating as no one is willing to give solution but everyone will ask you to go through the forum. I didn't mean to sound arrogant here and have high respect for the professionals have been around and have devoted their time to this cause but without some kind of headway how a new entrant can become an enthusiast.

Shomit don't go for import until you are quite sure of your wealth of knowledge as to how custom and other Govt. agencies operate that's my take on it

And if you happen to successfully get your gun do let me know so that I too can work pursue the same line of action

Regards,
Harish

[bennedose]

Oh, By the way, Please do not choose to join the Shooting Club, just for importing guns

+1 to that. I see too many people who seem to want membership simply own an imported air rifle. For anyone who wants to pick up the sport and develop basic skills and Indian air rifle is good enough. Unfortunately with the constant barrage of derogatory comments about Indian air rifles even casual visitors get the impression that their love for the sport can only develop after importing an air gun. If one wants to simply start with the basics there are perfectly good Indian air guns available under Rs 5000.

Anyone who has dedicated himself to the sport will realize that his first air gun will never be his last - it will only be the start of a love affair that lasts a lifetime with many air guns being bought and shot till they are bust. No single air gun will last that long.

[estousandy]

It really gets frustrating as no one is willing to give solution but everyone will ask you to go through the forum. I didn't mean to sound arrogant here and have high respect for the professionals have been around and have devoted their time to this cause but without some kind of headway how a new entrant can become an enthusiast.

Get a club membership or pay with your body parts.

If there was any solution other than the above obvious ones, we all would've been sporting real Dianas instead of clones.

I don't know from where you got the thought of an easy solution. This is India, bro.

[Basu]

Nicely said !! benne...
Now India has one holers.

Basu

[Ultimate Sniper]

I really feel for new entrants into this excellent sport, I can't import the Airgun since I don't have membership and I can't take membership since most of the clubs these days are stringent and yes it is not even professional to simply get into the club and use their membership but not the wealth and experience it offers. It really gets frustrating as no one is willing to give solution but everyone will ask you to go through the forum.

Who gave you the idea that you got to import Airgun to enjoy this excellent sport? You have a lot of other options. If you notice, most of the members here would have only Indian made Airguns, Even if some lucky people succeeded in getting their hands on the imported ones, you can be very sure they have started on Indian guns. Indian ones may not be as perfect as the imported ones, but definitely are a very good starting point to learn the sport. Once you feel comfortable and if you continue to have the passion for the sport, then think of investing more on expensive 'perfect' guns.
If you are only interested in imported guns, another option is not to buy any guns at all for now, just have the club membership, go to the range, get guns from the club and learn shooting good, let it go like that for a few months and then you can think of importing one, if you feel you need one. You can try the Indian ones in the clubs. Many states now a days have private clubs as well, where they have less rules, but that maynot be good enough to get the import done though.

I didn't mean to sound arrogant here and have high respect for the professionals have been around and have devoted their time to this cause but without some kind of headway how a new entrant can become an enthusiast.

Dude, dont expect the forum to spoon feed you. Thats not the way it works here. If you want to know something, invest you time and effort and learn it. Nothing comes free... All these questions are discussed here multiple times left, right & center. So having to go through all those would really be an overdo and unnecessary in another thread. And mind you nothing is easy in this world.

-Arvind S.

[sarkarshomit]

Wow..so many replies...thanks for the response and positive debates.....Sorry for delayed reply as i was waiting for a notification in my mail box that my post has been approved by admin...did not see that...but hey ...the post is here..thanks.
as per all the chats, i have concluded that my option 2 seems to be the best...and that is go thru Relish....atleast they seem legit with good product list and have a fairly reasonable price....(hehe) ofcourse i dont want to get arrested for a hobby....as for owning an imported gun...i am kind of liking the model i selected hence the wish to own one (as i already said never want to own a real gun)...honestly sorry for the guy in Chennai who got himself in trouble.
Unfortunately since the rule is applicable to own the imported air gun one needs a membership (no questions asked)...definitely its gonna get misused as most just want the gun for backyard plinking fun and not for serious competition (especially like me)
I own a 0.22 caliber Indian Air gun bought from a good Air gun store here in Pune..i have it since 5 years...It is a side arm lever cocking mechanism and not a break barrel..i like it a lot but use it less as its really heavy. Its made in Kolkatta. I found it to be really powerful.

The purpose of putting up this post was to get some guidance and u guys have successfully done that. I will first join a club which i have already made some calls, and then buy thru relish sports who are willing to offer their services.

Thanks again,
Shomit

[Ultimate Sniper]

All the best sarkarshomit.

A side arm lever Indian made AR, that sounds interesting...
If you dont mind, can you let us know the brand/ model name & post a few photos of the piece you got?

-Arvind S.

[ROHIT_GAVAI]

Hi

Well, i am the newest member of the Beretta 92FS bandwagon. I love it and am going through the same dilemma. No can import without rifle club membership and local dealer & also pankaj kapoor quoting 40K. Although i made him an offer for 30K, let see how it turns up. Until then i will keep hunting for a beretta 92fs.

Regards
Rohit

[ROHIT_GAVAI]

Hello hello

Unfortunately i cannot say "say hello to my little friend". The deal didnt work out. Rifle club membership and i can get this piece for 20k. No membership, even 30 aint doing it. As metallica puts it, it is Sad but true