Well, lots of things were good about the good old days. I flew PanAm to Morocco in 1971, out of JFK. My shotgun made the trip in the cabin, with the crew. Gate agent tried to give me a ration of shit about it; finally solved when the crew came by and I handed the gun to the pilot.
Re drduc's State Dept guy, some State people (and others pretending they're State) learn to ship stuff back as "household goods" even when they're supposed to declare them--just to avoid the hassle. I bought the first sxs I ever owned while working in the embassy in Morocco (Navy rod & gun club in Spain). Made the mistake of following the rules. It got hung up in NY in Customs, and I wasn't even able to get the proper form to get it released, after I was back home in Iowa. Eventually got it done without any additional fees, but it was a serious PITA.
When I imported the gun from England, I do recall having to send a letter to the dealer verifying that it would be used for sporting purposes, so he could get an export permit.
