You CANNOT legally bring your weapons to Ecuador. Why did I put legally? I wouldn't know any illegal way to do it... Anyway, firearm imports are closed indefinitely by our "beloved" Correa, and import of any other type of weaponry is complicated and expensive. That means the following:
- You have to buy it here, which is not hard at all (considering you have at least a residency) only expensive. You will be asked for at least $2000 for a used Glock17, $1000 for a used CZ or Taurus, a used Mossberg short barrel pumper - $700, a used custom made STI with optics - approaching that of a nice used car. You probably won't be able to find nothing brand new, as imports have been banned for more than 2 years.
- It is not difficult at all to find a place to practice. You affiliate yourself with one of the shooting clubs (either police or military) and basically use the club grounds for free. Many Ecuadorians I know practice IPSC and Steel Challenge. Many are very good at it. Recently an Ecuadorian won a World Class IPSC match in Australia. There are Pichincha Open IPSC style matches in Quito on a monthly basis. This is all great. What you're not gonna like is ammunition prices. I buy second grade reloads (9mm para, FMJ 124gr) from Santa Barbara ammunition factory at $16.00 per 50. A box of brand new first grade will run you $25.00. A brand name - $35-$40. I don't know, when I was in US, I was buying Blazer non-reloads .40 FMJ for $9.00 a box...
- Shooting is definitely for the upper class here (kind of like golf clubs in the rest of the world), a lot of military and police as well, so the people you'll know and the connections you'll make will serve you in the future one way or another, as Ecuador is all about connections, nothing is done fairly here;
- Currently, there are no carry permits for carrying legally. You can have it in your house, locked and unloaded in the trunk of your car, or on the range. Damn... why I keep saying legally? (Maybe because when you walk your dog, I'd highly recommend you to carry one anyhow...).
- If you have a nice Gerber, Benchmade or Spyderco blade in US, try to find a way to bring it alone, because in Ecuador there is only cheap chinese sh...t, excuse my language.