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Our Canadian friends have plenty of their own ideas and more than a few guns too! :)

Besides the US, they are better armed than most of the world and they do pretty much all the same kinds of shooting sports that we do down here. In a couple of important ways they actually have it better than we do. For example, they can still buy guns by mail, short-barreled long guns that would be NFA here are not treated differently and my favorite: their laws apply the same to visitors as they do to Canadian citizens. I'd much rather live in Canada and deal with their gun laws than those of several eastern US cities and states!

It also makes me very happy that hundreds of thousands and maybe millions of Canadian gun-owners have refused to go along with the long gun registry. Most provincial governments have also openly declared that they will not prosecute people for long gun registry violations! :s0155:

Here's some BC and Canadian gun links worth having a look at:
- http://www.leverarms.com
- http://www.reliablegun.com
- <broken link removed>
- <broken link removed>
- <broken link removed>
 
hi american guys. what emanon says is true. i can order a new handgun from a dealer on the other side of the country and it comes to the post office in about 3 days.
 
Welcome, Sparky. I've got limited familiarity with the rules in the Great White North, but I am envious of what you can own that we cannot, Norinco for example. You guys up there also seem to have a disturbing preoccupation with British Military Surplus. What's with that? :s0114:
 
haha, i never thought about having a lee-enfield 303 as a disturbing preoccupation, but having a room full of them probably is. they are getting harder to find in original condition now and i don't think a lot of the youngsters started out with them like i , and a lot of other hunters did in the 50s and 60s, mostly because they were dirt cheap. i think my first one was something like 18.00. i still like them though. oh yea, i do have a webley pistol in .455 too. oh, no, i doo have a disturbing preoccupation! cheers all
 
Close enough Frog! :) Where did you live up there? Were you a shooter then?

First year in Burnaby, second in the West-end. Kits for a couple of years and the rest in North Van. Born in New Brunswich. Brought up in Aberta. I've lived here in the Portland area for the last 20.

Shooter? Not really, unless you count a couple of days of duck hunting in Alberta, with a borrowed 12 gauge.

Less than a week after I 'got off the boat', I bought a Dan Wesson 357 Mag. The love of shooting has never ended.

You from there too?

Frog.
 
P.A.L. ?

Vancouver and Quebec City are neat places to visit, but living up there sucks!

B.C. and the northern and far southern parts of Ontario has some beautiful country. The rest of Canada has 2 months of bad sledding!

:D
Frog
 
P.A.L. = the Canadian "Possession and Acquisition License" that gun owners there are required to have. It's unfortunate that they are required to have one but happily they are available to everyone, not just Canadians. :)
 
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe this 'Acquisition License', (which is what I've always heard it called) is for hunting rifles only, AND NOT a permit for non-Candians to own or possess a gun in Canada. There is, however a permit that allows non-Canadians to borrow or rent a hunting rifle OR transport an 'approved' rifle/shotgun into the country, to be used ONLY WHILE accompanied with a licensed commercial hunting guide. They even need to meet you at the airport or a Customs pick-up station in order for you to claim your rifle, and continue transporting it.

Also their list of 'Hunting Rifles' is very limited. I believe they only include bolt action types and shotguns.

I'm also told that Canadians can know own a handgun! They first go to the one licensed gun dealer in their city and pick out the gun of their choice. Once that is done, they pay the dealer a deposit and the dealer provides them with a multi-page application form. You take the application form home, fill it out, and mail it. The gun goes into the dealers safe, with your name on it. You are then allowed 'visiting rights' for the next 6-8 months while your application is being considered.

Did I mention the $500 that is sent to Ottawa with your application? Which, by the way, is non-refundable, if your application is refused. I'm told that if, in your past, you got a parking ticket, and didn't record it on your application form, that it could be enough reason to refuse your request!

So, if your Handgun Ownership application is approved, you take the paper work to your gun dealer. He collects the balance of the purchase payment and puts your gun back in his safe. You are now a Handgun Owner in Canada.

Now you need to take the paper work that the dealer gave you to your local R.C.M.P. station. They comfirm that everything is in order and will notify you when you can pick up your Handgun Tranportation Permit. That costs $ 50.00, cash, no check (cheque) or credit/debit card.

A few weeks later, you are called, and told that your Handgun Transportation Permit is ready for you to pick up. It is like a Passport Book and the pages provided are for what is called A to B Permit Stamps.

So for the first stamp, they know where the handgun is (gun dealer), but they need to know where you intend to take it. Home? OK. Home address is wriitten in the blank spot provided. When? OK. The day (date) of transportation is recorded. What time? A two hour window of time is provided, unless you are from 'out of town' and need more time to get home. Then you get your first A to B stamp.

So, now your gun is at home. In order to move it from this location, you must take your transport book back to the R.C.M.P. station and aquire another A to B Transportation Stamp. They can be got within a hour or so and only cost $25.00. This will allow you to move your gun to a firing range, for example, which is where most Canadian handgun owners rent a locker and keep their gun(s).

This A to B Permit must be got every time the gun is moved, with the specific locations (to and from) and done within a specific date and time. I'm also told that being caught moving a handgun without a A to B Permit, will result in a heavy fine, the seizure of your gun, and the cancellation of your Handgun Ownership License.

Sounds like a lot of fun, eh? :(

Frog.
 
Frog,

That's a lot to respond to and as I have not yet done the process myself, I can only restate what I've learned from talking to Canadian's online or reading through government / firearms trainers websites. Those are probably also the best sources of info for you too. Here's the best guide I've found to understanding Canadian gun laws: <broken link removed>

That said, while things are not great up there they also are not so bad as your post could lead one to think. Like in the US, it depends a bit on where you live and generally things are better out west or in rural eastern provinces.

In Canada, the gun laws generally apply the same to Canadians and non-Canadians alike, a big improvement over how things are done in the US, in my opinion. The PAL is now the standard license for virtually all civilians wishing to own guns in Canada, regardless of citizenship and has been for at least 10 years. To get one, it's roughly about the same process as getting a concealed carry permit down here but is required just to own guns there. There are 2 main classes of firearms that most people can legally own and use in Canada: "restricted" and "non-restricted". You can get a PAL for just the non-restricted guns or for both classes. The rules for owning and using each class are a bit different.

As the name implies, once you have a PAL the non-restricted guns have very minimal restrictions. Pump, bolt and lever long guns can have barrels much shorter than are legal here (excluding our NFA guns)and flash suppressor's, pistol grips, folding stocks, etc are good to go for any legal gun regardless of class. There are a good number of non-restricted "evil black guns" available up there. :)

Roughly, the restricted guns include the handguns one can own plus semi-auto's with barrels under 18.5 inches. Restricted guns have more restrictive rules and they do require separate paperwork called an "Authority To Transport" in order to transport them anywhere - even then can only be shot at gun ranges. Happily, you can get an ATC that is good for several years and which include any legal locations (gun ranges, gun stores & gunsmith's, etc) in one or multiple provinces. Again, it is probably helpful to think of the process as being similar to getting a concealed weapons permit in the US.

There is also a simpler, cheaper short-term option for non-canadians bringing in "non-restricted" long guns - you have to give a "legitimate" reason for bringing the guns in but does not require that you are with a Canadian at at all times, etc.

Hope this is helpful and informative. If I've made any mistakes, hopefully a Canadian can correct me! :)
 

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