- National Firearms Association
Transcription
- National Firearms Association
Shooting Guns & Riding Horses page 11 Paul Martin What can we Expect? page 24 Firearms & Young People page 12 Gunproofing Your Child page 22 Teaching the Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Course page 27 Preserving Canada’s Firearms Heritage ©2003, Volume XII Number 12 2003 Edition $2.95 Can $2.95 U.S. Do you have something to say? Would you like to see it in print? The National Firearms Association is having a contest. Write an article for our magazine on one of the topics listed below, and if your article makes the cut, you will receive an NFA merchandise package. E-mailed entries to us should be typed and spell-checked in MS Word or WordPerfect format where possible. Articles should be between 500 and 2500 words in length. Don’t forget to let us know your name and your full postal mailing address, so that if your article is chosen, we can get your merchandise package to you. Any accompanying images will work wonders! If you want your photos returned to you, please include a self-addressed envelope. The Canadian Firearms Journal will accept submissions by e-mail or snail mail: National Firearms Association P.O. Box 52183 Edmonton AB T6G 2T5 or e-mail: [email protected] Topics: Youth and the Shooting Sports. The National Firearms Association is working with its Member Clubs and you to encourage young people to participate in our proud culture and heritage of shooting sports. We want articles from a youth’s perspective, or articles describing what you are doing for youth involvement. Spring Bear Hunt and the Spring Turkey Hunt. Know any funny stories? Remember, you can change the names of people in the story if you want. We also want to hear about the gear you find most helpful in the field, and maybe a warning about the gear you’ve had the most problems with. Fast Draw. We want to hear about the participants in this sport, both in Canada and the United States. Do you know something interesting about the equipment required? Have you been to a Fast Draw Competition? Have you been a Fast Draw competitor? Are you Ready for the Hunting Season? We want to hear about the latest gear, the latest news and the tactics needed to ensure that the 2004 season is the most successful season possible! Museums. Many Canadians are collectors of everything to do with firearms, and some have collections of museum quality. We’d love to hear about any that may be in your neck of the woods. Law Enforcement. Enough said. Write an article involving law enforcement and firearms. Cowboy Action Shooting. We want to hear from the people involved. Let us know about the Cowboy matches you’ve been to, or a shooting school near you where you can learn to be a better shooting competitor. IPSC and IDPA. Are you involved in this exciting sport? We want to hear from you or any Canadian shooter who has excelled in this area. Caring for Firearms. We will be featuring the best methods to clean and care for firearms. If you’ve found a neat trick that has worked well for you over the years, let us know. Ammunition reloading is another topic that will be wrapped in with this one. Women and the Shooting Sports. The National Firearms Association is looking for women who are prominent in the shooting sports. Tell us your story. Additionally, we want to see articles on how shooting clubs are encouraging women to be involved. Shotgun Sports. Are you involved in Sporting Clays, Trap or Skeet, 5 Stand, Upland Game Bird Hunting, or Migratory Game Bird Hunting? Let us know what’s important to you, and some of the interesting aspects of this sport. A. Uberti. ...................... Henry, 45 Long Colt. Brass or Iron Frame. $1295.00 A. Uberti. ....................... Model 1873, 45 Long Colt. $1195.00 Marlin ............................ 336CB, .38/55 $800.00 Remmington. ................. Model 700TI. $1399.00 Remmington. ................. Model 700V3. Fluted Barrel. $900.00 Remmington. ................. Model 700, Sendero. $1090.00 Remmington. ................. 700ADL. $650.00 Pedersoli Rolling Block .45/70 - $1500.00 Tel: (780) 426-4866 Fax: (780) 426-4867 www.shootingcentre.com Phase IV West Edmonton Mall Edmonton, Alberta Canada T5T 4M2 Blaser Bolt-Action Rifle R93 - $3700. 00 Sako V375 H&H - $1795.00 Canadian Firearms Journal K ids! Kids! As you can tell from this month’s cover, we’re featuring youth and shooting sports. Not only do we have an article written by a young gentleman, but we also have a great collection of articles about some of the different things that you will come across when you bring your children, nieces, and nephews into the sport. “Shooting Guns and Riding Horses” is a small article on page 11 written by Sirett Holmes. Sirett is a young black powder enthusiast. He has brought pen to paper to let us know about his passion and the appreciation he has for the people that have made it possible for him. Our President, Jim Hinter, has an interesting tale on page 6 to tell about his encounter with Scout Master Bob and his troop. This month’s legal column is something that you should check out if you’re concerned about the legalities of your child being involved in shooting. On page 14, even our Canadian Firearms Heritage article is about youth and firearms. For those of you wanting to know more about the political aspect of our sport, we have a couple of articles that you will be interested to read. David Tomlinson has provided us with an article about Paul Martin and what we can expect on page 24. As well, we have an great article from Garry Breitkreuz about domestic homicides in regard to the gun registry. As usual, “The Last Word” is a tale the of sort that most hunters can relate to, so check it out on page 29. If you’ve got something to say, and have written about it in an article, or you’ve just got some great photos that you’d like to share with everyone, please contact us. We can’t promise that they’ll end up in the magazine, but we’d love to hear from you! Have a great read! Nicole Greenwald Mission Statement The National Firearms Association is an alliance of Canadians dedicated to preserving our firearms heritage. Along with safe and accountable ownership and use, we strive for practical and cost effective legislation that respects the rights of law-abiding Canadians. The National Firearms Association works to educate Canadians regarding firearm issues. Inside this issue Regulars The President’s Column ..............................................................6 James M. Hinter Vice President’s Column ...........................................................10 W. J. (Wally) Butts Legal Corner ..............................................................................12 David A. Tomlinson Canadian Firearms Heritage ......................................................14 Gary K. Kangas Members’ Letters .........................................................................8 The Last Word ...........................................................................29 W. J. (Wally) Butts On the Cover This month’s cover features some of our promising youth. From left to right in the back: Sarah, Shawna, and Kasha. From left to right in the front: Travis, Richelle, and Michael. Features The Plea-bargaining Trap ............................................................9 David A. Tomlinson Shooting Guns and Riding Horses ............................................11 Sirett Holmes The Young Guns ........................................................................15 Kanada Kidd Caution! Technical data and information contained in this magazine are intended to provide information based upon the limited experience of individuals under specific conditions. They do not detail the comprehensive training, procedures, techniques, and safety precautions that are necessary to properly carry out similar activities. Always consult comprehensive reference manuals before attempting any similar activities. No specific reloading data will be published or provided upon request. The contents of “The Canadian Firearms Journal” are copyrighted and may be reproduced only when written permission is obtained from the publisher. EESA Junior Program................................................................16 John Evers Gunproofing Your Child............................................................22 David A. Tomlinson Paul Martin - What Can We Expect? ........................................24 David A. Tomlinson Domestic Homicides Continue to Rise .....................................26 Garry Breitkreuz Teaching the Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Course ......27 James M. Hinter by James M. Hinter President’s Column S ome people rate the power of their firearms in the bullet weight, still others in the feet per second at which the bullet leaves the muzzle. And some rate it on the amount of “kick” when the firearm is fired. I think there may be other ways to decide what handgun is the most powerful handgun in the world. I think I just might own the most powerful handgun in the world, and for this reason. A few months ago, while I was shooting at the Wild West Shooting Centre, a local Scout troop arrived. The Scouts were there to learn firearms safety. One of the best tools I have found for teaching, especially when serving as a Range Safety Officer, is electronic earmuffs. I can hear far more, and my hearing is very well protected. That night, one of the young Scouts was telling his friends that “cowboy guns are not cool.” I just couldn’t let that one slide. As much as I enjoy shooting all firearms, my favourites are single-action revolvers. I walked over to this young man with a big grin on my face and my Ruger Vaqueros on my hips and asked him, “Why are ‘cowboy guns’ not cool?” He didn’t say much. So I brought him and his target back to the firing line, and gave him a safety talk on how to shoot a single-action revolver. We did some dryfire practice. Then I loaded one cartridge and guided him through shooting my Vaquero. The huge grin on his face told me that his previous thought that “cowboy guns are not cool” was no longer real to him. Five shots later, this young man was in 6 Volume XII Number 12 absolute glory and ecstasy. The entire troop earned their first crest that night in the National Firearms Association’s Shooting Sports Achievement Program. The National Firearms Association also provided each Scout with a copy of our “Shooting Sports Primer for New Shooters.” Each Scout was also granted a National Firearms Association crest, which each is now proudly wearing on his sash. That is part of the reason that I think I own the most powerful handgun in the world. There is more. Last night, months later, I got a call from the Scout Master for the troop. This troop has decided to make firearms safety its troop’s special badge. At the last meeting, when planning the annual salute to those who have made a real impact on the troop, the Scouts wanted “Jim Hinter, the Cowboy Gun Guy” to be one of their honoured guests at their annual breakfast. The impact that I had that evening, and in the following evenings, with those twenty young people has stuck with them for all these months. That is another part of the reason I think I own the most powerful handgun in the world. However, there is even more. Our next step is getting all of these young people through the Canadian Firearms Safety Course. The teaching team at the National Firearms Association has agreed that we will put together a special course for these Scouts, and for a special price. Through the National Firearms Association Learning Centre, we will teach this course to all of the Scouts, and to all the parents who wish to come. The cost will be (at the most) $20.00. I have also promised that if any of the troop cannot afford the cost, we will still James M. Hinter provide the learning experience, we will find some way around the costs. We do not want to leave out one single Scout, or one of their parents. The Scout Master is absolutely thrilled with this offer. It allows the troop an educational opportunity at a price he feels everyone can afford. Imagine, at least twenty new shooters... all Scouts. All will be new ambassadors for the shooting sports. That is another part of the reason I now know I own the most powerful handgun in the world. Yet, there is still more. At an Edmonton area gun club recently, I gave a talk on what the National Firearms Association is doing. In the course of that talk, I asked, “Who is the youngest person in the room?” It was a 38-year-old man. I stated that this room should be full of young people. All of the members present agreed. At the events the club holds their monthly meetings, their gun shows, and their shoots - they need to do more things to encourage more youth participation. Scoutmaster Bob and I have already discussed this, and the troop will be very interested in helping out in this effort. Part of Scouting is community service. The Scouts will help do this as a part of their community service. At an upcoming gun show, the Scouts can help unload items for sale by the vendors, and later load items not sold for the vendors. They can also bring lunches, or Canadian Firearms Journal www.nfa.ca coffee, or other refreshments to the vendors at the shows. guns.” Milarm has donated 1000 rounds of .45 Colt ammunition to the scouts. The club will offer the Scouts access to its shooting range and invitations to the club’s monthly meeting. We will have made a major positive injection of youth into a local club. During this coming summer, I am sure that the scouts are really going to enjoy that very generous donation. That is still only a part of the reason I now know I own the most powerful handgun in the world. There is even more. I spoke to Mr Alan Kerr, who owns the company Milarm here in Edmonton. Milarm in Edmonton has a Military History Museum. It contains all kinds of firearms that Mr Kerr has collected over the years. Mr Kerr has offered to give the Scouts a personal tour of his museum. I had this privilege earlier this year. It is a great opportunity, and I encourage each of you, if you have the opportunity, to visit. Then, to help support the Scouts, Mr Kerr has generously offered to help support their new interest in the shooting sports, and especially in shooting “cowboy The next and last step in this “neverending story” is that because of the efforts of Scoutmaster Bob and I, we are hosting a meeting later this week with the Scouts Canada Coordinator. The reason for the meeting is that this particular Scout troop is growing faster than almost any other Scout troop in Canada. Scoutmaster Bob’s Scout troop is offering new and exciting programs. All of this happened because a young man fired five rounds of .45 Colt from my Ruger Vaquero. I think that is a pretty powerful handgun, don’t you? Historical Arms Society, Alan Kerr of Milarm, Robin Leech and Tom Sherwood of the National Firearms Association Teaching Team, and of course “Scoutmaster Bob,” may encourage a positive attitude that is far more powerful than a .45 Colt revolver. Heck, maybe the most powerful force of all is the Scouts themselves. Regardless of “who” is responsible, the shooting sports need more cooperation like this. We need more new shooters, and more shooters shooting more — that is one of the objectives that the National Firearms Association is working hard to achieve. Here is another example of another win! You win! We win! Or maybe the most powerful factor here is not my Ruger Vaquero, but the positive attitudes, and the efforts of a growing number of people. People such as Ken and Flora Kupsh of the Wild West Shooting Centre, Stan Beaumont, President of the Canadian James M. Hinter National President National Firearms Association I want to help Make It Happen! Here is my contribution to the National Firearms Association to help protect my rights to own and use firearms. Here is my contribution to help... T $100 T $50 T $25 T $________ T My cheque or money order is enclosed T Charge my credit card: Visa/Mastercard: _______________________________________ Anti-freedom Politicians Hate our Bright Green Campaign Signs. N ational Firearms Association billboards reminds voters that the Liberals have broken their promises. Our campaign takes place when voters are paying attention. We plan carefully, and take our "shots" only when Canadians are paying attention. Canadians interested in true liberty and freedom are the people who make it happen! People just like you! www.nfa.ca Expiry: _________________ Name on Card: ________________________________________ Total: ___________________ Name: _______________________________________________ Address: _____________________________________________ City/Town: ___________________ Prov: ___________________ Postal Code: _____________ Ph.:____________________ Fx.:_________________________ E-mail: ______________________________________________ Mail this form to National Firearms Association: Box 52183 Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2T5 Canadian Firearms Journal Volume XII Number 12 7 Members’ Letters My first question is does the grandfathering provision of the law require continuous ownership of a particular prohibited firearm and/or the continuous holding of a particular registration slip for that firearm, or, as I believe, can the grandfathering requirements be met by having continuous ownership and registration of any short-barreled/.25 or .32 cal handgun as long as the ownership/registrations overlap? You are correct. They think of a "grandfathered" gun as the one that you first mentioned to them, but there is no legal basis for that. My second question is, should my records indicate that I am still in possession of any "green slip" registered firearms that have no "plastic card" or "white slip" registrations beside them, what are my options? Re-register them. It is probable that if you go to the Canadian Firearms Centre web page, and sort through it until you get to the status of your registration applications, you will find that they are showing "incomplete" and "in process" as my own do. Another interesting point: I just opened the envelope containing my new PAL, and it is good for nonrestricted and restricted - no mention of prohibited. I will be phoning and bringing this to their attention, but since I do own registered prohibited handguns this license is of little value to me. Right. Do NOT send that bad one back - or you will put yourself in violation of the laws forbidding possession without a licence. Be stubborn about that! David A Tomlinson NFA Legal 8 Volume XII Number 12 Dear Editor, Paul Martin is to revisit the firearms registry. If the Liberal government is really going to revisit their 1 billiondollar boondoggle, then we can expect to see the registry cancelled? However, if after the study the registry is not cancelled, then we will know the "study" was merely smoke and mirrors and was intended, not to save Canadians money and dispose of this totally useless government mistake, but rather to temporarily pacify western Canadian voters.The argument that the registry allows law officers to check if there are guns in the home is ludicrous - all gun owners are already licensed with Possession/Acquisition permits. Surely one can assume from this separate permit that there might be firearms in the home without the expense of a double registry. Government claims that the registry has already saved lives cannot be proven, and all of the examples used by the Firearms Centre to justify its existence would have been possible using only the Possession/Acquisition permit database. Perhaps the firearm registry might be replaced with a much needed sex offender's registry which might keep some of the bureaucrats of the Canada Firearms Centre employed. Yours truly, Jim Lawrence Manager Corporate Affairs & Communications Canadian Outdoor Heritage Alliance I am a soldier currently serving in Afghanistan, and while over here I purchased a deactivated Sten Mk II submachine gun from Canada. All of my mail is forwarded to me from Canada through the military, and of course the Sten was no exception. Shortly my tour will be over, and I'll be heading back to Canada next month with the Sten in my possession. I am worried about the headaches that Customs is going to give me. Do I declare it as a firearm and then try to explain? Or is there a way that I can minimize any complications? Hopefully, I did not purchase this dewat only for it to get taken from me. If you have any thoughts or advice on the situation it would be greatly appreciated. A deactivated firearm is not a "firearm" as defined by Criminal Code section 2. It is merely a chunk of scrap metal. No firearms control law, firearms control regulation, or any other firearms control provision applies to it in any way. It is NOT a "firearm." You may get static from the airline people if they X-ray your baggage, so take a little time to explain what is in your checked baggage, and show it to them if they want to see it. David A Tomlinson NFA Legal Questions / Concerns? Do you have a question? Something you want clarified? Please send us a letter or an email. We would love to hear from you. Letters should be directed to the Editor. Legal and political questions should be directed to the NFA Legal Department. Letters must include the Name, Address and Phone Number of the sender. Please send all questions to the National Firearms Association at: P.O. Box 52183 Edmonton, AB Canada T6G 2T5 email: [email protected] Canadian Firearms Journal www.nfa.ca by David A. Tomlinson The Canadian Firearms Journal The Official Magazine of the National Firearms Association Pleabargaining Trap Published by the National Firearms Association Graphical Editor ................................................creativeeditor@nfa.ca Nicole Greenwald Text Editor..............................................................wordsmith@nfa.ca Robin Leech Planning Coordinator [email protected] Gary Kangas National Executive President - Jim Hinter VP Communication - Wally Butts [email protected] (519) 586-3019 [email protected] Provincial Contacts British Columbia................................................................................... Sheldon Clare (250) 563-2804 [email protected] Alberta .................................................................................................. Randy Coombes (780) 439-1394 [email protected] Saskatchewan........................................................................................ Dan Lupichuk (306) 332-3907 [email protected] Manitoba ............................................................................................... Don Adams (204) 334-6666 [email protected] Ontario .................................................................................................. Bill Rantz (705) 385-2636 [email protected] Quebec .................................................................................................. Phil Simard (514) 365-0685 [email protected] Nova Scotia........................................................................................... Dave Udle (902) 567-3600 New Brunswick .................................................................................... Harland Cook (506) 459-7416 Newfoundland....................................................................................... Cathy Keane (709) 368-3920 Sean Penney (709) 598-2040 [email protected] Publication Sales Agreement 40050578 This is an actual case recently dealt with by the NFA. (Name has been changed.) J oe was charged with illegal storage of his firearms. The Crown offered a plea bargain: if Joe pleads guilty, his firearms will be returned to him. In turn, he will be granted an absolute discharge, so he will not have a criminal record. That was attractive, but Joe called the NFA first. Here is what we told him: 1. The judge cannot return your firearms if you plead guilty. Criminal Code section 491 says that where “it has been determined by a court that...(b) a person has committed an offense that involves...a firearm, a crossbow [or] ammunition...and any such thing has been seized and detained...the thing so seized and detained is forfeited to Her Majesty and shall be disposed of as the Attorney General directs [emphasis added].” 2. Firearms Act section 5 says, “In determining whether a person is eligible to hold a license...the [authority shall have regard to whether the person, within the previous five years, (a) has been convicted or discharged...of... (ii) an offense under [the Firearms Act] or Part III [the firearms sections] of the Criminal Code [emphasis added].” Therefore, this offered plea bargain is not real. A Crown may think he can do it, but CC s. 491 prevents the judge from ordering the return of the firearms. He will lose them. A person who pleads guilty also becomes ineligible for a license. His license will be revoked by the firearms control bureaucrats. They care nothing about what a Crown wanted to do. He will not be eligible to hold a license again until five long years have gone by, and may have to fight a court battle to get one even then. National Firearms Association Box 52183 Edmonton, Alberta Canada T6G 2T5 www.nfa.ca www.nfa.ca Tel: (780) 439-1394 Fax: (780) 439-4091 [email protected] Canadian Firearms Journal Volume XII Number 12 9 by W. J. (Wally) Butts Vice President’s Column Waffling & Obfuscating M Wally J. Butts ost of the readers of this column probably don’t know what the word “obfuscate” means, and that’s the reason that I’ve used it here. Paul Martin is waffling and obfuscating over what to do about the gun registry. “Obfuscate” means to confuse. Thus, someone is obfuscating when he uses language and phrases to explain something in a manner that makes it unintelligible. Martin is on the record as coming down on both sides of the debate. While he says he is committed to the registry, he agrees that the costs can’t continue at the same rate. He says the registry is here to stay, and he voted for the last $58 million additional to support it through 2003. Wake up, Mr. Martin you can’t have it both ways. Additionally, the West hates the scheme, and if Martin wishes to “Win the West,” he won’t do it with the firearms registry still in place. And he shouldn’t bet that the West would support him in the next election, even if the registry were gone. The West just doesn’t trust the Liberals. The Liberals have poured so much political capital into the doomed gun registry scheme that they just can’t drop it. They blindly paid homage to the Coalition for Gun Control’s tortured innuendo and manipulated statistics in formulating this idiotic piece of proposed utopia, all the while not paying any attention to the real target of the gun registry - law-abiding Canadians. 10 Volume XII Number 12 At least the media are now regularly calling for the end of the gun registry. Even newspaper editors and columnists recognize that registering Uncle George’s duck gun in Newfoundland isn’t going to make a dent in the handgun shootings in Toronto and Vancouver. The latest statistics from Toronto show that, although firearms homicides are relatively unchanged over that past several years, shootings in 2003 increased by 51% to 326 incidents. The fact that homicides aren’t up significantly means that paramedics and specialized hospitals, such as Sunnyside, are better able to save the lives of shooting victims. I guess that the reason is that they’re getting lots more practice. In addition, fully 94% of the firearms homicides in Toronto last year were determined to be gang related. That’s really the gist of this column shootings in our large cities, usually with smuggled or stolen handguns, are up dramatically. The justification for this registry by Alan Rock, when he announced the legislation, was that it would lessen the criminal access to firearms and would reduce crime. Duh! Yeah! Right! The public vision of gun violence is what shows up on the news every night. The public doesn’t give a damn about Uncle George’s duck gun. The public now realizes that registering Uncle George’s duck gun (and registering Uncle George, too, for that matter) is not the issue. Toronto’s Police Chief Julian Fantino said it best by saying that the gun registry has been useless in helping us to solve any homicides in Toronto, and that the money wasted could have put real police on the street to help solve the gun problem. The National Firearms Association has said all along that the opposite would be true, and as usual, we were right. We were right on the costs as well. Additional billions will have to be spent to keep the registry on life support, and to enforce registry violations by otherwise lawabiding Canadian firearms owners. Mr. Martin! Please wake up and smell the coffee. Scrap the long gun registry. If you really want to use the infrastructure and rescue some of the wasted money, change it over to a sex offender registry, or one to track the criminals who are forbidden to have guns. That probably would have to include all of the gang members in Toronto with illegal handguns, too. Wendy Cukier has obfuscated the issue by saying that if the gun registry saves just one life, it is worth all the money spent. What we really should be considering and asking is this: “How many dozens of lives could have been saved if this money had been spent by police for enforcement work?” Canadian Firearms Journal www.nfa.ca by Sirett Holmes Shooting Guns & Riding Horses M y name is Sirett Holmes. I am 15 years old, and I like shooting guns and riding horses. My father was a man of many talents, one of which was shooting black powder muskets. From an early age I was introduced to firearms and taught how to use them. With my father I attended many a black powder rendezvous. On these occasions my father taught me to use flint and steel and how to camp. With his untimely passing a year ago, guns left my thoughts, and my focus was redirected to art - where it had always been, but was now even more so. Art was another one of my father’s talents and definitely his most developed one. His imagination and creativity were awe-inspiring. To my surprise, about eight months after my father’s passing, a man named Gary Kangas contacted my mother. Gary had been one of my father’s best friends in his early www.nfa.ca life. Upon the conclusion of our meeting, I asked if I could visit and shoot with Gary. He agreed. So since then I have ridden horses again, shot guns, performed in street theatre, and competed in Cowboy Action shooting competitions among other things. Before I took part in any of this, however, I was taught the proper procedure and safety of firearms and how to properly deport myself while using firearms. My skills in horsemanship have been broadened and refined. The individuals I have become acquainted with through riding and shooting have shared their knowledge and expertise willingly. Though I am only 15 years old, the men and women with whom I have become acquainted are furthering my education and treating me as a peer. Canadian Firearms Journal Volume XII Number 12 11 by David A. Tomlinson LEGAL CORNER David A. Tomlinson Firearms & Young People T he law provides for two classes of licence available to young people under 18. 1. Firearms Act section (FA s.) 8(2) says that a 0 to 18-year-old person who “hunts or traps as a way of life is eligible to hold a licence if the individual needs to hunt or trap in order to sustain himself or herself or his or her family.” 2. FA s. 8(3) says that a 12 to 18-year-old shooter “is eligible to hold a licence authorizing the individual to possess, in accordance with the conditions attached to the licence, a firearm for the purpose of target practice, hunting or instruction in the use of firearms or for the purpose of taking part in an organized competition.” No, it is not. In FA s. 33, we find this: 33. A person may lend a firearm only if: (a) the person (i) has reasonable grounds to believe that the borrower holds a licence authorizing the borrower to possess that kind of firearm, and (ii) lends the borrower the registration certificate for the firearm.... Next, in CC s. 84(4), we find this: 84. (4) For the purposes of this Part, a person is the holder of... Then FA s. 8(4) limits those licences to possession of non-restricted firearms only, and says that a person with either of these types of licences is not authorized to acquire firearms or crossbows. That provision is tricky, as we shall see below. (b) a registration certificate for a firearm if... Criminal Code section (CC s.) 91 and CC s. 92 say that the young person (by which I mean a person under 18 years old, but also at least 12 years old) cannot legally be in possession of a firearm unless he or she “is the holder of” both a licence covering that class of firearm, and a firearms registration certificate for that firearm. Those sections are the same for everyone. Therefore, if the young person has a licence, either of the type specified in FA s. 8(2) or of the type specified in FA s. 8(3), you can lend that young person a non-restricted firearm — provided that you also lend him or her the registration certificate for that firearm. Once you have done that, then the young person is “the holder of a licence under which (he or she) may possess it” and is “the holder of...a registration certificate for the firearm” as required in CC s. 91 and 92. So, how does the young person come to have possession of a firearm? His or her licence is a 12 possession-only licence, so he or she cannot buy or be given a firearm. Is this a Catch-22 situation? Volume XII Number 12 (iii) the person possesses the registration certificate with the permission of its lawful holder. This is an interesting exception to the idea that a person with a “possessiononly” licence cannot buy or be given a firearm, or acquire it in some other way. Apparently, the law has no objection to a person — even a young person — with a “possession-only” licence temporarily acquiring a firearm by borrowing it. This is a case where, in law, “the specific overrides the general.” The concept that a person with a “possession-only” licence cannot acquire a firearm by someone lending it to him or her is in error. While CC s. 101 states that it is an offence to transfer a firearm to a person “otherwise than under the authority of the Firearms Act,” FA s. 33 specifically permits the lending of a firearm to a person with a “possession-only” licence. That is then backed up by CC s. 84(4)(b)(ii), which recognizes that a person who has borrowed a firearm and borrowed the registration certificate for that firearm is now the “holder” of that registration certificate. Canadian Firearms Journal www.nfa.ca As the “holder” of both a licence to “possess” non-restricted firearms and a registration certificate for the borrowed firearm, the young person cannot be successfully prosecuted for illegal possession by way of CC s. 91 or 92. Is there any other way for a young person to possess a firearm? Yes, there is. A young person can legally acquire and possess an “antique firearm” because the law does not require a licence to acquire or possess an “antique firearm” or a registration certificate for an “antique firearm.” “Antique firearms” come under an exemption to the Firearms Act granted by CC s. 84(3)(a), which says: *84. (3) For the purposes of sections 91 to 95, 99 to 101, 103 to 107 and 117.03 of this Act and [for] the provisions of the Firearms Act, the following weapons are deemed not to be firearms: (a) any antique firearm... So: An “antique firearm” can be transferred to a person who holds no licence of any kind, including a young person. “Antique firearms” include rifles without magazines that were manufactured before 1898 and which have bore diameters over 8.3mm/.327 inches. Such a rifle may well be an old rifle or an old shotgun, made before 1898, that has been converted by a gunsmith into a single-barrel or double-barrel rifle in, say, .44-40, .45 Long Colt, or .444 Marlin. All flintlock rifles and shotguns are “antique firearms” — even if they were made last week. Unfortunately, the question of whether or not all caplock rifles and shotguns are “antique firearms” is still open to dispute, and the government is still claiming that such a firearm is not an “antique firearm” if the particular firearm was manufactured after 31 Dec 1897. The NFA is waiting for that question to come up in criminal court, because the NFA has very interesting arguments to make. It is just difficult to get such a case in front of a judge. There are advantages to starting a young person out with a flintlock. It is slow to reload, so unless the firearm is one of the rare double-barreled flintlocks, it teaches the student to be very careful with his one lonely, shot. There are unusual complications built into the laws that control possession of a firearm by a young person, and some of them are very technical. For example, note that the part of a firearm which is the “firearm,” as define by CC s. 2, is the “frame or receiver.” Therefore, any firearm built up from a pre-1898 “frame or receiver” is an “antique firearm” — if it falls within the other rules. That can produce some rather startling “antiques” — that use modern, easily available cartridges. The question of what is, and what is not, an “antique firearm” is too complex to deal with here. Write to NFA, Box 52183, Edmonton, AB T6G 2T5, and ask for a copy of “Antique Firearms.” A small donation to cover the costs will be gratefully accepted. Show your support by carrying a National Firearms Association MasterCard Get the card that gives you more choice. • A low 5.9% introductory interest rate. • 100 Bonus AIR MILES® reward miles. • Support of firearms education and training of youth. Get all this and more. Apply today. If you would like an application, please contact the National Office by phone at (780) 439-1394, or by fax at (780) 439-4091, or by e-mail at [email protected]. www.nfa.ca Canadian Firearms Journal Volume XII Number 12 13 13 by Gary K. Kangas, SASS #223, Life Member, Regulator Canadian Firearms Heritage Youth & Firearms C hildren and young teenagers are fascinated by firearms. At any firearms event young people ask, “How do they work?” “Is it hard to shoot?” “May I try it?” I have watched as parents, grandparents, and adult extended family members are amazed at how youth responds to proper firearms instruction. When firearms are demystified and demediafied, young and old discover how much skill it requires to use firearms properly. Training is the pivot to safe and prudent firearms use. I know of one gun club that has put on youth programs for over 50 years. The participants in this program are dedicated hunters, competitive shooters, and renowned collectors. Some have gone on to instruct the young themselves. Gary K. Kangas If youth are taught proper firearm safety skills, and sanctioned shooting techniques, they become safe firearms users. I congratulate those who instruct firearms courses, hunter training, and practical firearms handling, for they are instrumental in preserving our Canadian firearms heritage. Gary K. Kangas It All Adds Up! Many of our Members contribute monthly to the NFA. Their individual donations range from $5 to $50 per month. Gary Kangas is a long-time member of the National Firearms Association and a lifetime firearm owner. Gary has owned firearms since age six when his mother bought his first handgun. He is retired and devotes his time to writing articles on firearms and history for Guns & Ammo, Trails End, The Cowboy Chronicles and others. Gary produces Wild West shows, does consulting, and rents firearms and props for movies, TV and theatre. He is an active competitor in Cowboy Action Shooting as well as a founder of the Western Canadian Frontier Shootists Society and mounted shooting. Gary and his wife Sybil live on a rural acreage with two horses, two cats, a dog, and a peacock. 14 Volume XII Number 12 If you would like to join this special group of contributors - just ask! Call us at (780) 439-1394. On behalf of Canada’s National Firearms Association... Canadian Firearms Journal Thank You! www.nfa.ca by Kanada Kidd The Young Guns I know some kids who are really good kids. They don’t drink or smoke. They don’t listen to Marilyn Manson, or throw bottles at police cars. They study hard at school and work vigorously at everything they do. I want to introduce them to you because they have risen, in a very short time, to the top of the competitive shooting sports. They have broken away from the pack, and have set their lives on an amazing course. They are the cream of the crop in the shooting world, and they continue to be excellent role models, not only for the other kids, but for us parents as well. The hard work and dedication they contribute to their training is awe-inspiring and remarkable. Lead Dispencer (left) and Kanada Boy (right) at Gunfight Behind the Jersey Lilly. Let’s begin with Cowboy Action Shooting, as it is one of the largest shooting sports in the world today. The World Championships of the Single Action Shooting Society has over 700 competitors. There are over 25,000 spectators at this event, and it attracts all the top guns. The US National Championships (Winter Range) are almost the same size. This year, both matches were won by an eighteen-year-old, Lead Dispenser. I’m not talking about a junior category, he won Top Overall! When you see this California student shoot a lever-action rifle, you won’t believe your eyes. It’s not uncommon for him to shoot ten targets in less than three seconds! Most often, Lead Dispenser shoots with his father, Swifty Swede. Swifty is no slouch either. Dispenser has won all kinds of titles and competitions, and is an inspiration to all the juniors in the sport. Last week he once again won the US Nationals, with a field of almost seven hundred shooters. There is also a young lady in Cowboy Action Shooting who has taken the shooting world by storm. Holy Terror is the granddaughter of a former National and World overall champion, Evil Roy. At fifteen years of age, she is already the top lady in both the World and National Championships, and with a ninth place overall finish at the Continued on page 18 www.nfa.ca Canadian Firearms Journal Volume XII Number 12 15 by John Evers EESA Junior Program G reetings! My name is John Evers. I am currently a director at the East Elgin Sportsmen’s Association in Aylmer. We are extremely proud of our Junior program on many levels. On the surface our success can be measured by the great quantity of medals that our kids have won over the years. We are the home club of both Ontario and Canadian medallist in Winter and Summer games. However, I feel that the sense of maturity and the “can do” attitude engendered is our greatest success. Many parents have commented about positive changes they have seen in their children as a result of our program. Here are the basics. The youngest age for starting is 8 years; however, that really is at the discretion of our Junior Chair and Range Master. Ten or older is best in our view. No experience with firearms is required. Actually it’s almost better if they have none, so we will not have to train out any bad habits. The rifle portion of our program runs from the first Friday in the New Year until the first Friday in May. Shooting starts around 6 p.m., with registration starting no later than 5:30 p.m. We run on a “first come, first served” basis. Registration for the first shoot ends at 6:30 p.m., or when we have the first 35 shooters signed up. Persons arriving later than 6:30 are welcome to stay for our second session. The second session follows the first group and normally starts at 8:30 - 9:00 p.m. Generally, the later session is populated by some of the older kids who take things a little more seriously and are shooting what we call 3-P or 3-position (prone, standing, and kneeling). The late session runs till the kids are finished. At times this can run a little late for the younger kids. The total cost of an evening of training (1 session) is $6. This covers all your needs for the evening, including firearm, ammunition (up to 50 rounds), eye and ear protection, and targets. There is no need to show up for every evening, nor do participants need to be the children of members. We do offer a “junior membership” to the members of our Junior Program for $10. Junior membership is required after three visits to the program, and a $1 surcharge is levied for non-members in this period. These kinds of memberships and fees are mandated by our insurance carrier. A full canteen is available. It is run by a few of the mothers (my wife among them), providing hamburgers, hotdogs, fries, and snacks. A pop machine is available for drinks. All new shooters are put though a introduction to shooting that includes a safety “walk-through” to cover the routine of the evening. Naturally, safety is stressed, and then stressed again. Safety is our number one priority; however, having a fun time and learning are neck-and-neck for second place. Over the evening each shooter will shoot (on very busy nights) between 30 and 50 rounds at targets in groups of 10 shots. We do not refund for any unused ammunition on “short nights,” nor do we charge for extras on bonus nights (when there are fewer shooters). Regardless, we feel it is a good deal. 16 Volume XII Number 12 Participants are eligible to earn various merit badges for proving their skills. These follow the Shooting Federation of Canada’s Marksmanship program. Shooters advance though various badge levels from Prone Bronze (10 targets with a score of 80 or more), to Grand Master (20 targets scoring 100 in each position). It really helps to keep the kids motivated. 3-Position shooting is allowed (at the discretion of senior coaches) after a shooter has progressed beyond the Gold level in Prone. At this point they are eligible to participate with our Junior competitive team and compete at various matches across Ontario (and Canada for that matter). In last year’s Canada Winter Games, the entire Ontario Girls team were EESA members. At the last Ontario Summer Games EESA fielded two complete teams, one garnering the Gold medal and the other (nearly all beginners) came in an astonishing fourth place! We have started, and now have running, an air rifle program. It shows promise of growth in the future. The Junior program also has a very strong archery component, which runs from May till the end of September (when air rifle starts). So we can provide a full year’s training in the various shooting sports. Should you wish to pay a visit to EESA, I would be pleased to meet you and take you and your child out for a tour. I have a 10-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter who have been shooting in the program for the past five years, and who can give a child’s perspective. Canadian Firearms Journal www.nfa.ca Firearms Training Courses The Canadian Firearms Safety Course and Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Course: More New Shooters, More Shooters Shooting More. This is one of the National Firearms Association's goals. Our objective is to bring thousands of new shooters into our proud Canadian firearms heritage. For a new shooter today, getting into shooting, the first stop is the Canadian Firearms Safety Course and the Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Course. A new shooter must either pass these courses or successfully challenge the exams in order to apply for a firearm license. The National Firearms Association salutes all of the instructors who teach the Canadian Firearms Safety Course, and Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Course. Those instructors are often the "frontline" representatives for the firearm community in their area. The National Firearms Association is offering the Canadian Firearms Safety course in our Edmonton Learning Centre. If you or someone you know would like to take the course, please call us at (780) 439-1394. The Young Guns by Kanada Kidd 18 Holy Terror is Cowboy Action Shootings Top Lady. Alanna Blin, Fast Draw Champion from Alberta. Continued from page 18 2003 Nationals. This is out of over 600 shooters! She is so dedicated that when not doing schoolwork, she is either out shooting, or teaching classes with her grandparents. I think I could safely say that the Evil Roy Shooting School is the biggest and most respected course in Cowboy Action Shooting. Holy Terror is an essential factor in the school. At the 2004 Nationals there is a man vs man shoot off, which is an event held after the main match to determine the Top Gun. This year’s winner was none other that Holy Terror! At eighteen years old, Alanna Blinn set another World Fast Draw record. She is the only lady ever to draw and shoot a balloon in .268 of a second! Of course, this Canadian girl from Calgary has set other records as well. She has made many TV appearances and is an excellent ambassador for the shooting sports. We are going to hear a lot more from her. Eric Grauffel (left) and Kanada Kidd (right) at USPSA Nationals. Eric Graueffel is twenty-four years old now, but he already has two IPSC World Championships under his belt! The IPSC Championships, unlike other sports, are held once in three years, so he was under 20 the first time. Eric is from France and travels the world shooting and teaching. In October 2003, he once again showed his skill and dexterity when he won the US Open IPSC Nationals! Once again, the best IPSC shooters in the world could not conquer this young man. The World Speedshooting Championships are held every August just north of Los Angeles, California. It’s better known as The Steel Challenge. This is a real pressure match, and is the most intense mental match of them all. You know exactly what you have to do and how fast you have to do it. There is also over a quarter million dollars in cash and prizes at stake. The excitement and concentration make this my favorite shoot of the year. Now you would think that perhaps a mental match like this would be a sure victory for the professional shooter. Nope, not this time. Fifteen-year-old KC Eusebio is the World Speedshooting Champion! KC had a horrible run on one of the stages called Outer Limits, but was so far ahead that it didn’t affect his finish. 15-year-old KC Eusebio wins 2003 Steel Challenge. You can subscribe to a free occasional newsletter from Kanada Kidd at www.kanadakidd.com Volume XII Number 12 I think it’s absolutely wonderful to have our youth so involved in competitive shooting and enjoying themselves so immensely. I salute not only the above-named shooters, but also all of our juniors. I hope each and every one of you has all the enjoyment and pleasure that I have had in shooting over the years. You guys are awesome! Canadian Firearms Journal www.nfa.ca Lyman Products Do you have one of the new .17 calibre rifles? If you do, you need a special cleaning kit. The Kleen Bore cleaning kit is a kit that will come in handy. It is available for all calipers including the new .17. Firearm owners are building their libraries. Make sure yours has the latest Lyman reloading manuals, including the Cast Bullet Handbook and Shotshell Reloading Handbook. Visit your local Lyman dealer. Dillon 650XL Reloading Press This reloading press features the following: automatic indexing; a 5-station interchangeable tool head; auto powder/priming systems; the use of standard 7/8" x 14 dies; a great loading rate of 800-1000rds/h, and a lifetime "No B.S." warranty. Dillon states that: "Shooting a .45 ACP would save $699 in 885 rounds, which is the purchase price of a Dillon XL 650 basic machine. A .223 would take 985, and a .38 Special would take 1367 rounds to reach the break-even point." That is the amortization value. www.nfa.ca Snap - Caps Do you do dry fire practice? Snap Caps protect your firing pin and you. These "Dummy rounds" are identical to live ammunition in size and weight, but you will never mistake them for live rounds. They are durable and dependable. What more could you ask for? Canadian Firearms Journal Volume XII Number 12 19 00 For Only $200. a Year You’re Business Card Could Appear Here! ed? 394 rest ) 439-1 e t In 80 at us t (7 .ca us a e-mail @nfa l l Ca or s-card s ine bus What would be the effect on your business if you printed your card in the National Firearms Association's monthly magazine? Its like giving out 3,000,000 business cards every year. ? sted 39-1394 re Inte )4 780 us at .ca ( t a il fa l us -ma @n Cal or e -card ss ine bus by David A. Tomlinson Gunproofing Your Child M ary told me, “I’ve dealt with gun safety for my children. There are no guns in my house. I won’t allow my children to have toy guns, or watch movies with violence”. I turned to her six-year-old and asked “Susie, how do you shoot a gun?” Susie snapped her hands into a two-handed hold, squinted down an imaginary barrel, and worked her index finger. Bang! Bang! Bang! Here is a tragedy in the making. Mary’s children already know enough about guns to hurt themselves and others. Mary’s child, and yours too, already knows how to load, aim, and fire a gun. They may not be very skilled at it, but they have seen it done hundreds of times.You can’t protect your child by allowing television, video games, and the media to do all the training. The results are worse than ignorance, and even ignorance can hurt or kill children. Here is how to protect your child if you are a firearm owner... Preparation and Materials: Gather up several firearms of various types and one cartridge for each. One firearm, preferable a handgun, should be .22 rimfire, with a detachable magazine. You will need two identical bars of soap. Prepare one of them by shooting a .22 rimfire high-velocity hollowpoint bullet through the middle of the bar. In training, bring out only one item at a time. Do not distract your child. Introduction: Tell your child that you are going to teach them about. Impress on him or her that this is very serious and that you are doing it now because he or she are smart enough and grown-up enough to learn about firearms. The rules come first. Before any firearm or cartridge is within sight. Tell your child, very seriously: 1) Loaded guns can hurt people, hurt them the way you hurt yourself when you cut your finger...(fall off your bike, etc.). 2) Every gun is loaded and dangerous until you have proven that it is empty. Never believe anyone - not even me who says that a gun is empty, until you prove it by looking for yourself. bullet from this cartridge can fly from our front door to [somewhere your child knows about, about 1.5 km away]. Even a tiny, weak cartridge like this one can make the bullet go a very long way. 3) Never point a gun where it can hurt someone if it goes off. It is very rude to point a gun at anyone, and possibly dangerous. Hand your child the unmarked bar of soap. Let him or her feel how hard and strong the bar of soap is. Then get him or her to feel how soft his or her leg is. Give your child the second bar of soap, the one you shot the .22 bullet through. Explain that this bar of soap was shot by this tiny .22 cartridge, and this is the hole the bullet made. If you were shot by this .22 cartridge, it would make a hole this big in your leg. Do not substitute the soap for anything more impressive, because that can lessen the desired effect. 4) Never touch any gun without the permission of a safe adult. A safe adult is a person who opens the gun, looks inside, and then shows you that it is not loaded - before he or she does anything else with the gun. Anyone who does not do that is dangerous. Danger Training: Children have no concept of death. They literally cannot understand the meaning of the word “kill,” so don’t use that word, or related words. It weakens your training if you use words your child does not understand. Show your child the .22 rimfire cartridge. Explain that this is what makes a gun work. It’s called a cartridge. This is the smallest, weakest cartridge for the smallest, weakest guns. When the gun shoots, the bullet flies away; and the empty cartridge case stays in the gun. The Bring out the .22 rimfire gun, pointing it in a safe direction. Explain that the reason you are pointing it in a safe direction is so no one will be hurt if it goes off. If possible, remove the magazine and show your child that there are no cartridges in it; then put it back in the gun. All the cartridges, except one, have to be in the magazine. Checking the magazine tells us there can be only one cartridge in the gun at the most. Now show the chid the inside to see if there is one cartridge in the chamber of the gun. Show your child where the cartridges fit in the chamber and in the magazine. Explain that if there were a cartridge in Please note: this is only a summary of Gunproofing Your Child. The complete article is in a pamphlet that the NFA has containing information on introducing you children to shooting and the shooting sports. If you would like a copy please send us your contact information. A donation would be appreciated to help cover the cost of providing this information so that we can continue to provide material like this to those who need it. Please see the ad on the following page for information on how you can get a copy of this brochure. 22 Volume XII Number 12 Canadian Firearms Journal www.nfa.ca either the magazine or the chamber, the gun could make a hole in someone’s leg. Put the gun down, pointed in a safe direction. To shoot this gun, you must put cartridges in the magazine, then move one cartridge into the chamber, then move the trigger to shoot it at a target. Do not go into elaborate detail about how to load and shoot the firearm. Then if the child is capable, have him or her go through the process to prove that it is empty and safe. If your child does well, say so and thank him or her for paying such close attention. If your child does poorly, do not get angry. Explain patiently was wrong. Then try again. If your child cannot do it, it is your fault. You overestimated your childs ability at this age, so drop it after a few words of praise for trying. Try again later at an older age. End the lesson by putting the guns away, letting your child help by carrying one of the guns to your storage area. Explain where you keep your guns and where you keep the ammunition (they know anyway). Show how you lock them up, 6) Be sure of your target and what’s beyond it. 7) Don’t mix alcohol or drugs with firearms. 8) Know how to safely use the firearm you are shooting. Trained people are safe with firearms, but not everyone is trained. Never believe anyone who tells you they know about firearms unless the first thing they do is point the gun in a safe direction. Then prove to you that the gun is safe the same way as I showed you today. Firearms Away from Home: 1) If you are visiting a friend and your friend brings out a firearm belonging to his parents, you have to do what you can to be safe. Do not yell at your friend. He might get angry or try to prove the gun is safe by pulling the trigger! The best thing you can do is to stop anyone from handling it, ask that it be put away. Then leave at once and come home. Tell us (your parents) what happened. 2) I would like a copy of Gunproofing your Child! The New Rules I have enclosed my contact information so that one can be sent to me. 1) Don’t ever touch the guns or ammunition unless you have the a parent with you and you have asked permission. Here is my contribution to the National Firearms Association to help ensure that publications like this one will remain available to those who need them... 2) You are allowed to touch the guns and the ammunition and to shoot them under our supervision. You are being trained so that you know how to do things safely, but your friends are not so they are not allowed, ever, to touch either the guns or the ammunition. When using any firearm, always follow these NFA rules: 1) Always treat every firearm as if it were loaded. 2) Always keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction. 3) Always keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot. 4) Keep the action of the firearm open except when actually shooting or storing the firearm. 5) Use only the right ammunition for your firearm. www.nfa.ca T $100 T $50 T $25 T $______________ T My cheque or money order is enclosed. T Charge my credit card. Visa/Mastercard: _________________________________________________ Expiry: _____________________________ Name on Card:___________________________________________________ Total:_______________________________ Name:__________________________________________________________ Address: ________________________________________________________ City/Town: _____________________ Prov: ___________________________ Postal Code: _________________________ Ph.: ____________________________ Fx.: ___________________________ E-mail: _________________________________________________________ Mail this form to National Firearms Association: Box 52183 Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2T5 Canadian Firearms Journal Volume XII Number 12 23 by David A. Tomlinson Paul Martin - What can we Expect? I n predicting what Prime Minister Paul Martin, will do for the firearms community, it is advisable to look at his associations and his track record. Mr Martin was Minister of Finance during the development of the C-68 Titanic billion-dollar boondoggle. It was his sworn duty, and his responsibility, to monitor what Parliament was doing with your tax dollars. Normally, a Minister tells Parliament how much money he expects to spend on a major program early in the year. His statement to Parliament forms part of the “Estimates,” and Parliament is supposed to debate the “Estimates” before approving the money. In fact, the party in power has absolute control over the authorizing of spending because it has a majority, and back-bench MPs are not allowed to vote against the Prime Minister’s wishes. So — Parliament authorizes a Minister is to spend your money (tax dollars) on a program — for a year. The amount of money authorized is supposed to be the amount of money the Minister reasonably expects to spend in that year. More than occasionally, a Minister overspends. Late in the year, to cover the overspending, the Minister presents “Supplementary Estimates” — a request for more money (tax dollars), and the party majority votes to authorize him to spend that extra money. Because “Supplementary Estimates” are supposed 24 to cover minor cost overruns, no one pays much attention to them. They are usually passed without being closely examined. At least, that’s how it is supposed to work. The firearms control program, starting in 1998, worked quite differently. In the “Estimates,” the Minister of Justice asked for a small amount of money. Throughout the year, the Minister answered all questions about the cost of the firearms control program by pointing proudly to the small amounts of money that showed — in the “Estimates.” Later in the year, he asked for a huge amount of money in the “Supplementary Estimates.” Because no one looked closely at the “routine” small overspending amounts in the “Supplementary Estimates,” they were passed without anyone noticing what the Minister was doing. True, the other MPs should have been more careful — but they trusted Paul Martin, and they did not notice how the firearms control program was going out of control. By the time the other MPs and the Auditor General noticed this, the firearms control program (which was supposed to cost $2 million tax dollars) had cost the best part of $1 billion tax dollars. Certainly, some one should have noticed much earlier. Who? Obviously it should be the Minister of Finance. It is his responsibility to monitor the ebb and flow of tax dollars, Volume XII Number 12 Canadian Firearms Journal and to know when a Minister is playing fast and loose with the rules for handling your tax dollars. He could not have been fooled by the simple gambit of hiding most of the cost in the “Supplementary Estimates” — because his department had to make out the cheques that paid for all those cost overruns. Either he was intimately involved in the whole sorry mess, or his bureaucrats did a magnificent job of hiding all the information from him — which is highly unlikely. After he left his position as Minister of Finance, he was in a perfect position to do something, or at least say something, about the firearms control boondoggle. So — what did he actually do? What did he say? He was silent on firearms control, probably because he was deeply involved in not reporting the cost overruns to Parliament. He gave no explanation for his failure to report the strange actions of the Ministers of Justice. He gave no explanation why he, as Minister of Finance, failed to take action in this www.nfa.ca highly irregular area. In the latest ploy of the firearms control bureaucrats, their new boss, Solicitor General Wayne Easter, had to ask for an additional $57 million to pay the latest overruns of the firearms control program. By this time, many back-bench MPs were unhappy about how the billiondollar boondoggle had been sneaked past them. They knew that it was going to cost them precious votes in the next federal election. Even Liberal MPs were up in arms about it. A fair number of Liberal backbenchers (our Ottawa sources say 41 of them) banded together, intending to vote against authorizing the spending of those extra funds. They, and the Opposition MPs, just might have been able to keep that latest $57 million in tax dollars out of the hands of the firearms control bureaucrats, who have been shoveling tax dollars into their “black hole” for the last few years. Alas, it was not to be. Enter Paul Martin and his merry assistants. The assistants fanned out to talk to the dissident Liberal MPs, and apparently told them to vote in favor of handing over another $57 million — apparently on pain of the severe displeasure of Paul Martin, who was about to become their Leader. As usual with Liberal MPs, they voted as directed. Liberal MPs seem to have certain sheep-like characteristics. Another $57 million down the black hole. Paul Martin has been an absentee MP ever since he lost his job as Minister of Finance. He was absent for almost every vote held, regardless of how important it was. his seat. He voted to shovel another $57 million of your tax dollars into that useless black hole. He is, apparently, committed to this boondoggle. Now, when looking at that track record, do you really see Paul Martin doing anything about firearms control law? In my opinion, he will continue with this useless firearms control program, mainly because it would hurt the Party to admit that it has wasted a billion in tax dollars on a badly designed and largely useless program. Paul is not likely to hurt his own Party, and this billion-dollar boondoggle is Party policy. I do not believe he will scrap it. While most Canadians now realize that the firearms control system is costly and useless, Paul Martin apparently still thinks that Toronto voters believe it is working. Daily Toronto news items about violent crimes are swiftly eroding that belief, but he apparently still thinks he can gain votes in that key city by supporting firearms control — even if it doesn’t work. It really is too bad that none of the Liberal MPs — including, apparently, Paul Martin — are willing to give up on the idea that licencing Uncle George (out in East Elbow, Saskatchewan) and registering Uncle George’s duck gun will somehow cut down on the number of murders in Toronto. ...Yes? Have you Visited the NFA Website? § The new National Firearms Association Website is now fully operational on the new hosting service. www.nfa.ca § Since the registration deadline Canadians have been voting their opinion of firearm registration by visiting www.nfa.ca § The NFA website averages approximately 10,000 hits per day which will translate to over 3.6 million hits in the next year. The firearms in the hands of the vicious criminal gangs that are now making Toronto into a hell-hole were, mainly, smuggled into Canada. They are being carried by criminals who have no firearms licences, no registration certificates, and no authorizations to carry. Nevertheless, they are carrying. They are committing violent crimes, up to and including murder. And our firearms control system is utterly unable to touch them, because these guns are not in its data base. Paul Martin apparently thinks that is just fine. Not this vote! I don’t. When the latest $57 million was authorized, Paul Martin was there in Do you? www.nfa.ca Are you on the Internet?... Canadian Firearms Journal Visit www.NFA.ca & find out what other gun owners already know. Volume XII Number 12 25 by Garry Breitkreuz Domestic Homicides Continue to Rise Despite Billion-Dollar Gun Registry • 31% were murdered with handguns that the government has been trying to register since 1934. • 17% were murdered with a registered firearm. • 4% were murdered with a completely prohibited sawed-off rifle or shotgun. • 27% of the murder suspects held a valid firearms license. • Domestic murders with registered firearms more than doubled in the last year. • Murder suspects holding a federal firearms license more than doubled in the last three years. “H Gary Breitkreuz, MP ow many lives could have been saved if the Liberals had spent this money addressing the root causes of domestic violence?” asked Breitkreuz Ottawa – Today, Garry Breitkreuz, Official Opposition Critic for Firearms and Property Rights, released another Statistics Canada report that drives another nail in the gun registry’s coffin. “The Liberal government’s own reports show that family homicides have increased by 28% in the last three years, and spousal homicides have increased by 19%. Since 2000, twenty-one per cent (103) of the 496 victims of domestic homicides were murdered with firearms. While the sample is admittedly very small, the number of domestic homicides with registered guns more than doubled in the last year.” See Statistics Canada tables attached – Note 1. “In 1995, Justice Minister Allan Rock promised Parliament: ‘Registration will assist us to deal with the scourge of domestic violence’, but these new domestic homicide reports prove Mr. Rock was wrong yet again,” said Breitkreuz. Statistics Canada reports that of the 103 (21%) domestic violence victims murdered with firearms during this threeyear period: 26 Volume XII Number 12 “This report is only one in a series of statistical set-backs for the Liberal’s billion-dollar gun registry”, commented Breitkreuz. Earlier this year, reports showed the number of suicides increased annually by 480 between 1991 and 1999. Last month, Statistics Canada’s homicide report showed that, despite the spending of a billion dollars on the gun registry, murders were on the rise and that 66% of homicides were committed with handguns that were all supposed to be registered. But after 70 years of mandatory handgun registration, three out of four recovered handguns were not registered – proving once again that gun registration is a very expensive and a totally useless way to try and control the criminal use of guns,” declared Breitkreuz. See Note 2. “The government’s own statistics show that 79% of domestic homicides didn’t involve firearms and further, that registering their guns and licensing the murderers doesn’t do a thing to stop them. Canadians can only wonder how many lives would have been saved if the Liberals had spent a billion dollars addressing the root causes of domestic violence,” concluded Breitkreuz. Note 1: Statistics Canada – Family Homicides in Canada, 1995-2002 http://www.garrybreitkreuz.com/publicati ons/DomesticHomicide-Firearms-200310-30.xls Note 2: HOMICIDE REPORT SHOWS RIGHT AND WRONG TARGET FOR SAVING LIVES http://www.garrybreitkreuz.com/breitkreu zgpress/guns95.htm Statistics Canada reports that of the 103 (21%) domestic violence victims murdered with firearms during this threeyear period: T 31% were murdered with handguns that the government has been trying to register since 1934. T 17% were murdered with a registered firearm. T 4% were murdered with a completely prohibited sawedoff rifle or shotgun. T 27% of the murder suspects held a valid firearms license. T Domestic murders with registered firearms more than doubled in the last year. And T murder suspects holding a federal firearms license more than doubled in the last three years. Canadian Firearms Journal www.nfa.ca by James M. Hinter O ne of the teaching tools that I use in teaching the CRFSC is a Range Bag. I started including, for the Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Courses, a Range Bag with all of the extras that I take to the range as a way to bring to our students some of the “reality” of going to a shooting range with a handgun. The goal of this segment is to demonstrate to the students how to properly prepare a restricted firearm for transport to a shooting range and back home. The shape and colour of the bag (light blue) also hide the fact that I am carrying handguns from the prying eyes of potential thieves. The demonstration includes all the legal requirements (trigger locks, locked case, registration certificates, authorizations to transport, etc.) with a clear explanation of exactly what to have and what to do. It also includes discussion of the gear (ear and eye protection, etc.) they will take with them to the range for an enjoyable day of safe and fun shooting. First, you must prepare a list all of the materials you are going to use. Each time I prepare to go shooting, I do a complete “clean-out” of my Range Bag. I remove all spent brass and any left-over live ammunition from a previous visit to the range. Teaching the Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Course... www.nfa.ca My Range Bag contains: • Hard plastic lockable gun case (one for each handgun). • Trigger locks for each firearm. • An extra trigger lock. • Hearing protection (including an extra set of foam earplugs). • Eye protection (including clear and yellow lens wrap-around glasses). • Gun oil. • Cleaning kit. • Brass rods. • Extra magazines. • Screwdriver. • Multi-tool. • Sunscreen. • Drinking water. • First aid kit (small). • Timer. • Extra batteries. • Spare gun parts. • Boxes of ammunition (empty for course teaching purposes). • One copy each of the Firearm Registrations and Authorizations To Transport. I start with a fully loaded range bag on the table in front of me. As each piece of equipment is removed from the bag, brief explanations for the reasons each item is included in my range bag are included in the lesson. The last part of the lesson is taking the handgun out of the locked hard plastic case and demonstrating how it is legally transported. This session really helps reinforce the legalities of transportation of a restricted firearm. The interest of the students in this section is really positive. As an instructor, I can tell by the questions they ask and the attention that they are paying to this lesson that it is a worthwhile addition to a Restricted Firearms Safety Course. It adds about 20-30 minutes to the course. Canadian Firearms Journal Volume XII Number 12 27 Events Schedule February . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . March . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . April . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . February 19 - 21 March 20 - 21 April 23 Leduc Fish & Game & AFGA’s 75th Annual Conference - Leduc, Alberta visit www.afga.org The 21st Annual Gun and Antiques Show & Sale and the 4th Annual Western Canada Knife Association Custom Knife Show. Kamloops Exhibition Assoc. Building, KXA 479 Chilcotin Road, Kamloops, BC National Firearms Association’s Canadian Firearms Safety Course Challenge. Edmonton, Alberta Call (780) 439-1394, Fax (780) 439-4091 February 20 National Firearms Association’s Canadian Firearms Safety Course Challenge. Edmonton, Alberta Call (780) 439-1394, Fax (780) 439-4091 March 23 - 25 AHEIA’s Hunter Education & Fishing Education Instructors Workshop. Edmonton, Alberta Call (780) 466-6682 or 1-800-282-4342 February 26 - 29 2004 Recreation & RV Show & Sale Medicine Hat, Alberta Call Ron Edwards (403) 527-8097 Darlene Ford (403) 504-1370 Brenda Lee MacPhail (403) 529-6036 March 25 Trout Unlimited Canads’s 2004 Fly Fishing Symposium Spring Dinner & Auction - Calgary, Alberta Visit www.tucanada.org Call Don Pike (403) 221-8371 [email protected] February 27 National Firearms Association’s Canadian Firearms Safety Course Challenge. Edmonton, Alberta Call (780) 439-1394, Fax (780) 439-4091 March 26 March . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . March 4 - 7 AHEIA’s Conservation & Hunter Education Course - Edmonton, Alberta Call (780) 466-6682 or 1-800-282-4342 April . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . March 7 National Firearms Association’s Canadian Firearms Safety Course Challenge. Edmonton, Alberta Call (780) 439-1394, Fax (780) 439-4091 WCFSS’s Buffalo Shoot. Victoria, B.C. Call Gary Kangas (250) 474-3244 March 5 National Firearms Association’s Canadian Firearms Safety Course Challenge. Edmonton, Alberta Call (780) 439-1394, Fax (780) 439-4091 March 6 Morinville Fish & Game Association’s Brag Night Supper Call Estelle Lavoie (780) 492-6659 [email protected] March 12 National Firearms Association’s Canadian Firearms Safety Course Challenge. Edmonton, Alberta Call (780) 439-1394, Fax (780) 439-4091 March 19 National Firearms Association’s Canadian Firearms Safety Course Challenge. Edmonton, Alberta Call (780) 439-1394, Fax (780) 439-4091 28 National Firearms Association’s Canadian Firearms Safety Course Challenge. Edmonton, Alberta Call (780) 439-1394, Fax (780) 439-4091 Volume XII Number 12 April 2 April 3-4 AHEIA’s International Bowhunter Education Program. Edmonton, Alberta Call (780) 466-6682 or 1-800-282-4342 April 9 National Firearms Association’s Canadian Firearms Safety Course Challenge. Edmonton, Alberta Call (780) 439-1394, Fax (780) 439-4091 April 24 The Alberta Frontier Shootists Saddle-up match. Central Alberta Call (780) 464-4600 April 25 WCFSS’s Spring Warm-up match. Kamloops, BC Call Doug Berkey (250) 579-5819 April 25 WCFSS’s Nimrod Match. Victoria, BC Call Gary Kangas (250) 474-3244 April 29 AHEIA’s Hunter Education Course. Edmonton, Alberta Call (780) 466-6682 or 1-800-282-7372 April 29 Trout Unlimited Canada’s 2004 Fly Fishing Symposium Spring Dinner and Auction. Edmonton, Alberta www.tucanada.org Call Don Pike @ (403) 221--8371 [email protected] May . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May 1 Heritage weekend at the Longwoods Conservation area. Reenactment of the Battle of the Longwoods and the Westbrook Ambush. Delaware, Ontario Call (780) 439-1394, Fax (780) 439-4091 May 15 The Alberta Frontier Shootists Spring Fracas match. Central Alberta Call (780) 464-4600 April 16 National Firearms Association’s Canadian Firearms Safety Course Challenge. Edmonton, Alberta Call (780) 439-1394, Fax (780) 439-4091 April 19 - May 5 AHEIA’s Fishing Education Course Edmonton, Alberta Call (780) 466-6682 or 1-800-282-4342 Are you wondering why your event isn’t here? Send it to the National Firearms Association: Box 52183 Edmonton, Alberta Canada T6G 2T5 www.nfa.ca Canadian Firearms Journal Tel: (780) 439-1394 Fax: (780) 439-4091 [email protected] www.nfa.ca by W. J. (Wally) Butts ...The Last Word Passing the Buck T he usual excitement that comes with the start of Deer Week had gripped all of the hunters. Standing around pick-up trucks discussing strategy, and driving around bushes and fields looking for deer sign was the order of the day. On opening morning, well before daylight, the gang gathered at the farm house and waited impatiently for the latecomers. Plans had been laid for the first three drives, and doggers and blockers had been assigned their respective tasks. The frosty morning was ideal - cold, with a light wind. The plan was to drive the deer downwind to the waiting blockers. The gang met with success on the first drive, and two young deer were the first to grace the meat pole. The successive drives for the day produced an additional three animals, but none of these was big. The gang was elated. There had been several more deer seen, and the fact that five were hanging spurred the appetite for Continued on page 30 Membership Application National Firearms Association Membership Application Name: __________________________________ Address: ________________________________ Remember the first time you went hunting? Your children will also remember when you take them hunting. Get them involved in hunting and target shooting, you’ll be glad you did. And get them involved in an organization that protects your sport and right to own and use firearms. Your National Firearms Association Membership will help ensure the heritage is passed on. The National Firearms Association... Canada’s firearm owners association. www.nfa.ca _________________________________________ City: ____________________________________ Prov:__________________ P.C.: ____________ Ph: ( _____ ) Fax: ( _____ ) ____________________________ ___________________________ T Regular ($30) T Family ($40) T Senior ($25) T Business ($50) T Liability Insurance: ($5.95 / person) 5 million dollars coverage ________________________________ Total________________ T Check or Money order inclosed T Visa/Mastercard Card # __________________________________ expires ________ Mail to: National Firearms Association Box 52183, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2T5 Canadian Firearms Journal Volume XII Number 12 29 by W. J. (Wally) Butts Continued from page 29 Tales from the Hunt Camp... Passing the Buck seen since. The harvested animals were all just yearlings or this year’s fawns, and most were small. the following day. As the previous record for the gang was eight animals in total, the fast start indicated that maybe this year, everyone would fill his tags. That evening, there was a light snowfall, just enough to show fresh tracks. The following morning the gang again set out early, and after several drives, three additional deer were added to the previous five. “This hunt is going to be a slam dunk,” remarked Uncle George, as he stowed his trusty 12 gauge at the end of the day. “We only need three more for the rest of the week to fill all of our tags.” But the following days proved that there are dumb deer and there are smart deer. The dumb ones become roasts in the freezer, while the smart ones seem to disappear, and emerge next year as bigger and better deer. The gang hunted hard over the next three day and saw several deer, but these animals were always just where there were no shooters. Someone remarked that a couple of good bucks had been seen in the first couple of days, but no trophy animals had been 30 On the fifth day of the hunt, the gang was becoming resigned to the fact that the area had been hunted hard, and that the deer had mostly disappeared. The end of the last drive was at hand, and all of the hunters walked from the bush and around a small swale, barely 20 paces through. They gathered on the south side, around the pick-up trucks to discuss the lack of deer. One of the hunters, who refused to give up, was walking down through the swale, barely 25 yards from the gathered hunters. danger, and the plan was to cut off his escape routes. But alas, the giant animal proved why he was smart, and had lived so long. He knew that the hunters wouldn’t likely dog out the swale, and he would also have exit routes on both sides where he could remain virtually unseen. The hunters followed his tracks, but the deer again outsmarted them by heading downwind through the heavy bush lot. The great buck was nowhere to be found. There are dumb deer, and they taste good, but it’s the smart ones that will bring all of the hunters together again next year. Suddenly a shot rang out so close that the hunters thought the hunter was firing a last blast in frustration, to signal the end of the hunt. But when he stepped out of the swale, he motioned to the others that the biggest buck that he had ever seen had just burst out of the other side of the heavy cover and headed towards the north bush. The hunters quickly reassembled and dispersed toward the north and east sides of the bush, upwind from where the deer went in. The assumption was that the big buck would run into the wind, in order to smell ...The Last Word Volume XII Number 12 Canadian Firearms Journal www.nfa.ca MilArm Co. Ltd. Starting Our 42nd Year in Business! 10769 - 99 Street NW, Edmonton, AB T5H 4H6 Tel (780) 424-5281 Fax 1-800-894-7598 Full firearm list, ammunition and reloading components at www.milarm.com New firearms added every Tuesday; full list updated monthly. Distributor for many companies including Black Hills Ammo (www.blackhills.com) and Components (Black Hills Shooter’s Supply). Call Mike with all your Cowboy Action Needs - largest selection in Western Canada! We buy, trade or consign firearms. Over $250,000.00 in used firearms were sold in 2003. www.milarm.com [email protected] RELIABILITY, FORCE H 368. 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