Canadians... What's it really like?

[Viggen]

Had a birthday party for my daughter last night and the topic of where to move came up. My friends and I are very interested in relocating so numerous options came up. One of them was various areas in Canada. Problem then became that we are all outdoors people. Part of that is that we are gun owners of both the long and hand variety. Doing a cursory search showed that it is near impossible to own most guns and things like written permission to transport? When we hike, I usually carry. When I go out fly fishing, I usually carry. When we camp, I usually carry. What do you Canadians do?

 

[Bell]

Long guns during hunting season are ok. But for the most part hand guns are for the range only.

 

[IggyB]

Hand guns are for use at specific restricted ranges only. Nowhere else, not on your farm or the forest.

Need a license for rifles and shotguns. Some are restricted, I believe like AR's. The regular 12 gauge and 30-06 variety is just fine and dandy. Limit of 5 rounds in centerfire semi-auto rifles, no limit for 22LR or other actions.

Large capacity magazines are restricted. If you have an AR 20 round clip that you plan to use in Remington 7600 pump, you're a criminal.

if you're hiking, bring a long arm. Hog legs are considered rifles here (not handguns like US), barrels can be 14" and is still non restricted.

 

[jeep670]

, I usually carry. What do you Canadians do?

We simply don't carry.
I don't need to carry when nobody else is. I feel much safer this way.

 

[turbotommy]

We simply don't carry.
I don't need to carry when nobody else is. I feel much safer this way.

I have a lot of bears an other critters where I fly fish during spawning season .we cannot carry side arms but a defender style shotgun (short barrel) works well. We have tons of outdoor things to do around here ,no end to hunting and fishing.

 

[Viggen]

We simply don't carry.
I don't need to carry when nobody else is. I feel much safer this way.

There is only one reason why I carry. Had a close encounter with a bear that decided to make it's way into my campsite one night. Came right up and sniffed/ scratched on my tent. Never seen my wife's eyes so wide in fear. A different time we were hiking with my Beagle and had a fox circle and then trail us pretty much all the way back to the trailhead. Neither time was there a Park Ranger, police officer, or Mountie anywhere near by. I have carried ever since.

 

[Viggen]

I have a lot of bears an other critters where I fly fish during spawning season .we cannot carry side arms but a defender style shotgun (short barrel) works well. We have tons of outdoor things to do around here ,no end to hunting and fishing.

So, whenever you go out, do you have to plan ahead and get permission to transport your shotgun/ rifle? Or, have I read that incorrectly?

 

[turbotommy]

So, whenever you go out, do you have to plan ahead and get permission to transport your shotgun/ rifle? Or, have I read that incorrectly?

You can take a rifle with you in the bush but before you you are allowed to you have to take a course.then you get a licence to have firearms.hand guns are basically only allowed at ranges . I take something with me on most of my trips .i have had encounters that I was happy I had something

 

[jeep670]

I apologize, my comment was about people.
I still believe fire power is not necessary in Canada unless hiking/fishing/camping in known grizzly or wolf populated areas, which are fairly remote areas of Canada.

 

[KBC]

ARs and hand guns are restricted as well as some shorter barrelled rifles. Restricted means you must belong to a range and have a restricted license to own them and you can only use them at the range. Non-restricted is mostly(there are some exceptions here or there) things with barrels over 18.5" but some can have shorter but there's some other overall length requirement I can't remember. There are no mag capacity limits for things that aren't semi auto like pump shotguns, bolt and lever actions etc. as well as rimfire. As said above semi auto centre fire rifles are restricted to 5 round capacity unless another mag from something restricted happens to fit, then you can have 10 rounds.

The laws are kind of all over the place and a pain in the @ss sometimes but you can head out to almost any crown land(government land) with anything non-restricted and target shoot away to your hearts content. Nothing wrong with carrying a backpackers shotgun or other non-restricted firearms when you are out in the bush here. There are plenty of guns in Canada and hunting is a part of many people's heritage here outside of the major cities.

The restricted and non-restricted possession and acquisition license(PAL) is usually a two day course and then you go through a police background check and sometimes you and your references get a phone call and a somewhat easy phone interview and then your license is either approved or not. You need to show your license when you buy a non-restricted gun and that's it. When you buy a restricted gun you need to register it to get an authorization to transport but once that is attached to your license you can take your gun to the range as you please.

There is no registry for non-restricted long guns anymore so for someone like myself who only owns non-restricted firearms, the government only knows I'm licensed but has no idea how many or what kind of rifles I have. They only know you have guns if you legally buy restricted guns.

 

[turbotommy]

Totally agree with you,but on one occasion I had a guy trying to open my camper door at 3am . We were about 100 km from the nearest town and no one was camping there .i told him to leave and he kept at the door to the camper so I opened the door showed him the shotty he left.people usually are no problem it's the Bears and kitty cats that you have to be aware of.

 

[KBC]

These are both non-restricted here so you can still take some cool stuff out in the woods...
https://youtu.be/XEabY57cZnY

 

[turbotommy]

I too only have non restricted Firearms.ive often wonder if you would get hassled if you did have any restricted fire arms like random truck checks when your plate gets run?

 

[Viggen]

I apologize, my comment was about people.
I still believe fire power is not necessary in Canada unless hiking/fishing/camping in known grizzly or wolf populated areas, which are fairly remote areas of Canada.

No apology necessary. I have a CCW but cannot bring myself to carry full time. I am not that kind of guy. The permit was merely to allow me to carry while hiking/ camping, etc... People are, however, the most dangerous animal out there but I do not see danger in every person I cross.


Thanks for all of the information. The taking of a course and getting a license really is not SO much of a big deal. In fact, I would not mind if that were a requirement here in the US, if I am being honest. The part about having to seek permission before you remove one from your house is what led to pause amongst my friends and I. If you own a pistol of the legal size and variety, using it at a range is the only admissible use, correct? What if, say, someone breaks into your house and you use your legally possessed pistol. Will you get into legal trouble?

 

[scanny]

Yes, you will. First of all all restricted has to be unloaded, trigger locked and stored in a safe, so you can't get to them in a hurry. Second is that self defence laws Canada is quite vague so people usually get charged if not for murder than for improper gun storage. As I understand it if you use deadly force for self defense you'll have to prove that your life was in danger and you have no other means to get help, so I expect that if a shot was fired it will end up in court and lawyers are not cheap...