Serious questions here...
WTF is all this stress/red tape/hardships/tears about owning and getting restricteds? I thought shooting/hunting was a manly sport but I guess not with how easy people are ready to roll over and blame it on "other" issues...
When your getting your firearms license (been a requirement for 20-ish years)...take both classes and/or tests, the cost is not that much more and you have more options for what you can shoot/own. Doing two things at the same time makes a lot of sense instead of having to go back and book another date and possibly take more time off to go do so. You fill out ONE extra sheet of paper once the courses and/or tests are done for your application that is so simple and fool proof that even 16 year old me (back almost 9 years ago) took both courses/tests, passed, filled out ALL 3 pieces of paperwork on my own just fine...IN PEN!!! (was only granted a minors permit until I turned 18). I have known many guy, many Fudds or have Fudd family members who say "I only like/want to shoot rifles or shotguns for hunting or skeet" or "handguns are only designed for shooting people". And then they shoot a pistol or an AR and they have a blast, and how can you not? And now they need to wait a few weeks/months to upgrade their licence, what a silly mistake not doing it in the first place.
Now when you want a restricted gun, AWESOME...you buy one from a store and they do EVERYTHING for you but swipe your debt card, they call you when its done and you get to come pick it up and take it home. If you are buying/selling privately, you make a phone call (OMG SO HARD YOU GUYS!!!) once you get the slip in the mail (OMG OPENING MAIL, SO HARD YOU GUYS!!!) you call (OMG SO HARD YOU GUYS!!!) for an ATT to send it off at the mail office OR your waiting for it to be DELIVERED to you, possibly having to go pick it up at the post office if your not home at the time of drop off, just like ANY other missed deliveries.
That is it. You are done. You can now OWN a restricted. Every 5 years you send in a new photo and $80 and your done, you can even do this online....this has to be done for all license types but it requires you to go into a office and wait for a long ass time to get your photo done and your dealing with a place just FILLED with happy go-lucky staff and customers!!! ...the PAL renewal process is easier. AGAIN, what is so hard about this?
A lot of you complain or say you WOULD own them or upgrade your licences if only it wasn't so hard (ITS NOT!!!) or is there was not so many restrictions on where you can use them. Wanna know how to change that? GET YOUR DAMN LICENSE AND OWN RESTRICTED FIREARMS. Numbers are power, with numbers it is harder to call us a "small minority" and target us for more restrictions and rules as not many people are fighting against it. If 2 million people owned pistols/revolvers/ARs...your damn right there would be more "freedoms" granted for us with them that and with them being MORE COMMON and USED. A nice side effect of this is the general public who both are told/believe that guns are bad, would see that they are not as how can 2 million people use own/them and not having the streets to run red with blood? Maybe they wanna try the sport or have a friend who does it they will ask to go out with. WIN/WIN.
Wanna carry/shoot in the bush or small game hunt with them? Step ONE is get your damn license and own a pistol. Even if you never shoot it, even if it is a $180 TT-33 still covered in grease, a $100 broken handgun off the EE, a $90 AR lower or just a $40 pistol FRAME (still a pistol on the books). It is just like all the people we all know who wanna WIN THE LOTTERY, talk about all the #### they'd buy, they hope/pray for it...BUT...they never even buy a ticket so how is that gonna happen?!
But no, just roll over and just "accept" it. Complain on the internet about it. Sell them. Say you did it to be a better person (getting help/learning some self control would be better). Make excuses and cry about it while talking about how GREAT it USED to be and have all these wishes about it. Its the Canadian way...
When gun issues come up in the USA, guns/ammo fly off the shelf and more new folks get into it only strengthening themselves and the sport in the process.
In Canada, we are quick to sell/hand off/turn in guns at the slightest whisper of change as we "don't wanna deal with it" or throw others under the bus in hopes of prolonging your gun/shooting sport's safety in the process. SAD.
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PS. Even at $600 for a range membership (many places are cheaper), it is not terrible. Many ranges hosts all sorts of fun, shooting events that you could never do out in the bush. DO you go to a gym? (At least your being healthy) Smoke/drink often? Pathetically addicted to coffee like so many people? Pay $100+ a month for all your special cable or satellite packages? Well those things cost you WAYYY more than $600/year and all (but the gym) have no benefit to you, some only will hurt you and cost the health care system money it could have used else where. At least with a range membership your being active and having fun, if you pay for a membership don't go that often that is your own poor choice and mismanagement.
And yes I know some people live X amount of hours away from a club so look for the cheapest one and make shooting a day long activity when you go to the range, pack a bucket load of ammo, a lunch and bring some buds. You many not go "often" but you can still get in lots of trigger time and rounds down range this way. You can still own a cheap ($40) restricted pistol frame to help get some change/improvement in the system if you cannot do the above.
Many people, like myself have and/or do own a bucket ton of firearms. I personally think most would do better to own a few GOOD guns, then many "meh" ones. You get to enjoy quality firearms while learning to get good with them, buy once and cry once. I used to own 9 pistols at the same...it was cool but it is hard to bring them all to the range and get trigger time on them and because of which I only shot each one very little and wasn't too amazing with any of them. I now own 3 great ones and I can shoot them all very well. I now also have more money than normal as I am not constantly buying so many new firearms, different/new ammo on a whim and now have money left over that could be used on things range memberships and CSSA/NFA memberships (whose numbers are pathetically low for the cost, 1 box of ammo a year people!!!).
I love hearing people complain about range fees or CSSA/NFA memberships when they own a few $1000 in guns and gear, few $100 in ammo all tucked away in a $1000 safe.
PSS. Your never off "the radar" just because you sold off your restricteds. You and your home will be looked at/assumed to contain firearms (or even broken into to "look for and secure" them) as you still have your PAL and are on file. I bet the same would hold true even if you never renew it again.