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22 Long Rifle calibre magazines for 10/22 platform firearms
***In light of several inquiries received recently regarding the legal status of 22 Long Rifle calibre magazines for 10/22 platform firearms, please see the following information:***
This further explains the Special Bulletin for Business No. 72 that was issued in September 2013.
The maximum capacity of a cartridge magazine is set out in Part 4 of the Regulations Prescribing Certain Firearms and other Weapons, Components and Parts of Weapons, Accessories, Cartridge Magazines, Ammunition and Projectiles as Prohibited, Restricted or Non-Restricted (the Regulations) under the Criminal Code. Pursuant to the Regulations, a magazine that has a capacity which exceeds the maximum permitted capacity is a prohibited device.
Specifically, paragraph 3 (1)(b) of the Regulations prohibit a cartridge magazine that is capable of containing more than 10 cartridges of the type for which the magazine was originally designed and that is designed or manufactured for use in a semi-automatic handgun that is commonly available in Canada.
22 Long Rifle calibre magazines designed or manufactured for 10/22 platform rifles are also inherently designed or manufactured for 10/22 platform handguns. Because 22 Long Rifle calibre 10/22 platform magazines are designed or manufactured for use in a semi-automatic handgun, they are prohibited devices if they are capable of containing more than 10 cartridges. The 10 cartridge limit for the 10/22 platform applies irrespective of the type of firearm it is used in.
Questions and Answers
Table of contents
- What are the latest changes to the legal status of 22 Long Rifle calibre magazines designed for the 10/22 platform of firearms?
- What magazines are prescribed as prohibited?
- Are 10 cartridge 22 Long Rifle calibre 10/22 platform magazines prohibited?
- Am I criminally in possession of a 22 Long Rifle calibre magazine?
- If I am in possession of a 10/22 Long Rifle calibre magazine, how do I comply with the law?
What are the latest changes to the legal status of 22 Long Rifle calibre magazines designed for the 10/22 platform of firearms?
The legal status of 22 Long Rifle calibre magazines designed for the 10/22 platform of firearms has not changed.
The
Regulations prohibit a cartridge magazine that is capable of containing more than 10 cartridges of the type for which the magazine was originally designed and that is designed or manufactured for use in a semi-automatic handgun that is commonly available in Canada.
What magazines are prescribed as prohibited?
Magazines designed for 22 Long Rifle calibre 10/22 platform firearms that have not been altered, or "pinned", so that they can hold more than 10 cartridges are prohibited devices.
Are 10 cartridge 22 Long Rifle calibre 10/22 platform magazines prohibited?
No. Factory made 22 Long Rifle calibre 10/22 platform magazines that cannot hold more than 10 cartridges are not prohibited.
Am I criminally in possession of a 22 Long Rifle calibre magazine?
If you are in possession of a 22 Long Rifle calibre magazine for 10/22 platform firearms that is not permanently altered, or "pinned" to meet the maximum capacity of a cartridge magazine, as set out in the
Regulations, you may be in possession of a prohibited device.
If I am in possession of a 10/22 Long Rifle calibre magazine, how do I comply with the law?
A 10/22 platform magazine permanently altered, or "pinned", so that it cannot hold more than 10 cartridges, is no longer considered to be prohibited. Subsections 3(4) and 3(5) of Part 4 of the Regulations as outlined below describe the acceptable methods of altering or re-manufacturing a cartridge magazine so that it cannot hold more than the legal limit.
3(4) A cartridge magazine described in subsection (1) that has been altered or re-manufactured so that it is not capable of containing more than five or ten cartridges, as the case may be, of the type for which it was originally designed is not a prohibited device as prescribed by that subsection if the modification to the magazine cannot be easily removed and the magazine cannot be easily further altered so that it is so capable of containing more than five or ten cartridges, as the case may be.
3(5) For the purposes of subsection (4), altering or re-manufacturing a cartridge magazine includes: (a) the indentation of its casing by forging, casting, swaging or impressing;
(b) in the case of a cartridge magazine with a steel or aluminum casing, the insertion and attachment of a plug, sleeve, rod, pin, flange or similar device, made of steel or aluminum, as the case may be, or of a similar material, to the inner surface of its casing by welding, brazing or any other similar method; or
(c) in the case of a cartridge magazine with a casing made of a material other than steel or aluminum, the attachment of a plug, sleeve, rod, pin, flange or similar device, made of steel or of a material similar to that of the magazine casing, to the inner surface of its casing by welding, brazing or any other similar method or by applying a permanent adhesive substance, such as a cement or an epoxy or other glue.
Lawful disposition options are available if you no longer wish to possess an overcapacity magazine. Please contact the Canadian Firearms Program at 1-800-731-4000 for further details.
http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/cfp-pcaf/notice-avis-2016-07-27-eng.htm
