Antique Serial Range of Smith Wesson 44 Russians

Thank you so much "Old Guns"!
Very detailed steps. But the final one is a bit concerning - isn't it a disadvantage of having it registered and associate with owner's name? Perhaps it puts the thing on rcmp radar to say at least. And from that point should it be re-registered when selling to new owner? I thought getting the initial rcmp response is good enough, no? Or there is no way to roll back at that stage? I guess it might end up in a complete disaster when rcmp would foolishly conclude an R status. Then what? I mean the way of their twisted logic when determine AR variants makes me a bit nervous.
 
serg777 said:
Thank you so much "Old Guns"!
Very detailed steps. But the final one is a bit concerning - isn't it a disadvantage of having it registered and associate with owner's name? Perhaps it puts the thing on rcmp radar to say at least. And from that point should it be re-registered when selling to new owner? I thought getting the initial rcmp response is good enough, no? Or there is no way to roll back at that stage? I guess it might end up in a complete disaster when rcmp would foolishly conclude an R status. Then what? I mean the way of their twisted logic when determine AR variants makes me a bit nervous.
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That’s the very reason I’ll never get an RCMP letter to essentially confirm what I already presently know.

The RCMP will certainly use it as a registry at some point in time after political direction. History repeats itself.
 
serg777 said:
Thank you so much "Old Guns"!
Very detailed steps. But the final one is a bit concerning - isn't it a disadvantage of having it registered and associate with owner's name? Perhaps it puts the thing on rcmp radar to say at least. And from that point should it be re-registered when selling to new owner? I thought getting the initial rcmp response is good enough, no? Or there is no way to roll back at that stage? I guess it might end up in a complete disaster when rcmp would foolishly conclude an R status. Then what? I mean the way of their twisted logic when determine AR variants makes me a bit nervous.
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The antique letter process is voluntary and not required by law. Passing the letter on with the gun to the new owner is enough proof that it's an antique. However, if the "questioning party" - i.e. police - doesn't believe the letter is genuine, they can still inquire with the Technical Division themselves. As stated earlier by another poster, it's not hard to get a bogus antique letter, and the letter you get from the RCMP comes with the caveat "based on the information submitted by you". If you submit false information in order to receive an antique letter for a gun which does not qualify, you can get into a lot of trouble...
Whether or not you want to apply for the letter is your choice. Whether or not you subscribe to the conspiratory opinion that the RCMP are a nefarious organization out to get you, is your choice as well. Over the past 10 years I have had several occasions where past customers contacted me in a panic, looking for the antique letters for the guns I had sold them. It was usually some small local police force which questioned their antique status, confiscated the guns and charged the owner with possession and trafficking of a prohibited weapon, because they didn't know any different. I only just completed such a request a couple of days ago. The fellow had to take a lawyer (paid for out of his own pocket, of course) and now needs to prove that the gun I sold him is indeed an antique. Luckily I still had a copy of the letter. He had "lost" his...
 
Old Guns Canada said:
The antique letter process is voluntary and not required by law. Passing the letter on with the gun to the new owner is enough proof that it's an antique. However, if the "questioning party" - i.e. police - doesn't believe the letter is genuine, they can still inquire with the Technical Division themselves. As stated earlier by another poster, it's not hard to get a bogus antique letter, and the letter you get from the RCMP comes with the caveat "based on the information submitted by you". If you submit false information in order to receive an antique letter for a gun which does not qualify, you can get into a lot of trouble...
Whether or not you want to apply for the letter is your choice. Whether or not you subscribe to the conspiratory opinion that the RCMP are a nefarious organization out to get you, is your choice as well. Over the past 10 years I have had several occasions where past customers contacted me in a panic, looking for the antique letters for the guns I had sold them. It was usually some small local police force which questioned their antique status, confiscated the guns and charged the owner with possession and trafficking of a prohibited weapon, because they didn't know any different. I only just completed such a request a couple of days ago. The fellow had to take a lawyer (paid for out of his own pocket, of course) and now needs to prove that the gun I sold him is indeed an antique. Luckily I still had a copy of the letter. He had "lost" his...
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Sad that your friend had to prove himself innocent instead of other way around. You would think that false arrest something rcmp can be charged with. Thin blue line
 
Old Guns Canada said:
Over the past 10 years I have had several occasions where past customers contacted me in a panic, looking for the antique letters for the guns I had sold them. It was usually some small local police force which questioned their antique status, confiscated the guns and charged the owner with possession and trafficking of a prohibited weapon, because they didn't know any different.
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I understand the issue with possession, but if it was about trafficking, shouldn't they have gone after "Old Guns Canada" first? If the RCMP believes the gun is illegal, and the owner has provided proof of purchase from the business, why hasn’t the RCMP investigated the business in question, which might be distributing "illegal guns"?
 
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serg777 said:
I understand the issue with possession, but if it was about trafficking, shouldn't they have gone after "Old Guns Canada" first? If the RCMP believes the gun is illegal, and the owner has provided proof of purchase from the business, why hasn’t the RCMP investigated the business in question, which might be distributing "illegal guns"?
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It was some local police force, not the RCMP. The trafficking part came in because he gave the gun to his dad or a friend or something. Anyway, it seems to have been sorted. Had they come to me first, I could have spared them a lot of running about.
 
Old Guns Canada said:
It was some local police force, not the RCMP. The trafficking part came in because he gave the gun to his dad or a friend or something. Anyway, it seems to have been sorted. Had they come to me first, I could have spared them a lot of running about.
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I hope you don't mind me asking, but I'm curious how you were able to resolve the situation so quickly. Did the local police accept your word, or did you have the gun's registration paperwork on hand?
 
bush1 said:
That’s the very reason I’ll never get an RCMP letter to essentially confirm what I already presently know.

The RCMP will certainly use it as a registry at some point in time after political direction. History repeats itself.
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Very true, except for, "Jeez, I sold that a while back to guy who wanted it more than me and I made a good buck on the flip. What? Who was the buyer? Jeez, I can't recall his name. He was well over 18 though."
 
serg777 said:
I hope you don't mind me asking, but I'm curious how you were able to resolve the situation so quickly. Did the local police accept your word, or did you have the gun's registration paperwork on hand?
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I provided the customer a copy of the antique letter he was asking for. I don't know how he resolved it, but I haven't heard back from him so I'm assuming all is well. It's only been a week, so maybe he will contact me again. This is not the first time this has happened, but each time I provided the documentation the customers were looking for, the issue seems to have resolved itself. Unless they are in prison incommunicato...
 
Old Guns Canada said:
I provided the customer a copy of the antique letter he was asking for. I don't know how he resolved it, but I haven't heard back from him so I'm assuming all is well. It's only been a week, so maybe he will contact me again. This is not the first time this has happened, but each time I provided the documentation the customers were looking for, the issue seems to have resolved itself. Unless they are in prison incommunicato...
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So that was an initial response letter from rcmp, not a registration, right? So basically in most cases it would be sufficient to present to authorities as proof?

I'm not that guy who buys antiques with a misconception that the gun can be carried everywhere and shot in a bush, where the big price markup is a sort of the fee for permission for doing just that. For me it's just another gun which I can bring to a range once in a while along with bunch of others. And I mostly use modern guns for that matter anyways. Just thought having that letter would be a peace of mind. As for the complete registration - I'm still trying to evaluate pros and cons. Any opinions will be much appreciated.
 
serg777 said:
So that was an initial response letter from rcmp, not a registration, right? So basically in most cases it would be sufficient to present to authorities as proof?

I'm not that guy who buys antiques with a misconception that the gun can be carried everywhere and shot in a bush, where the big price markup is a sort of the fee for permission for doing just that. For me it's just another gun which I can bring to a range once in a while along with bunch of others. And I mostly use modern guns for that matter anyways. Just thought having that letter would be a peace of mind. As for the complete registration - I'm still trying to evaluate pros and cons. Any opinions will be much appreciated.
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After I send in the details of an antique I receive a reply e-mail from the verifier to say that my request has been reviewed and approved for registration. I then go onto the RCMP website and register it. All my antiques are registered in my name and I don't tell the RCMP who I have sold them to. That would be way too much paperwork, and it is not a requirement. I would recommend to anyone owning an antique to have proof on hand that their antique is indeed an antique. It doesn't have to be the RCMP letter, but something which proves the gun's age and status. Colt and S&W will issue factory letters for their guns which would prove the age, others can be documented by way of proof marks, brand name, serial numbers, etc. If you can prove that you know what you have, the police are less likely to question the legality of your antiques. Better than shrugging your shoulders and saying "I think it's antique..."
When I go to the range with my S&W 38-44, I have the antique letter with me in the box.
 
Old Guns Canada said:
I would recommend to anyone owning an antique to have proof on hand that their antique is indeed an antique.
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That makes sense to me as well. Will go ahead with that and thanks for the advise.

As it goes for S&W Letter of Authenticity, I found this form on S&W web site:

https://swhistoricalfoundation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/SWHF-Letter-of-Authenticity-Form.pdf

Not sure how can I pay without having USD bank account, but it seems they do provide such letters to Canadians. Any experience with that endeavor?
 
Yes, the SWHF will send the factory letters to Canada. They accept (FRAUD ALERT). Print out the form, fill it out and make a note at the bottom that you have sent them payment by (FRAUD ALERT).
 
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