^^^^^
Interesting.
Seems we need new CFOs that aren't running their own little empire.
So is it just our range ATTs that have the "approved range" bit? I can't remember.
All of C-68 was set up to be a nuisance to firearms owners, this is no different. The entire federal firearms bureaucracy is anti-gun and not interested in allowing reasonable things to happen.
it is a difficult thing to get legalized because the provinces dictate what you can hunt with...I have been told the provinces won't allow it because the feds won't allow the carrying of handguns in the woods and one of the excuses the fed use is that the provinces don't allow handgun hunting so there is no point in trying to do the work to change the laws...it is a serious catch 22...I wonder which end is best to start working from...the feds or the provinces...it would be a great thing for us river salmon fishermen and bow hunters to have as an option for predator defence...it sucks having to carry a shotgun while fishing it really gets in the way and it is pretty pointless to leave it on the shore.
By far the best place to start is with your province, it is easier to effect change on smaller scales. Does BC expressly prohibit hunting with handguns? Not all provinces do. The last two years in a row the Alberta Fish & Game Association has put forth a request to remove the prohibition on handgun hunting in the Alberta regs, but so far the government has stonewalled. We got the prohibition on crossbows removed a few years ago, so handguns are not beyond imagination.
I never saw the sense in not being able to carry a holstered 22 pistol for small game when you're deer hunting.
Walk all over the land with a 300 win mag? No problem.
Want to take a rimfire pistol with you? What are you, an Al Queda??
Our laws make a lot more sense when looked at as a civilian disarmament agenda, instead of as public safety measures.
And they do issue wilderness ATCs already to trappers so they can humanly kill animals caught in traps, and for those who need to carry a gun for protection while working, but whose duties require both hands, thus prohibit the carrying of a long gun. Extending this to handgun hunting doesn't seem like so much of a leap, except that it takes the commercial requirement away, and opens the door to the recreational use of handguns off range.
Exactly. There are already two ways wilderness carry for hunting could be achieved overnight. The CFO could either issue wilderness ATC's to any hunter requesting one or they could issue STATT's that were good for the hunting season and WMU's that will be hunted in. Easy peasy.
Abso-friggin-lutely.
I'm going to start writing letters. Who should I direct them to?
First, confirm that your provincial hunting regs expressly prohibit hunting with a handgun. If they do, start writing to your local MLA, the minister in charge of natural resources/hunting and maybe your premier. Second, write to your MP (if CPC) and start working on them to loosen the rules from the federal side.
Use the argument posed by SoBored above. We can hunt with powerful centerfire rifles, but a rimfire pistol is somehow too dangerous to be allowed? Point out how ridiculous this idea is. Also point out that handgun hunting is comparable to archery hunting and is an accepted practice in many US states.
Mark
