Well, if you're going to put it like that - I pretty much have to buy one. Thanks for the honesty, and for showing the initiative.I'm glad you asked my good man. No, we have not received an FRT yet, March 28th is still listed as the RCMP's deadline date for that. On the flip side however,no , we do not need an FRT in order to produce them. Confused ? I was too for a bit.
Per Mr. Wolverine's post on the WK180-C we do not need to wait to get an FRT. As a fully licensed firearms manufacturer we have the right to establish the status of our own firearms by using the existing Firearms Act / Criminal Code of Canada. In our case it is almost exactly the same as the WK180-C whereby what we are making is an improved copy of an existing non-restricted firearm. Our rifle features an improved stabilizing magazine that holds 15 / 25 rounds which is really the heart of why the RCMP wanted us to submit it. However, since it is our understanding that the magazine cannot be easily modified for use in the Ruger Charger pistol without the use of tooling then it should remain - non-restricted. And we have judged it to be so.
To be fair to the RCMP and try to be as open and accountable as possible, I forwarded to the FRT section in Ottawa Mr. Etter's letter to Mr. Wolverine pointing out that Wolverine Supplies is indeed allowed to classify their own rifle since they are the manufacturer and asked them if this applies to our rifle as well. I asked them why we were requested to submit for an FRT number since this is almost an exact replica of the case for the WK180-C. I sent this email on Feb.6 /18. It was followed up with both a phone call by myself a week later and then another email on Feb.21 / 18 asking for a response. What I received from our friends at the FRT division : crickets.
So, last Wednesday I called our contact at the FRT division to inform him that we will be manufacturing the TUF-22 and listing it as having non-restricted status. I could hear the mirth in the gentleman's voice as he acknowledged the information and then we said our good byes. Done deal.
This is a case of a federal government department playing dirty tricks to try and bully a small, private company into doing what they want as regards their own politically motivated position, re : guns are bad, full stop. Instead of helping us navigate the often confusing regulations for the industry in a fair and un-biased manor as a publicly funded federal department like this should, we are left trying to communicate with what is essentially a black hole when it is a question they don't feel fits their agenda. As in the outside world, the two sides of our countries political spectrum have grown ever farther apart with the RCMP taking up their position as guardians of the left. How a publicly funded entity can take any political stance, left or right, is beyond me. They certainly could not do this if it concerned gender, race or religion, so how is it that something as socially divisive as choosing political sides is OK ?
We are often told from our local B.C. CFO officials , "We're here to help". Yeah right, and I have a bridge for sale in Brooklyn you may be interested in.
So, we are on our way now, starting to get this behemoth of a project off the ground. Unfortunately we are not accepting pre-orders, this is our standard company policy for all products so please do not call the shop or email to ask to purchase one before they are ready. As we move along I will post here and give you all updates. Please be a bit patient with us, we are a three man team trying to do more than we should to bring you guys stuff like the new TUF-22 and sometimes issues pop up that we cannot control and it delays things for a bit.