Almost got RPAL, got 2 legal questions 1 gun question

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danthegoodman

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Legal questions first: LTATT states gun can only be legally transported to and from certified ranges, gunsmiths, gun stores and dwelling house of owner correct? How do pit stops along the way get counted in? Lets say I head home from range and decide to do some quick shopping? (gun is ofc legally and safely stored away in trunk where no one sees it with locks etc) Or I go to a friends house after shooting at the range to hang out/maybe stay the night? (again gun would stay in car)

Or the more likely scenario that I would like to do is head to the range after work, however it would be a huge huge detour to head from work home then to range, so could I legally leave the car at work with handgun locked away and head to range after work? (technically I would be leaving my house going to the range but happen to make a pitstop)
Is this a yay or a huge nay?
Also since I got my NR license I was never asked during traffic stops if I am transporting firearms, will this change once i get my restricted license? Will cops randomly pull me over now to check if I am transporting handguns and if I am taking the direct route to and from certified restricted firearms places? (I know they sound like dumb questions but I am very curious).

Now to gun question.

Once I get my license I am planning on purchasing a 9mm pistol for target practice and IPSC down the road. I know I want a 9mm pistol, and did extensive research, and considering factors such as local gunshop availability (i don't want to order online, I want to fondle the gun first and pick it up in person hehe), price, aftermarket parts, reviews, quality etc.
I have settled between 2 choices:
FNS 9mm
or
Beretta M9A1
I am curious as to which one you would pick purely out of personal opinion. Both have kick ass reviews and made by great worthy companies, it seems there are more after market parts for beretta though. But I do like the fns as it comes with a 3 magazine kit while the m9 costs as much with only one mag. FNS has nice rails too imo. So what would be your choice?

Sorry for the wall of text. Ty for the assistance.
Dan
 
To and from the range. That would be it.

I picked up a fns 9L just before the price went way up. Had an m&p before but the fn to me is all around a better gun. Handled a beretta 92 really liked it but was around $899 pst time I looked.
 
I believe you are required to take the most reasonably direct route = no shopping in between, no sleep overs with the pistol in your car and it would be difficult to justify leaving it in car for 8 hours at work to save your self some driving especially if work isnt between the range. Its not common for cops to pull ppl over just cause they have an rpal.
 
Don't take it to work; don't take it to the mall to do some shopping (this is exactly what Trudeau said that C42 would allow, but it doesn't)
You have to take the most reasonable direct route.

You can stop for gas and stuff on the way; but don't try to say the gas station 80km in the opposite direction was "on the way".

The likelihood of being stopped and caught is really slim, but if it happens you don't want what could happen.

I have been stopped several times by police since getting my rpal (speeding, taillight, etc) and have never been asked about having guns on me.
I'm sure that police have access to the information if they want, but i'm not sure if it pops right up on their screen when they run a drivers license or plate.
Maybe a LEO can chime in if the firearms information is linked into their systems without having to specifically inquire.

Every once in a while you do hear stories about police being near to gun ranges and pulling over people who leave them... never actually seen it happen.

More likely scenario is that you are pulled over for speeding, random stop, taillight, whatever, and the officer sees gun-related stuff in your car and asks about it. Or, as they usually do, they ask you where you are going. Once you say you are going to a range they may poke more at if you are in compliance.


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On your second part; I love my beretta 92FS (m9). Make sure you handle both guns, the beretta has a pretty large grip and can be too big for some.
If the cost is an issue then the prevailing opinion is that a Girsan (beretta clone) is just as good as the beretta; with many saying it is actually better.
 
while travelling from GP to Calgary, I stopped at P&D in Edmonton. It was a detour from the most direct route, but it was to a gun store so i figured i was covered.

you can stop for gas or for a pee break. I would go home first, then go grocery shopping though.

Also, you cant take your pistol to work then to the range.
 
As the others have said, no going shopping, no going to work, no visiting friends etc...

One thing that is a bit of a "loophole" but just a small one. If the friend you are visiting has an RPAL and a proper way to store a restricted at their house, then you CAN "lend" them the restricted overnight and put it into their safe (or whatever) and it's perfectly ok. But leaving it in the car is not ok for sure.
 
I picked up the fns 40L on sale….love it couple hundred rounds through it works flawless great feel in the hand….thinking about buy another one just because you might not see these prices again

To and from the range thats it! taking gun to work might be hard too explain…lol
 
For your transport question, the special conditions read:

These licence conditions authorize the transport of restricted and/or prohibited firearms registered to the licence holder within their province of residence by a route that, in all circumstances, is reasonably direct for the specific indicated purposes.

This means travel reasonably directly from A->B->A.

For your pistol question, FNS 9 or Beretta M9A1. You have picked two completely different pistol designs. Polymer striker fired vs steel hammer fired. Try to research and determine which pistol design you want then compare similar pistols. Also I'd advise you do not limit yourself to only what is available in your LGS. Find a rental range in your area and try a few. Alternately state your location and ask here if any CGN's would take you as a guest to their range. You have options.

If you must stick to your two choices, FNS 9 or Beretta M9A1, I would personally pick the FNS 9. The Beretta open slide design and slide mounted controls are not for me. For a hammer fired pistol my choice was a CZ 75 SP-01 Shadow.
 
Any reasonable deviation from the most direct route from your home to the range must be incidental to your trip to the range, eg gas, restroom, drinks, food or other necessities required along the way. Going to work wouldn't qualify as a stop incidental to your trip to the range. As an RPAL holder, I've never been asked if I had any firearms in my vehicle, but then again, I've only been stopped twice in the last 20 years. Chances are, it's more likely to be an incident (crash, break-in or stolen vehicle) where you'll be found to have firearms in your vehicle.
 
And I'm going to disagree my round trip to work is 150 km the range is half way between I called in and asked if I can take my restricted to work and stop at the range on the way home I was told yes I can. It is not reasonable for me to have to drive home and then to the range if you don't like this idea take it up with the cfo office that's who I called.
 
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Here in Ontario several of us have cottages and homes with ranges at both locations. I transport my firearms to the cottage and store them their while I am up. The cottage isn't on the way to the range and neither is the home. As for shopping the RCMP has some good information below found at http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/cfp-pcaf/fs-fd/storage-entreposage-eng.htm. You can also attend other ranges for target practice or competition while staying at a hotel with restricted firearms. I have invited other restricted firearm owners up to the cottage for the weekend and they bring there firearms up to go to the club as well.
Leaving Any Class of Firearm in an Unattended Vehicle locked container
•Lock non-restricted firearms and locked containers carrying restricted or prohibited firearms in the trunk or in a similar lockable compartment.
•If the vehicle does not have a trunk or lockable compartment, put firearms and firearm containers out of sight inside the vehicle and lock the vehicle.
•If you are in a remote wilderness area and cannot lock your non-restricted firearms inside your vehicle, unload them and put them out of sight. Attach a secure locking device to the firearms unless they are needed for predator control.
 
Thank you all for the informative replies. Whole reason I asked about leaving them in the car at work was because this website: http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/cfp-pcaf/fs-fd/storage-entreposage-eng.htm mentioned storing the firearms in the car, so I figured it might be ok. As someone suggested, I will ask the CFO if I would be allowed to do this, while my work/range/home round trip is not 150kms, it would turn it from a 30min drive to over 1hr 30min drive tho, but I'll note it down as a no for now. Thank you all.

As for my gun choices, I went in open minded and looked at various models, at first I almost settled for the M&P S&W 9mm range kit for 600ish, but I heard that its hit or miss in getting a good gun that doesn't have the 20+ yard accuracy problem. I personally have no preference between striker and DA/SA, my choice currently is purely about local availability, price, reliability and aftermarket parts choices. I went to a local rental gun range and shot a SIG (too pricey though atm for me) Beretta, glock and S&W. Beretta and Sig were on par for me, didn't like the glock (sweaty hand slipped off when racking the slide numerous times) and S&W was nice too until I did my research on it. But yeah currently rooting for FNS myself.

Thanks for the replies again, any further input is appreciated.
Happy Shooting
 
M&P 9 range kit for $600ish is a good price if NIB. If as you state you shot it and found it 'nice', don't immediately discredit. A good match up would be to compare the M&P and FNS.
 
Yeah i was srsly considering that pistol, but there are plenty of people out there complaining about the many lemons out there with huge accuracy issues, S&W even did numerous upgrades and changes over the years but the problem is still reported, most recent forum post about it I saw was jan 2016, so i rather stay away from it
 
Cummins said:
And I'm going to disagree my round trip to work is 150 km the range is half way between I called in and asked if I can take my restricted to work and stop at the range on the way home I was told yes I can. It is not reasonable for me to have to drive home and then to the range if you don't like this idea take it up with the cfo office that's who I called.
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Did that CFO also offer to cover your legal fees if your gun gets stolen while you are at work?

Because they can say whatever they want over the phone, If you get charged with improper storage or illegally transporting it or something "but the cfo told me it's ok" isn't going to hold up in court.
 
Well then the lady on the phone should not have stated that I could, I'm not going to live in fear that I may be a victim of theft I don't do it often and follow all transport and storage laws, but it is not reasonable for me to travel that much extra to go to the range. Where I live and work this is not a issue, I'm not living or working around many people and I like it very much, firearms do not make people cower in fear or want to call the police, they are accepted in rural alberta.
 
Suther said:
Did that CFO also offer to cover your legal fees if your gun gets stolen while you are at work?

Because they can say whatever they want over the phone, If you get charged with improper storage or illegally transporting it or something "but the cfo told me it's ok" isn't going to hold up in court.
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Cummins said:
Well then the lady on the phone should not have stated that I could, I'm not going to live in fear that I may be a victim of theft I don't do it often and follow all transport and storage laws, but it is not reasonable for me to travel that much extra to go to the range. Where I live and work this is not a issue, I'm not living or working around many people and I like it very much, firearms do not make people cower in fear or want to call the police, they are accepted in rural alberta.
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Well the way I see it, don't ask don't tell, just leave them properly stored in a trunk or under the seat, I mean a pistol case is rather small so you could even hide it in/under the spare tire while you are away. But seeing as you rarely get pulled over (if you drive well that is) and if you don't make yourself an obvious target for theft I don't see how any harm is done, no one would even know!
 
This is not legal advice merely observation.
Recently a RCMP officers pistol was stolen from his car where it was parked overnight at his house but had a trigger lock and was locked in a gun case in the trunk.
There was no issue because it was locked up as required.

Now i say this is not legal advice because we are not all rcmp and i do not know the case intimately only what i read in the news but this officer clearly left his firearm in his car over night when his gun safe was presumably just inside his house and received no penalty
 
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