Antique Letter request from the RCMP

.45colt

.45colt

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I am thinking about picking up an antique revolver but the seller doesn't have an antique letter for it issued by the RCMP. It is clearly 100% an antique made before 1898 and in a caliber that fits the definition of antique.

If I buy it would it be a good idea to supply the RCMP with the gun's information to have an antique letter sent out or would it be a dumb move?

After all anyone doing so would be officially letting them know they have such a gun and surely that will be entered into a database somewhere.
 
It is a good Idea to have the letter if stopped by police or conservation officers. It just makes things go easier but it isn't required. The fact you have a letter sent to you does not indicate that you still have the gun. It is after all not a registered gun and can be sold after you received the letter.

Cheers
Moe
 
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If you know someone with access to the RCMP FRT online (a Verifier, for example), they can find and print that gun's page for you to carry. Instant "letter", with RCMP logo, and better still, a picture of the gun (or one like it). Get it laminated and carry it with you.

The seller can also write you a letter, which is the first thing Canada Border Services Agency wants, for example.

There's nothing wrong with a copy of legislation, you could carry a binder of reference material with you. Nobody will read it, they will either already know the law, or they won't care what you produce and you'll have to be polite and patient until someone smarter gets involved.
 
Be careful of a gun that has been rebarrelled to a caliber that qualifies for antique status but was not manufactured as such. RCMP will not issue a letter for such a gun any more and do not consider them antiques. There are a number of them out there that have never been registered and are a court case waiting to happen. You may win but you may not enjoy the process.
 
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I supply FRT table reports with all the antique guns I sell. Way simpler and no back door registry. The RCMP may not know who has the gun but they can start counting how many are in the country with their little back door antique registry. The caliber problem guns are almost always 1873 SAA colts made in a caliber that was not antique (ie 45lc) and then converted to a caliber that qualifies as antique (ie 38 Special or 44 special). By the letter of the law, these are not antique and could potentially give you legal issues.
 
snurge said:
By the LETTER of the law they are antique!
It's the RCMP that says they're not.
Either way I avoid them.
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Actually No they are not antique due to this phrase right here ......other than a handgun designed or adapted to discharge...... if it came from factory as 45lc than it was DESIGNED to discharge 45lc. doesnt matter what you change it to after the fact. Plainly the RCMP were negligent in enforcing that aspect of the law previous to now and as a result have given some guns antique status when they were not truly antiques but now they cant take it back so they have deal with their total mess like they make of all legislation they "interpret" .
 
The interpretation that you and the RCMP are using, taken to it's logical interpretation of "designed", all S&W large frame top breaks should be legal as they were "designed" for the .44 S&W American (single actions) and .44 Russian (double actions).

All Colt 1873 revolvers were originally "designed" to fire the .44 Colt and .44 Henry RF cartridges. .45 Colt was an afterthought.
 
freemanriveradventures said:
. Plainly the RCMP were negligent in enforcing that aspect of the law previous to now and as a result have given some guns antique status when they were not truly antiques but now they cant take it back so they have deal with their total mess like they make of all legislation they "interpret" .
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They were not negligent because the law does say that a Colt handgun in 44 Russian was designed differently than the same gun in 45 long colt. What has changed is how they choose to interpret the law and in that context they can interpret the law any way they want. The problem is how do you distinguish between the two unless they have been previously registered. It is probably unlikely that the RCMP will seek a letter from the Cody museum and will probably say that the gun is modern unless you can prove otherwise.

cheers mooncoon
 
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