Cane guns

KotKotofeich

KotKotofeich

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(yes we have some ancient threads about them)

Fellow lovers of cane guns, feel free to share here... (most are either non-restricted or antique)

And a small announcement that Switzer's has a cane gun listed (not mine, just watching for where the bidding goes) they have listed in 38 cf but I believe it is a 38 special as I have one exactly like it. It has provision for a detachable stock (missing) ....
 
Most cane guns I've come across are meant for shooting blanks, which provide enough force to blast the heavy muzzle tip, which is held in by spring tension towards the target.

The one I have is meant to be used in this fashion.

It has a good, strong action and smooth bore, and was issued to French embassy bureaucrats.

It's very well made, and other than its weight, would be almost impossible to discern from a standard wooden cane.

Its weight/strength would make it quite formidable when used as a baton.

It will accept 45 Colt, 444 Marlin, 410 shotshells, 44 spl, and 44 mag cartridges.

Whether it would be safe to use them????????????

I did shoot some blanks made from 444 Marlin cases, with a lubed patched round ball inserted down the muzzle appx halfway.

I believe shot would have been better.

Again, I will mention the muzzle tip.

It has three vertical springs, which apply tension to the inside of the bore, holding a 1/2 ounce, aluminum tip in place.

This protects the muzzle and functions as a projectile.

Makes sense, as this tip is heavy enough to impede a projectile from a cartridge or cause damage to the shooter if it were stuck.

These firearms were meant for up close and personal encounters. There wouldn't be time to remove the tip before firing.
 
Would love one for my gizmo walking stick collection. I keep hearing about people who have them but they are not for sale. They mostly seem to have been made for poaching while on innocent walks, or perhaps for hunting on Sundays when it was a jailable offense, in other words for use in the UK.
 
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Big Bad said:
Would love one for my gizmo walking stick collection. I keep hearing about people who have them but they are not for sale. They mostly seem to have been made for poaching while on innocent walks, or perhaps for hunting on Sundays when it was a jailable offense, in other words for use in the UK.
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They come up for auction all the time - I see them at least a couple times a year. See how expensive the one at Switzer's goes...

Most are out of the UK, with rudimentary sights and provision for stocks... but I had one that was made in France - very flashy - leather, horn and gold (coloured) polish. Seemingly made as a self defense tool. I personally like ones that do not stand out.
 
bearhunter said:
Most cane guns I've come across are meant for shooting blanks, which provide enough force to blast the heavy muzzle tip, which is held in by spring tension towards the target.

The one I have is meant to be used in this fashion.

It has a good, strong action and smooth bore, and was issued to French embassy bureaucrats.

It's very well made, and other than its weight, would be almost impossible to discern from a standard wooden cane.

Its weight/strength would make it quite formidable when used as a baton.

It will accept 45 Colt, 444 Marlin, 410 shotshells, 44 spl, and 44 mag cartridges.

Whether it would be safe to use them????????????

I did shoot some blanks made from 444 Marlin cases, with a lubed patched round ball inserted down the muzzle appx halfway.

I believe shot would have been better.

Again, I will mention the muzzle tip.

It has three vertical springs, which apply tension to the inside of the bore, holding a 1/2 ounce, aluminum tip in place.

This protects the muzzle and functions as a projectile.

Makes sense, as this tip is heavy enough to impede a projectile from a cartridge or cause damage to the shooter if it were stuck.

These firearms were meant for up close and personal encounters. There wouldn't be time to remove the tip before firing.
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I have not seen those! Would you share some pictures? How does it accommodate different cartridges?
 
I don't do pics. Please don't be offended.

The chamber is tapered from the breech to the muzzle. It isn't "chambered" for anything particularly.

I have some original cartridges for it, and they are "blanks"

No date on the headstamp, just D C C .410.

The cane gun was made by DuMonthier in Paris, France.

Lots of pics on the internet.

Like most cane guns, it has "twist open/pull back to ####" breech, and a small trigger, which is held out of sight by a metal ring, which needs to be turned for it to drop down through a slot.
 
bearhunter said:
I don't do pics. Please don't be offended.

The chamber is tapered from the breech to the muzzle. It isn't "chambered" for anything particularly.

I have some original cartridges for it, and they are "blanks"

No date on the headstamp, just D C C .410.

The cane gun was made by DuMonthier in Paris, France.

Lots of pics on the internet.

Like most cane guns, it has "twist open/pull back to ####" breech, and a small trigger, which is held out of sight by a metal ring, which needs to be turned for it to drop down through a slot.
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No offense taken.

The flashy cane I had was a dumonthier as well but properly chambered in 410 and with other features as you describe. (Was able to find an old picture)
 

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I am always impressed with the prices that cane guns bring in the auctions.
I'm also interested in having one, particularly since I regularly use a cane when walking. And live in a rural area.
I do have an air cane, which does need some attention, but no pump. Then again, I'm not sure about how much pressure the reservoir could hold.
 
Griffith (anybody remember him?) in Peterborough Ontario had a batch of them in the mid '60s. It was my impression that he had them made. I saw them at the Toronto gun show but I didn't have the cash on me. I dropped by his store a few weeks later to buy one, but he said he'd been warned not to sell them. I remember they were chambered for 44-40 shot, which was still available from CIL at the time.
 
KotKotofeich said:
By? This was before I was even born, so I suppose the FRT wasn't a thing yet either and neitger wasvthe CFO... But currently they are all marked non restricted...
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I believe some case law in Canada is supportive that cane guns are prohibited devices, as they are considered "concealed weapons."

They are designed to be hidden from view / hidden withing / disguised as ordinary items. Pen guns, cane guns, guns part of suitcases. etc.

FRT is not law, but you are correct and there are many entries for random cane guns as antique or NR.

I am not sure what to think on this matter - personally, I would stay clear of possessing one as they would likely throw the book at you, and let the courts sort it out. A quick google search reveals many news articles for charges laid against people who possessed them, even as part of a broader collection.

If you have some concrete info regarding them in Canadian law, please share. Genuinely want to learn, but the above was my belief.
 
Please share what you found. I haven't seen charges laid specifically for the cane gun being a prohibited weapon.

What I have found is media stories of arrests of people very clearly up to no good with a slew of charges. It is unclear if the charges were for the cane or for something else and if they were not thrown out later.

My interactions with the cbsa on the subject have been positive - they do accept the frt as expert advice that canes are non-restricted. This government cannot have it both ways - either the frt is not law so we get to ignore the bs that's there about variants... Or it is indeed expert opinion and canes are non-restricted :p

My general dress style and physical condition doesn't lend to carrying a cane... But I would not see an issue transporting a non restricted firearm where it's not explicitly prohibited. So I stick (!) to having them in my collection.

https://globalnews.ca/news/3703763/...Previous Image,Winnipeg has been charged with

Here's a very telling one. Lots of charges but no "prohibited weapon" - just the stuff we usually see for someone with no license and a prohibition order.
 
KotKotofeich said:
By? This was before I was even born, so I suppose the FRT wasn't a thing yet either and neitger wasvthe CFO... But currently they are all marked non restricted...
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There are probably 2 main factors I would suggest lead to your answer here:

1) Prior to The Firearms Act, we were 'generous' enough to have guidance directly attached to the Criminal Code under "Restricted Weapons Orders" and "Prohibited Weapons Orders". Important to note that these refer to weapons and not just firearms - these were the original codified pieces of law that dealt with F/A firearms as well as things like switchblades, shuriken, etc.. Most of these were superseded in the 1990s/2000s but you can still find some vestigial remnants relating to banned knives, "ninja weapons" and the enactment of the Mulroney/Chretien bans including 12(4) & 12(5) classes. It is possible that one of these used to deal with "disguised/concealed" firearms and was struck or omitted in a later over-encompassing act (C-17 or C-68). Pretty much none of these were digitized so any further study would require contacting a parliamentary archivist.

2) In the 1960s especially and also the 70s, a lot of the time when it came to firearms: what the local PD believed the law should be was a lot more relevant to what you were going to be allowed to do. Just in my small hometown in AB around that time, there was a police chief who would often purport that "nobody in my town besides the police should have any reason to own a gun" - which made it incredibly challenging for residents to register restricted firearms at the time. If you lived in the surrounding county? Not a problem whatsoever, lots of MG shoots used to happen at the club and out on farm sites every month. Lots of (non-police) people also carried handguns for work and self-defense both in the city and country back then. There are also members on the board who will recall and have posted the need to have Writs of Mandamus issued to actually register a lot of their F/A firearms before the 1978 deadline as many police agencies simply refused to do it. I would think that this avenue is much more likely the answer here.
 
Consider where you might have an antique or non-restricted firearm. You wouldn't take one when going out for dinner, or shopping.
Having a cane gun at a restaurant would be a really bad idea.
I'm rural. There are no municipal restrictions on the discharge of firearms. I walk with a cane. A cane gun would not attract attention, and if discharged in the manner that any n-r firearm could be lawfully used would not pose a problem.
 
An ordinary cane, if sturdy enough, is a pretty formidable weapon of self defense as-is. And if you use it for walking, no one can take it away from you or prevent you from entering anywhere while carrying one.
 
Black powder percussion walking stick gun by Lang. Rifled barrel and smooth bore barrel. Probably purchased by my father in the UK in the 1960s. We did shoot it with a small charge of black and some newspaper as a wad.
 

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55recce said:
Black powder percussion walking stick gun by Lang. Rifled barrel and smooth bore barrel. Probably purchased by my father in the UK in the 1960s. We did shoot it with a small charge of black and some newspaper as a wad.
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I assume you tried the smooth barrel? Would the loading process be different in any way between the two other than projectile used?
 
Here is a listing for cane guns from a distributor's large catalogue. Cane guns of this pattern seem to appear more often than other types, probably because they are of relatively recent manufacture. As close as I can tell, the catalogue could be as late as 1930. The Savage Model 1920 is listed, so it is at least after that date. No idea when guns of this pattern were introduced, but the guns pictured would be n-r.
Unfortunately I do not have the price information which would have originally accompanied the catalogue. LePersonne was agent for FN, and a substantial number of other manufacturers.
Years ago, a chap I worked with went through the bin of canes in a thrift store and found a Day's Patent cane gun.
IMG_2102.JPG
 
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