General question about shotguns

Utterly false. Police quite often make up charges and the onus is on you to take it to court. For example flashing your lights to let on coming traffic to know about a radar setup police routinely stop people for this and charge them and if you take it to court it will at least in Ontario each and every time be thrown out of court. In fact it has even been in the news in Ontario.

That has absolutely noothing to do with legal carry of a firearm for bush defense..... If it is utterly false then show me a law
 
I can't believe how scared guys are of the Game Warden. If you are going about your lawful business of hiking, berry or mushroom picking, camping etc, what and why would they charge you for having a shotgun or rifle?

This is direct from the Fish & Wildlife Conservation Act:

"Proof of hunting or trapping
109 In a prosecution under this Act in respect of hunting or trapping,
(a) proof that a person possessed, in an area usually inhabited by wildlife, a firearm, trap, decoy or other hunting or trapping device, a ferret or a specially protected raptor or other bird of prey, is proof, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, that the person was hunting or trapping, as the case may be;
 
Correct I just looked it up for BC, so if you are in the wilderness for what ever reason you can only have 2+1 in the shotgun. This sames to be the same for all provinces. People who keep insisting they can have more then that have never read the regulations.

Bc hunting regs state that if shotgun hunting with shot (so bird shot or buck shot), you are limited to 2 in the mag and 1 in the tube. If shotgun hunting with single projectiles (slugs), there is no mag limit. So if you are in the wildernesss for whatever reason you can load slugs up to the max that the federal regs allow, which is 5 in a semi auto and whatever the tube will hold in a pump or bolt. It's the same in BC with regards to rifles, rim and center fire.

Check the pg17 in the current bc hunting synopsis, 4th paragraph under Legal Hunting Methods.
 
you can only have 2+1 in the shotgun. This sames to be the same for all provinces.
no it varies province to province.

Bc hunting regs state that if shotgun hunting with shot (so bird shot or buck shot), you are limited to 2 in the mag and 1 in the tube. If shotgun hunting with single projectiles (slugs), there is no mag limit. So if you are in the wildernesss for whatever reason you can load slugs up to the max that the federal regs allow, which is 5 in a semi auto and whatever the tube will hold in a pump or bolt. .
This is the same as in Alberta, if I’m hunting game birds with a shotgun it’s limited to 2 +1.
Hunting deer with slugs, rabbits with bird shot or just for protection, 2 + 1 doesn’t apply, can have 5 in a semi, whatever you want in a pump or bolt shotgun.
 
Last edited:
Maybe in BC but in Ontario you do. If you are walking through the bush with a loaded shotgun what does it look like. Now if your standing in a sand pit with targets set up what does it look like.?

Crows and magpies are open 365 days a year in BC.

Seriously though, what kinds of interactions are guys having with the Game Warden? I certainly don't loose sleep over the concern you have.
 
Your in Ottawa right so Ontario. Let me get this straight you want to walk in the bush with 5 shots in the shotgun and see what the CO has to say, You will be charged. Don't think so try it.

How are you going top prove you are not hunting? Now if your standing in a quarry shooting at clays you might be OK, but if you get a prick well he can still give you a fine and you can argue all you want it will be up to you to prove other wise in a court of law. Oh and for critter defense?? If your that scared I suggest staying out of the bush as the CO will laugh at you.

I have absolutely no interest in carrying any kind of firearm if I am not hunting or target shooting. I am absolutely not worried about animals, either 2 or 4 legged. It's just the article in Calibre that tweaked my curiosity, as the author says he would carry a pump shotgun for critter defense because it will hold 5 shots. I was just wondering about the legality of it.

I guess I should have known better - that this would degenerate into name-calling and insults against anyone who replied (not aimed at you, GW). My one and only question is this:

Do you think it is legal anywhere in Canada to be walking around in the bush with a shotgun loaded with 5 rounds?
 
In BC some Gulf Islands have shotgun only deer hunts. Not sure if you are limited to 2 shots. I don't think you are limited. Someone will confirm or flame the crap outta me.

Yes you are limited to 2+1 whenever hunting with "shot" in a shotgun in BC, regardless of what region you are in. Iirc if you are in a shotgun only area you might be limited to shot and cannot use slugs due to proximity to populated areas, there may be exceptions depending on the region but I'm not familiar with shotgun only rules. I'm thankfully not in a region that has a shotgun only rule in place.
 
This is direct from the Fish & Wildlife Conservation Act:

"Proof of hunting or trapping
109 In a prosecution under this Act in respect of hunting or trapping,
(a) proof that a person possessed, in an area usually inhabited by wildlife, a firearm, trap, decoy or other hunting or trapping device, a ferret or a specially protected raptor or other bird of prey, is proof, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, that the person was hunting or trapping, as the case may be;

Has this ever been taken to court? It would seem to run afoul of "innocent until proven guilty" section of the Charter of Rights.
 
Well I found it for NB, NS, PEI, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan. Alberta, BC, North West Territories, Yukon, couldn't find it for Nanuvut. So are there other provinces that I don't know about??

no it varies province to province.


This is the same as in Alberta, if I’m hunting game birds with a shotgun it’s limited to 2 +1.
Hunting deer with slugs, rabbits with bird shot or just for protection, 2 + 1 doesn’t apply, can have 5 in a semi, whatever you want in a pump or bolt shotgun.
 
I commonly carry a 7+1 setup for wilderness defence at work, camping, and Search and Rescue operations in Alberta. Our certification to carry shotgun through SAR was designed in conjunction with the RCMP, and i've never had any concerns with mag limits working with officers or by any of the CO's ive encountered in the bush.
 
Why not fold up a few targets and put em in ur pocket. Proof you were out target shooting.

No judge will find you guilty if you said you were target shooting and had targets. Imagine what the judge would think.... Hmmm whats more reasonable, that the guy with targets is telling the truth and was target shooting or that this guy is a liar and was hunting and had no prey other than paper targets and is such a bad shot or is so blood hungry he needs 5 plus rounds.

Easy decision.
 
It really bugs me how federal and provincial laws can overlap. the way i understand it is that if the RCMP stop you, you only need to be following the laws of the firearms act, but if provincial DNR stops you, you need to be following their often stricter set of laws.

someone please correct me if i'm wrong.
 
If you are at work that would most likely over rule the hunting regulations as it would be easy to prove.

I commonly carry a 7+1 setup for wilderness defence at work, camping, and Search and Rescue operations in Alberta. Our certification to carry shotgun through SAR was designed in conjunction with the RCMP, and i've never had any concerns with mag limits working with officers or by any of the CO's ive encountered in the bush.
 
Well I found it for NB, NS, PEI, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan. Alberta, BC, North West Territories, Yukon, couldn't find it for Nanuvut. So are there other provinces that I don't know about??
LOL, I’m not exactly clear on what you’re saying above, but all I’m saying is that in Alberta, the only time I need to limit a pump shotgun to 3 is hunting game birds, other than that, big game hunting, coyote/rabbit/small game hunting, or just strolling around, I could slap a rotary drum on if I felt like it.
 
Last edited:
Must be a different Alberta not the one in Canada

LOL, I’m not exactly clear on what you’re saying above, but all I’m saying is that in Alberta, the only time I need to limit a pump shotgun to 3 is hunting game birds, other than that, I could slap a rotary drum on if I felt like it.
 
If you are at work that would most likely over rule the hunting regulations as it would be easy to prove.

If you are out hiking or camping or shooting clays or training for the apocalypse or doing anything that isn't hunting it's pretty easy to prove, so load it up to the fed mag limit for the action you are shooting. Otherwise when hunting observe the hunting limit if your specific prov. hunting regs list one, it's pretty simple.
 
Here is how it breaks down for BC

Hunting with shot- 2+1 rounds
Hunting with slugs- only federal mag limits apply (5 in semi auto shotgun)

Not hunting with shot- only federal mag limits apply (5 in semi auto shotgun)
Not hunting with slugs- only federal mag limits apply (5 in semi auto shotgun)

That's it, that's all. If you want to carry your mossy pump shotty stuffed with 8 rounds slugs forr bear defense, go for it. If you want to stuff that same mossy pump shotty with 8 rounds of buckshot for coyote defense, you can do that too. If you want to fill it up with #8 shot because you like walking through the woods, picking up pine cones and throwing them in the air while yelling PULL and shooting them, that's perfectly fine as well.
 
No such limits in NB unless migratory birds. We are limited by shot size depending on License held and season. Consult page 6 & 7 of the PDF below

h ttp://www2.gnb.ca/content/dam/gnb/Departments/nr-rn/pdf/en/Wildlife/HuntTrap.pdf
 
Back
Top Bottom