Luger acquisition question

digital-audiophile

digital-audiophile

Member
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Location
Calgary Alberta
Question:

Friends dad has a WW2 era Luger. Friends father did not maintain license in the 1990's so does not hold 12(6) class. Long story short, he is moving to another province and is going to take to police for destruction. He does not want to, said I could have it if I can get legally have it. I know... I would prefer continue to keep it out of the eyes of the government but my hands are tied in that aspect.

I guess my question is - any way for me to save this pistol? I would love to get it and have it rebarrelled so that I could keep it but is there any way to do this?
 
So his license has expired, but was the gun ever registered in either the old system or new? If the gun is 12(6) then you can't have it unless you have a 12(6) or its rebarreled(done by Barry J at Bits of Pieces). If I am not mistaken he can however, sell it thru a dealer who is licensed for 12(6) thus saving it from destruction and giving him a chunk of change.
 
daBear said:
So his license has expired, but was the gun ever registered in either the old system or new? If the gun is 12(6) then you can't have it unless you have a 12(6) or its rebarreled(done by Barry J at Bits of Pieces). If I am not mistaken he can however, sell it thru a dealer who is licensed for 12(6) thus saving it from destruction and giving him a chunk of change.
Click to expand...

That is one question I have asked my friend to confirm with his dad if it was ever registered or not. His dad is leaving for BC next week and in the process of helping his dad pack up his house they came across the Luger in the basement and his dad said he needed to get rid of it so my buddy thought of me as the only gun owner he knows.

In the end I just don't want him to turn it in for destruction.

Regarding having it rebarrelled, my friends dad would have to send it to the smith to have this done correct? There is no way for me to temporarily take it into my possession to do this? My concern is ultimately he illegally in possesion of the firearm is he not? I would have assumed that if it was registered and he let his license lapse someone would have come looking for it.
 
digital-audiophile said:
Regarding having it rebarrelled, my friends dad would have to send it to the smith to have this done correct? There is no way for me to temporarily take it into my possession to do this? My concern is ultimately he illegally in possesion of the firearm is he not? I would have assumed that if it was registered and he let his license lapse someone would have come looking for it.
Click to expand...

You cannot legally take possession of an unregistered prohibited firearm, and no gunsmith will work on one either. If it was once registered, it might be possible to re-register it to be handed down to his son or sold to someone with 12-6 status. There also may be a way to have it deactivated, but I can't in good conscience recommend bastardizing a collectable firearm in this fashion.
 
Thanks for the advice all. I just want to do what I can to save this pistol from being melted down. The 12(7) is a great idea however my buddy does not have his r/pal which I assume he would need before he could take the gun. Just a shame our bloody laws over so picky about a couple of millimeters!!
 
I've asked to have the barrel measured tomorrow. I did get one quick cellphone pic sent to me and it is definitely not the obvious longer artillery/navy long barrel :( I'm assuming best way to measure is with action closed, insert rod until it stop, mark rod and measure?
 
Our firearms laws are just silly beyond belief. If the pistol has been previously registered, please encourage your friend to look into inheriting the Luger and prevent it's senseless destruction - perhaps some day we can reverse some of these goofy laws and preserve these valuable and historic firearms for the future. Making it available to existing 12(6) collectors would also be far better than surrendering it for immediate destruction.

If surrendering it becomes the only option, I believe only the barrel and receiver need to be destroyed. The remaining parts can easily be sold for a tidy sum, as Luger replacement parts are becoming rare and hard to find in Canada.
 
Does your friends dad has the old green registration certificate ? tell him to look for it.

This green certificate will save the gun from destruction.
 
I see this problem arise too often and it's a real shame. I ran across a similar problem with a liberated PPK brought back after WWII......I would have loved nothing more than to aquire it myself,but the risk of loosing everything far outweighed the proud ownership of a piece of history. The pistol ended up being surrendered. It's a real shame that restricted licensee's with collectors status aren't 12 6 exempt and could reregister these firearms under a special provision....but the law is the law.
 
Only way to save it from destruction is to turn it into a shooter.
Take the barrel off and destroy it. Register receiver only using verifier help. Keep the spare parts.
Later on install restricted barrel on it.
 
SIGP2101 said:
Only way to save it from destruction is to turn it into a shooter.
Take the barrel off and destroy it. Register receiver only using verifier help. Keep the spare parts.
Later on install restricted barrel on it.
Click to expand...

I don't think that will fly, unless he gets real lucky, Try to find the green slip, It is too bad that this happens way to often,
where some one lets their licence laps, thou I can understand how it happens if they don't have any other guns.
I run into lots of old fellows, which I am also , that said to hell with the whole reregister crap back in the "90's
Now the sh** hits the fan.
 
Some of those serial numbers and registrations disappeared in the 90s. This happened before everything went digital.

As mentioned, if he can find the original registration papers, the registration should still be in effect. In all honesty, I'm surprised he hasn't been contacted. I wonder if his wasn't one of the registrations that was lost???

The first thing I would do, is look for someone with a 12-6 status and get the pistol transferred or at least try to get it registered in his/her name. Then, once all of this is completed, get it rebarreled with a 4 1/4 inch bbl.

As for the original barrel, they might ask for it but if it's a really decent bbl, tell them you would like to sell it to a 12-6 holder to rebarrel a shot out pistol. If I'm correct, they can also be sold into the US with very little hassle, to anyone with an FFL.

They don't necessarily want or require the original barrel destroyed, especially if it is of significant or historical value.

I recently called about a 4 in barreled S&W revolver in 22LR. I want to reline the bore with a sleeve. By drilling out the bore and inserting a sleeve with one end turned to the same diameter of the original barrel. Looks a bit funny at first glance, because the new sleeve, even with the matching muzzle piece, does stick out further than normal, beyond the front sight.

When I called the friendly people at the CFC, they told me I had to turn in the old barrel. I explained that I had remanufactured the old barrel by adapting a sleeve and even though the lady at the other end was a bit restrained, she said it would be OK but had to be verified.

They aren't all anti firearm boors at the other end. A few of them insist on going by the letter of the law but in all honesty, I haven't been able to find any law or regulation that says a take off barrel must be turned in for destruction. It has become the norm, because it is suggested for whichever reason and I believe that the CFC people just carry on with the request as if it's law.

There is more than one way to save that pistol. If push comes to shove, put a take off 30 calibre barrel on it, or even sleeve and rechamber it in 30 luger. That will at least give you time to find a non prohib barrel or get one made up and installed.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom