Request: Stories + Images of the first T97 / QBZ Import Run

[TV-PressPass]

Long shot, but I know a few lads on here did once have their hands on them.

Before the North Sylva T97 NSR in 2016, there was a limited run of T97s brought in by Canada Ammo. I want to say around 2006?

IIRC these were the ones the RCMP decided were easily converted to full auto, and did a full buyback (they would have all been registered at that time, R and NR variants)

I remember hearing about a full sea-can of guns being impounded and given up by CanAm (although now I'm wondering if John @ Marstar was involved)

Anyone ever have one of these guns, or shoot it? The only image I can find out there that matches my memory is this unit here.

Curious about their quality, feel, optics (if any) groups, you know: what was it like to have around?

 

[Jay]

Someone posted that there's a pile of those confiscated T97's at the Petawawa Garrison that get finger banged by trainees going through there.

Tried finding the post & can't, but I know someone posted that nugget of info here somewhere...

 

[b-wingpilot]

If I remember right, Lever Arms brought in type-88, full length and "carbine" type-97 rifles. Those were the ones that were determined to be readily converted to automatic fire and confiscated.

Also, there should be a full transcript of some court case/proceeding of the Canada Ammo Type-97 situation. It includes our favorite guy Murray Smith.

 

[Fordtrucks]

That importer has #### the bed on a few rifles

 

[TV-PressPass]

Someone posted that there's a pile of those confiscated T97's at the Petawawa Garrison that get finger banged by trainees going through there.

Tried finding the post & can't, but I know someone posted that nugget of info here somewhere...

That’s a great story though!

 

[55recce]

I had one of the original Type 97s bought from Lever Arms in Vancouver. There was a carbine model as pictured (a guy I shot with a few times had one), as well as a rifle model. They also had a small number of scopes for sale and I bought one of those too.

I remember the rifle model as being identical to the one I bought to replace it apart from the selector switch. Looked the same, functioned the same and shot the same.

When they became prohibited, it was originally to be without compensation. I did file for a court hearing to argue this but before that happened full compensation was announced. I thus received the full purchase price for the rifle (I had the original receipt), and kept the extra mags, cleaning kit, sling, manual etc. This was around $1300. When the next model arrived I was able to buy one for around $900, so arguably I got the same rifle and made $400 on the deal.

I don't know what happened to the rifles. A casually dressed RCMP officer came to my house by appointment to pick up the rifle. He was rather apologetic and gave the impression that he thought the whole thing was rather ridiculous. I assume he gave me a receipt and went on his way and that was that.....

 

[Ohno]

I seem to recall this video from back in the day.

 

[Milspectacles]

Someone posted that there's a pile of those confiscated T97's at the Petawawa Garrison that get finger banged by trainees going through there.

Tried finding the post & can't, but I know someone posted that nugget of info here somewhere...

Post #4 right here: https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/2144831-What-will-happen-to-the-AR15-you-hand-in-for?p=17953530&viewfull=1#post17953530

Quoted in case it gets deleted:

My intention is to keep my ARs thru the grandfathering option.

If grandfathering isn’t an option down the road or it requires desctivation, I will "surrender" the minimal amount of aluminium, lower receivers, with the take down pins opened/cut and buffer extension threads grinded so it can’t be used no matter how hard you try. Still debating about the bucket of concrete with the serial number showing. Obviously, I’ll arrange pick up at my convenience.

I’m the sole provider for my family, so going to jail or racking a multi thousand legal expense bill. I salute those who will take this road, and you can count on me to chip in for your legal challenges. If you are local to me, I’ll even offer to help and show up to Court for support.

If seized guns are re-used in Canada or sold to 3rd world countries... that opens the door to a whole other level of actions.

For those who don’t believe seized guns could be used by RCMP and CAF... remember the early T97 that were seized at entry ? Well a bunch of them are sleeping in vaults in Gagetown at the Infantry School to get finerbanged by Small Arms courses.

 

[Jay]

That’s a great story though!

Indeed!

Post #4 right here: https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/2144831-What-will-happen-to-the-AR15-you-hand-in-for?p=17953530&viewfull=1#post17953530

Quoted in case it gets deleted:

For those who don’t believe seized guns could be used by RCMP and CAF... remember the early T97 that were seized at entry ? Well a bunch of them are sleeping in vaults in Gagetown at the Infantry School to get finerbanged by Small Arms courses.

Thank you good Sir!

 

[DiMP]

I don't want to derail the thread, but is there still people out there that still have a deposit with CanAm for the T97 rifles? I remember them doing a deposit for what was going to be a new version that they promised would be <$1k

 

[DVX]

Someone posted that there's a pile of those confiscated T97's at the Petawawa Garrison that get finger banged by trainees going through there.

Tried finding the post & can't, but I know someone posted that nugget of info here somewhere...

I'm gonna have to say that story was probably bunk.

 

[DT741]

Here is what I said less than a week ago:

I was recently on a course in Gagetown (new version of the old small arms for the curious). Part of the course is to teach on foreign weapons and depending which is still fireable, we shoot it later during the course.

One of the weapons we had was the Norinco T97 poorly introduced to us as a QBZ... anyhow, we were a few gun nutz on this course and one actually traced the serial numbers to the first batch that came in the country with the functionnal fun switch. We had 6 for 2 courses

We shot those, along with several variants of the AK, Tek9 and other stuff like that.

These are not crime guns, they are seized firearms that have been cleared from a shady history and are recycled as training aids in the CAF.

But if the story is about Petawawa and guns being fingerbanged, well it likely involves MPs

 

[Jarvy]

Here is a photo taken by a CGN member many years ago of their example from that first batch, which I saved for my own reference. I cannot find the original post now, and the original image was taken down when photobucket did whatever it did back in the day.
You can compare this image to the diagram below taken from a QBZ95 manual, and see that it retains a number components used by the autosear, as well as the interesting safe and fire positions on the safety switch. There was no image of the trigger module itself so we can only speculate, but it's possible all you'd have to do is file a notch in the safety and you'd have had a select-fire T97. That would explain the RCMP scramble to scoop them all up.

Those first imports also had the front sight tower that could be drifted left and right for windage (which would give us a MUCH better sight picture than what we ended up getting) as well as the all-important bayonet lug, which is literally just an AR15 lug. Very annoying that those features were deleted, but I'm sure it helped keep costs down.

 

[ted_dent]

I don't want to derail the thread, but is there still people out there that still have a deposit with CanAm for the T97 rifles? I remember them doing a deposit for what was going to be a new version that they promised would be <$1k

I put a $100 deposit down on a T97 that was in the Canada Ammo batch the was seized. I seem to recall that originally the deposit was non-refundable but Canada Ammo eventually ended up giving $100 credit for future purposes. I never did use the credit and I suppose I should contact them and see if they will still honour it.