These rifles have the same appearance and function of the banned semi-automatic versions of the AK, but the federal government classifies them differently because of their design histories.
Among them is the Czech-made VZ-58S, a semi-automatic rifle that has the familiar wood pistol grip, gas-piston tube and banana-shaped magazine found on the AK-47. While these guns lack the capacity for continuous automatic fire or burst mode -- the "spray and pray" effect that makes the AK deadly even in the hands of child soldiers -- they still fire the same powerful cartridge.
Marstar Canada, a mail-order gun dealer in Vankleek Hill, east of Ottawa, sells the VZ-58S for $595, plus taxes and shipping.
"Most Canadian collectors and shooters were unable to obtain modern Warsaw Pact military issue carbines -- until now!" the company website boasts. It calls the gun "civilian legal" and notes it is not an AK-47 variant.
Marstar owner John St. Amour compares the interest in guns such as the VZ-58S to coin collecting.
"There is a great deal of interest in this type of militaria because of its prominence in the world," he said. "These more modern weapons of the Cold War era are catching on."
Mr. St. Amour says that while the VZ may look similar to the banned AK-47, its design is only a distant relative. The VZ parts are not interchangeable with real AKs.
Fully-automatic versions of the AK-47 and other guns have been illegal in Canada since 1978. But in its package of gun law reforms in 1995, the Liberal government moved to prohibit all versions of the AK, including semi-automatics. Only those who already had an AK-47 could legally own one.
The Chretien cabinet also approved a list of 65 other guns of various makes and models that it considered AKs. But that was before the VZ began to enter the Canadian market en masse.
According to the RCMP, the gun is not a member of the AK-47 family.
"It's too different mechanically for us to consider it an AK," said Murray Smith, who manages the RCMP unit that classifies firearms. "There has to be some kind of family lineage dating back to the AK and that simply doesn't exist for the VZ."
But here, the law raises a puzzling contradiction: The VZ looks like the AK-47, and it fires the same round, semi-automatically, yet only one is prohibited. Why ban the AK and not the VZ?
Former Liberal cabinet minister Allan Rock, who was justice minister at the time of the last update to the prohibited list, said the review of the prohibited list was supposed to continue after the batch of changes in 1995.
"The idea was it would become an ongoing process," he said. "As new products came into Canada, a decision would be made if they were military assault rifles or if they were legitimate for hunting."
But Mr. Rock said he believes that the controversy over the gun registry may have dulled the enthusiasm of politicians and possibly public servants for more changes.
The VZ-58S sold by Marstar is considered a restricted weapon, because of its shorter barrel. It cannot be used for hunting and a permit must be acquired to take it to a shooting range.
But a Manitoba-based gun dealer, Wolverine Supplies, has found a way around the restriction by importing a version of the rifle called a CZ 858-2. It is essentially the same gun as the VZ-58S, but with a longer barrel. It is classified as non-restricted; anyone with a valid Possession and Acquisition Licence (PAL) can buy one.
For $650, Wolverine sells the rifle, a carrying pouch, sling, bayonet and four banana-shaped magazines. They look like the 30-round magazines characteristic of the AK-47, but have been "pinned" -- permanently modified to hold only five rounds, making them legal in Canada.
I think I just vomited a little in my mouth.
