Can't hunt small game with a .32RF?
ON hunting regulations do not preclude small game hunting with an antique handgun.
Careful with that, I saw you mentioned "ON"
BC specifically states hunting with a handgun isn't legal. I don't know what other jurisdictions state.
I've only had one encounter with our local Constable about shooting "antique" handguns. It ended up well, but was quite tense for close to an hour.
I usually shoot the antiques at our local range, simply because it's handy. I do like taking a couple of them to a spot along a creek, where I can throw bits of wood into the current and "shoot moving targets"
When doing this, I also bring along copies of the law describing where antique firearms can be discharged and certification or antique status of the firearm.
This has always been enough to easily satisfy Conservation Officers and a couple of RCMP officers. Other folks haven't been so lucky.
If you want to carry an antique handgun into the field, get all of your ducks in a row. Paper up with the pertinent documentation.
This by no means is a guarantee you're not going to encounter an individual Officer who can't see beyond the "arrest"
Police officers are not lawyers. They may be quite well informed in certain areas of the law, which they are interested in, but that's it, and even then, they usually don't take chances. They arrest you and let the Crowns sort out the details.
You will likely be completely exonerated, but your firearm will be in their hands, in deplorable at best lock ups, where a lot of damage occurs.
This process can take anywhere from a couple of days to ?????????????
You can likely speed things up, maybe, with a lawyer.
We no longer have a "detachment" in our community, due to a lack of Constables, for whatever reason, they are all dispatched from a central point, to respond to issues or conduct patrols, etc.
Before this happened, our local detachment was pretty much up to speed on the legalities of antique handgun carry and use in the field.
This happened because we reached out to them and their CO was firearms friendly enough to allow us to show them documentation and speak with them in an open manner.
I can say this, there was more than one constable who did not like the idea of anyone carrying any type of handgun in the field or even civilian handgun ownership.
They were a definite minority in the ranks, but they do exist. How those constables would handle such altercations??????????????
