WW2 Luger - Inheritance?

Avalonthas

Avalonthas

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Hi Folks,

Before I dig deep into the legal fluff to see what is possible or what can be done, I'd be interested in your thoughts and directions.

My grandfather died before I was born, so I have never known him other then a couple very poor blurry pictures that my grandmother saved from there old house that caught fire. He fought in Europe and brought back with him a Luger, upon his death he gave it to his brother in law. My grandmother had been trying to get her brother in law to pass it on to me since I obtained my RPAL, however he was a grumpy old guy and refused to give it to me as he was afraid the government would get him in trouble for having it (I assume it was never registered) and obvious now has passed on due to multiple strokes.

So my grandmother spoke to my grandpas brother in law's daughter who want to get rid of it, and they are willing to let me have it as long as I can obtain it legally and that they don't have to worry about any backlashing on them.

I briefly looked over the inheritance clauses and it seems it needs to transfer from grandfather > father > son, and the wording also looks like it had to be registered in the past, which I can not confirm.

I called the CFC today to inquire but they asked for the Make, Model, Calibre, and Serial to see what is on record which I can't obtain yet until I go see the firearm.

Under these circumstances, do you think the CFC will allow me to take possession of it. It looks like the lugers for sale on the internet are prohibited so I assume so would this one, and since I just got my RPAL in the last year, I only have nonrestricted/restricted privileges.

At the end of the day, if its not possible, I will see if they will let me have it and just store it away in a safe place and risk them raiding my house and destroying it -- as its the only thing there is from my grandfathers past, and I am the only male left in our family, so it means a lot to me to carry it forward with our family name, and in addition to have a connection to a man that never lived for me to meet.

If I can not obtain it legally, will the law allow me to de-activate it as it would no longer function as a firearm and would that allow me to keep it

Your thoughts would be most appreciated
 
If it was never registered you will have to get it de-activated in order to own it legally...not previously registered prohibs cannot be put into the system..
 
There is a limited opportunity for registered pre-1946 Prohibiteds to be willed to direct descendants. If grumpy old granddad acquired it in a poker game in Holland after the war and never trusted the RCMP enough to register it, you are probably SOL. However ... the feds ran a notoriously sloppy paperwork system (thank you Dave Tomlinson RIP) and if you can show any paperwork at all, you may be able to take possession. You will need to be strong willed to get the old timers to look twice in the top drawer for a green paper slip. If you find one, good. If not, you have to get it deactivated.

"At the end of the day, if its not possible, I will see if they will let me have it and just store it away in a safe place and risk them raiding my house and destroying it -- as its the only thing there is from my grandfathers past, and I am the only male left in our family, so it means a lot to me to carry it forward with our family name, and in addition to have a connection to a man that never lived for me to meet."

Fat chance you'll find a sympathetic cop letting you keep this one in live condition. Your sig line in Toronto, and we know how generous Chief Blair is on 'illegal guns'. The saving grace would be to leave it with a gunsmith for deactivation and verification. A neutral party between the legal owner and the system ...
 
The news gets better, the daughters found registration paperwork and are going to scan me a copy, which should have more information. So if its registered I do have a chance to avoid the de-activation.

However would there be an issue for it to go from Grandfather > His Brother in Law > to me
 
Who the gun was registered to is going to be critical. If it was in your grandfather's name, you should be able to swing it. The grandfather's brother-in-law isn't immediate family to you, so if it is registered to him, there's no way you can get it if is a 12-6 (barrel less than 105mm). Converting it to restricted prior to transfer would work, assuming the CFO accepts the old registration.
 
I second the Marstar barrel idea it would be a shame if you lost it do to some stupid 12.6 law.

This country is going to #### fast i can't believe that a family can't keep there WWII legacy in there family because a barrel is a 1/2" too short.

This kinda stuff make me throw up in my mouth!
 
It sure is comforting to know that the Feds are preventing this "dangerous weapon" from falling into the wrong hands. This #### just makes my blood boil!!!! An old vet, fought for our country and his family cant legally own it unless its been butchered. Time for a revolutin folks but that would sully the memory of this old vet........
 
"...found registration paperwork..." It'll depend on who's name is on that. If the brother-in-law didn't get it registered in his name, your grandpa is technically still the legal owner. Mind you, that's not likely to fly given the time involved. Requires more paperwork.
No smithy will touch it to change the barrel, if it's not registered to somebody who can legally have it in their possession. Isn't worth the risk of losing their licence.
You could transfer it to somebody who is currently licenced, get them to have the barrel changed and transfer it back to you. Of course, you'd have to know(and trust) somebody with the permit.
Oh, and Canadian troopies were not allowed to bring handguns back with 'em. (Despite that lots of 'em did anyway.) Some troopies had their kit bags physically searched when they got off the ship. Some were just told they'd be searched, but were given time(not much) to turn in whatever they had. Know a guy who's da had to do that. He said there was a big pile of assorted stuff on the dock.
 
I wish you the best, man. If it doesn't work out, remember that a luger Barrel can be swapped out in about 20 minutes without a smith. It's actually not a difficult task, there's just alot of little parts and springs to watch for. Watch a few video tutorials, and don't do the swap in a cluttered room. Good luck!
 
D King said:
I wish you the best, man. If it doesn't work out, remember that a luger Barrel can be swapped out in about 20 minutes without a smith. It's actually not a difficult task, there's just alot of little parts and springs to watch for. Watch a few video tutorials, and don't do the swap in a cluttered room. Good luck!
Click to expand...

Ah, King, you have replied to a thread 2 years and 8 months old. The police would have stolen and destroyed this valuable relic a long time ago.
 
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