Swiss Arms Confiscated | NFA, National Firearms Association,
Jabberwalker @ Mon Mar 03, 2014 3:03 pm
... Yankee Whiskey 'n Gun traders ... (see: Fort Whoop-up)
http://www.canadashistory.ca/Destinatio ... toric-Site
Hyack @ Mon Mar 03, 2014 3:54 pm
They can have my Springfield Armory M1A and all it's 20 round magazines when they pry them from my cold dead fingers......
Jabberwalker @ Mon Mar 03, 2014 6:12 pm
Hyack Hyack:
They can have my Springfield Armory M1A and all it's 20 round magazines when they pry them from my cold dead fingers......
G.I. Joe?
DrCaleb @ Tue Mar 04, 2014 8:30 am
The Swiss Arms Classic Green will not be confiscated or designated 'Prohibited'.
$1:
The federal government has granted amnesty to owners of Swiss Arms Classic Green semi-automatic rifles, who will be able to continue to possess their guns "without threat of criminal charges," according to a statement from the public safety minister's office.
Although the guns have been sold in Canada for a dozen years, the RCMP had been investigating a small group of rifles similar to the Classic Greens that were brought into Canada from the small arms manufacturer in Switzerland eight months ago,
These guns were repainted and modified versions of used models purchased in Switzerland. In an email to one of the stores that was selling the guns, the RCMP said they suspected the guns could be converted to automatic weapons.
Automatic weapons are banned in Canada. Semi-automatics are allowed as long as their magazines hold only five rounds.
It's not clear why the RCMP decided to prohibit a whole class of guns, including about 2,000 that had been legally purchased in Canada. The RCMP did not make an announcement about the ban and has not answered calls or emails from CBC News.
. . .
Conservative MPs support 'law-abiding gun owners'
Monday afternoon, after the matter had been brought up by Conservative MPs in the House of Commons who promised to support law-abiding gun owners, Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney's office issued a statement announcing the amnesty.
"The minister announced his intent to bring forward an amnesty to ensure that individuals in possession of these firearms can continue to possess their property without threat of criminal charges," wrote spokesman Jean-Christophe de Le Rue.
J.R. Cox, who operates The Shooting Edge, a Calgary gun store, told CBC the military-style carbines are the most expensive on the market, costing about $4,000.
"There is a movement within the RCMP and they don't like to see guns in the hands of anybody but themselves," he said about the Mounties' attempt to put them on a prohibited list.
Although the guns have been sold in Canada for a dozen years, the RCMP had been investigating a small group of rifles similar to the Classic Greens that were brought into Canada from the small arms manufacturer in Switzerland eight months ago,
These guns were repainted and modified versions of used models purchased in Switzerland. In an email to one of the stores that was selling the guns, the RCMP said they suspected the guns could be converted to automatic weapons.
Automatic weapons are banned in Canada. Semi-automatics are allowed as long as their magazines hold only five rounds.
It's not clear why the RCMP decided to prohibit a whole class of guns, including about 2,000 that had been legally purchased in Canada. The RCMP did not make an announcement about the ban and has not answered calls or emails from CBC News.
. . .
Conservative MPs support 'law-abiding gun owners'
Monday afternoon, after the matter had been brought up by Conservative MPs in the House of Commons who promised to support law-abiding gun owners, Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney's office issued a statement announcing the amnesty.
"The minister announced his intent to bring forward an amnesty to ensure that individuals in possession of these firearms can continue to possess their property without threat of criminal charges," wrote spokesman Jean-Christophe de Le Rue.
J.R. Cox, who operates The Shooting Edge, a Calgary gun store, told CBC the military-style carbines are the most expensive on the market, costing about $4,000.
"There is a movement within the RCMP and they don't like to see guns in the hands of anybody but themselves," he said about the Mounties' attempt to put them on a prohibited list.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/swiss-a ... -1.2558585
Doesn't say if they will continue to be sold or not.
uwish @ Thu Mar 06, 2014 8:32 am
I don't want an amnesty, to what end? forfeit my property 5 years from now? This needs to be fixed! NOW!
DrCaleb @ Thu Mar 06, 2014 8:40 am
uwish uwish:
I don't want an amnesty, to what end? forfeit my property 5 years from now? This needs to be fixed! NOW!
I hate to say, but it's the exporter's fault. If they took full-auto versions and removed parts to convert them to semi-auto without ensuring they could never be converted back, then they are the ones that screwed up.
The RCMP would be further screwing up by banning all Swiss Arms rifles, and not finding out which ones are the converted full autos. That would require effort, and wouldn't play into their view that the public needs to be disarmed.
And, choosing to be a criminal and never registering with the LGR in the first place has some advantages.
ShepherdsDog @ Thu Mar 06, 2014 8:46 am
$1:
The federal government has granted amnesty to owners of Swiss Arms Classic Green semi-automatic rifles
how can you grant amnesty when no laws were broken? The owners legally purchased the firearm.
I legally purchased some older Chinese SKS(type56) for $200 each in the late 90s. They can be easily converted, and as it is, they fire as fast as you can twitch your finger on the trigger....without jamming
DrCaleb @ Fri Mar 07, 2014 11:27 am
A new wrinkle!
$1:
Ban of Swiss Arms guns sows confusion
Both gun owners and gun control advocates say they're confused by the government's handling of a ban on a class of military-style rifles.
Gun owners say they don't know what the government's five-year amnesty on the Swiss Arms Classic Greens means.
The guns are semi-automatic rifles called Classic Greens and they've been available in Canada for about a dozen years.
Last week the RCMP changed the guns' classification from "non-restricted" to "prohibited" on its firearms reference table (FRT), a document available only to police and other authorized people such as gun shop owners.
No announcement was made, and the RCMP has not responded to numerous calls about why the guns were banned.
Both gun owners and gun control advocates say they're confused by the government's handling of a ban on a class of military-style rifles.
Gun owners say they don't know what the government's five-year amnesty on the Swiss Arms Classic Greens means.
The guns are semi-automatic rifles called Classic Greens and they've been available in Canada for about a dozen years.
Last week the RCMP changed the guns' classification from "non-restricted" to "prohibited" on its firearms reference table (FRT), a document available only to police and other authorized people such as gun shop owners.
No announcement was made, and the RCMP has not responded to numerous calls about why the guns were banned.
$1:
Dispute between two Calgary gun shops
To add to the confusion, the story of how the guns came to be banned after a dozen years on the Canadian market seems have started with a dispute between two Calgary gun shops.
Bachynsky admits his company, fearing a shortage of the popular Classic Green rifles, purchased some used versions in Switzerland last year and had them refurbished and shipped to Canada. One of those guns ended up as a trade-in at The Shooting Edge in Calgary, operated by J.R. Cox.
Cox, in an interview with CBC News last week, said he thought the refurbished gun had been modified from an assault weapon that's illegal in Canada. "You can put lipstick on a pig but it's still a pig. It was so badly beaten up. I've never seen a gun in Canada with a look like that. And it had a fresh coat of paint to make it look good," he said.
So he reported the gun to the RCMP.
Bachynsky says Cox wanted to "interfere with our business." Cox, who admits "the guys at the Calgary Shooting Centre used to be my partners," said, "They've managed to portray me as if I'm the bad guy. But I'm not the one who brought in 16 prohibited firearms which started this whole mess."
The upshot was that the RCMP not only banned the refurbished guns, but the whole class of Swiss Arms rifles.
To add to the confusion, the story of how the guns came to be banned after a dozen years on the Canadian market seems have started with a dispute between two Calgary gun shops.
Bachynsky admits his company, fearing a shortage of the popular Classic Green rifles, purchased some used versions in Switzerland last year and had them refurbished and shipped to Canada. One of those guns ended up as a trade-in at The Shooting Edge in Calgary, operated by J.R. Cox.
Cox, in an interview with CBC News last week, said he thought the refurbished gun had been modified from an assault weapon that's illegal in Canada. "You can put lipstick on a pig but it's still a pig. It was so badly beaten up. I've never seen a gun in Canada with a look like that. And it had a fresh coat of paint to make it look good," he said.
So he reported the gun to the RCMP.
Bachynsky says Cox wanted to "interfere with our business." Cox, who admits "the guys at the Calgary Shooting Centre used to be my partners," said, "They've managed to portray me as if I'm the bad guy. But I'm not the one who brought in 16 prohibited firearms which started this whole mess."
The upshot was that the RCMP not only banned the refurbished guns, but the whole class of Swiss Arms rifles.
And the juicy bit:
$1:
RCMP wants to change gun classifications
But access to information documents show that for some time the RCMP has been wanting to change the classification of many of the newer guns brought into Canada. In a briefing note obtained and published by Global News last year, the RCMP details a meeting planned with Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney and his staff at a shooting range.
In the memo, the RCMP says firearm classifications have not been updated since the Firearms Act was passed in 1995. The result, it notes, is that "50-calibre sniping rifles and other military and paramilitary-type firearms are currently non-restricted."
An earlier document, addressed to the former minister, Vic Toews, warns that outdated gun classifications "pose a risk to public safety."
But access to information documents show that for some time the RCMP has been wanting to change the classification of many of the newer guns brought into Canada. In a briefing note obtained and published by Global News last year, the RCMP details a meeting planned with Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney and his staff at a shooting range.
In the memo, the RCMP says firearm classifications have not been updated since the Firearms Act was passed in 1995. The result, it notes, is that "50-calibre sniping rifles and other military and paramilitary-type firearms are currently non-restricted."
An earlier document, addressed to the former minister, Vic Toews, warns that outdated gun classifications "pose a risk to public safety."
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/ban-of- ... -1.2562933
BartSimpson @ Fri Mar 07, 2014 12:02 pm
A .50 caliber rifle is a .50 caliber rifle. 'Sniping' is something you do with it, not something that it is.
While certain rifles are colloquially referred to as 'sniper' rifles I'm disappointed that the RCMP exhibits such technological ignorance in their official memorandums.
Any number of rifles have been used by snipers so if they're going to go after 'sniper' rifles then you folks up in Canuckistan should prepare to see a huge expansion of bans on various models of rifles based on purely emotional and hyperbolic critieria.
DrCaleb @ Fri Mar 07, 2014 12:09 pm
BartSimpson BartSimpson:
A .50 caliber rifle is a .50 caliber rifle. 'Sniping' is something you do with it, not something that it is.
While certain rifles are colloquially referred to as 'sniper' rifles I'm disappointed that the RCMP exhibits such technological ignorance in their official memorandums.
While certain rifles are colloquially referred to as 'sniper' rifles I'm disappointed that the RCMP exhibits such technological ignorance in their official memorandums.
I think I read that most police forces use the Remington 700 in tactical black as their standard 'sniper' rifle. Which is exactly the same rifle you can buy for hunting, in a camo green pattern.
I bet there will be no call to ban it. Pretty sure it's not ignorance, but the 'chicken little' approach to law enforcement.
Jabberwalker @ Fri Mar 07, 2014 5:13 pm
BartSimpson BartSimpson:
A .50 caliber rifle is a .50 caliber rifle. 'Sniping' is something you do with it, not something that it is.
While certain rifles are colloquially referred to as 'sniper' rifles I'm disappointed that the RCMP exhibits such technological ignorance in their official memorandums.
Any number of rifles have been used by snipers so if they're going to go after 'sniper' rifles then you folks up in Canuckistan should prepare to see a huge expansion of bans on various models of rifles based on purely emotional and hyperbolic critieria.
While certain rifles are colloquially referred to as 'sniper' rifles I'm disappointed that the RCMP exhibits such technological ignorance in their official memorandums.
Any number of rifles have been used by snipers so if they're going to go after 'sniper' rifles then you folks up in Canuckistan should prepare to see a huge expansion of bans on various models of rifles based on purely emotional and hyperbolic critieria.
Canadians made a great "sniper rifle" once ... the Ross. It wasn't supposed to be that way but that is how it turned out. It was a terrible weapon for a trooper sitting in the mud but it was the preferred "sniper rifle" of the CEF for the duration of WWI.
Xort @ Fri Mar 07, 2014 9:22 pm
DrCaleb DrCaleb:
I hate to say, but it's the exporter's fault. If they took full-auto versions and removed parts to convert them to semi-auto without ensuring they could never be converted back, then they are the ones that screwed up.
Never converted back? Just about every semi auto rifle could be converted to be full auto. It's not anyone fault. If I wanted a full auto firearm it's technically easier to make than semi auto.
It you need a year, a team of engineers and a machine shop to convert the rifle, like the RCMP used. That's not a reasonable reason to ban anything.