r/canadaguns • u/BayGullGuy • Apr 10 '26
Application / Regulation advice Handgun inheritance
Hi all,
Wondering if there’s something I’m missing.
My dad has a handgun (.22 revolver) that he inherited many years ago. He has his RPAL and is the legal owner of the gun.
He wants it to become mine when he passes.
With our current gun laws is there anyway to have it become mine either before or after he passes?
I’m thinking there’s not, but looking for advice.
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u/julienjj Apr 10 '26
Sadly no.
BUT the NFA has a business license and they have a program where they can hold it for you until the law change.
If you are in a club some are now having business licenses to hold guns for their members onsite until the law change.
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u/GinnAdvent Apr 10 '26
It's not the best option, but it's certainly one of better ones. I would have done the same to pass down some heirlooms.
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u/black_covfefe_please Apr 15 '26
Can the inheritors use the gun at a range?
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u/julienjj Apr 15 '26
If they transfer the guns from the estate to a club license, yes, that’s the point.
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u/Spydude84 Apr 10 '26
Maaaaaaybe you can shoot ISSF (Olympic shooting) and get an exemption letter and acquire the revolver that way. Only .22lr can be acquired, but that fits. This isn't a guarantee though. To be clear, you only have to compete in the discipline to get a letter, you don't have to be good at it.
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u/Mirin_Gains Apr 10 '26
Hopefully he remembers where he put it when the time comes for the horse cops.
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u/h3IIfir3pho3nix N E R F G U N S Apr 10 '26
It's not the answer you want OP, but if the handgun gets deactivated by a gunsmith and certified as no longer a firearm, you could then take possession of it.
Otherwise, there's essentially no way for it to be legally transferred to you.
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u/AlienAngry Apr 10 '26
It's they way they deactivate them enough to mess up the aesthetics?
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u/h3IIfir3pho3nix N E R F G U N S Apr 10 '26
I'm not an expert, but I believe anesthetically it would still look decent on a wall or something. But all moving parts are welded shut in today's deactivations, there's no "cock and click" style deactivation anymore.
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u/IGnuGnat Apr 11 '26
No, I think they changed the deactivation rules so that actually you can see big ugly welds on the gun. It's basically ruined for any purpose, it's not aesthetically pleasing anymore
I guess you could cut it open to create a window to the internals, for display purposes? You probably still have to weld some shit to be in compliance but practically speaking prior to the recent changes, it was leqal to acquire a cut open firearms for training and instructional purposes
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u/Dry_Diet9916 Apr 10 '26
If he forgot where he put it, then you're good to go.
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u/Fuck_you_all22 Apr 10 '26
You mean to "prison".
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u/icedesparten Apr 10 '26
Dad's dead, no idea what he did with the thing.
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u/yolo_swagdaddy Apr 10 '26
Always did have the best hiding places, damn shame you can’t find the thing.
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u/boozefiend3000 Apr 10 '26
Only way to get that is to vote conservative
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u/Fuck_you_all22 Apr 10 '26
And elected conservative mps morph into liberal mps. Isn't life great or what?
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u/gamercast1337 Apr 10 '26
Thats just democracy baby, it always stays democratic and never ever turns into something more henous when evil people get in charge so DONT criticize the system!!!!!
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u/tesseractivism Apr 10 '26
I see this partisan tac a lot here but conservative governments do not undo these shit laws...they just benefit from being the counterpoint in debate when opposing. They have never unndone anything that has not failed outright like the registry. They certainly have never corrected any of these laws while forming majority governments.
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u/Honest-Ad-7077 Apr 10 '26
What other laws do you think Harper should have reversed? He reversed the registry and I think that was the only super unpopular law at the time.
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u/boozefiend3000 Apr 10 '26
Because there’s only been one conservative government in power since the changes in the 90s, with only 4 years of a majority. Scrapping the registry was huge. There was plans to ease up a lot of stuff if Harper got his second majority. Even a pilot program to handgun hunt. Harper reversed the prohib status on Swiss arms rifles and I think the vz58? Pierre Trudeau made the AR restricted in the 70s, Joe Clark made in unrestricted again in his brief stay as PM. The conservatives will undo shit, they just need to be in power
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u/tesseractivism Apr 10 '26
I disagree but take your point. Both ends of the governing dynamics have been calculated but Cons have not been powerless even without majority. The scrap of the registry was done for them; it was a husk by the time it was carved off the legislation. The moves they make have not been decisive in ways that feel compromised by actuaries when they have had the power and as empowered opposition there is no action to organise legislation that is meaningful for FA concerns. They get so vocal about it when not forming gov't. The neo-cons and the neo-libs look identical the more seats in house they get. I think the legislative record would be better to treat them all as the dubiously competent but reliably shifty politicians they are as a profession.
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u/handen Apr 10 '26
Poilievre needs to take a hint and fuck off forever if you ever want that to happen.
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u/boozefiend3000 Apr 10 '26
Makes zero difference who leads the party. They all get labeled as Trump
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u/PrairieBiologist Apr 10 '26
You don’t need a leader who helps them do that.
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u/boozefiend3000 Apr 10 '26
Once again, it makes no difference. O’toole was Trump, absolutely nothing about them was the same, but enough of the electorate still bought it
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u/PrairieBiologist Apr 10 '26
It absolutely makes a difference. O’Toole was not Trump. That was not a serious talking point. O’Toole actually did better than Trudeau in the popular vote because he didn’t have that baggage. Poilievre united the entire rest of the country against the conservatives because he made the comparison too easy.
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u/BlandRusk06 Apr 10 '26
Wrong. Poilievre is our only hope of the handgun laws being relaxed.
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u/xmqe Apr 11 '26
Poilievre will never be elected. He can't even win his own riding, guy is a clown. Cons need someone who isn't a moron if they want a chance.
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Apr 10 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/BayGullGuy Apr 10 '26
I actually don’t have much interest in using it at a range. I don’t do a lot of target shooting, mostly just small game though I am trying to get my moose license.
It’s mostly for the sentimental value though I also don’t want it rendered inoperable.
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u/Riversruinsandwoods Apr 10 '26
Ik someone who started there own business to get around this. But they also instruct courses.
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u/No-Night-48 Apr 10 '26
No. Lot's of history and family heirlooms are about to be taken by the rich.
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u/yummybunnybear Apr 10 '26
Structure his Will so that the estate has discretion to hold on to the handgun for as long as possible subject to a remainder interest.
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u/Both-Employ840 Apr 10 '26
I mean you probably don’t know where he left it and unfortunately you can’t help them with it but you definitely will call them once you do find it
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u/goshathegreat Apr 10 '26
All these people saying it’s impossible are wrong, I know a guy who literally just purchased a 22lr revolver via Olympic exemption, he already had a Pardini so this is just for fun.
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u/gambit_kory Apr 10 '26
Reading about the exemption for about two seconds this is not practical for 99% of people.
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Apr 10 '26
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u/swift_gilford Apr 10 '26
Currently no, but there are steps you can take so you can be grant exemption under the current situation. Note it won't be a quick process, but reach out to these guys.
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u/-rifle-is-fine- Apr 10 '26
Contact an exempt business and give it to them.
They will own it and they are not obligated to get it back to you, but it won't be destroyed. There is that sliver of a chance laws might change and you can get it back some day.
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u/Winter-Sympathy5037 Apr 10 '26
You are allowed to borrow it for as long as you like as long as you have his paper work. Do whatever you want with this information.
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u/Djosselyn311 Apr 11 '26
Unfortunately, you are out of luck. My great grandfathers pistol was taken by the rcmp a few months back when I inherited a bunch of family firearms. The officer was apparently trying to be helpful and find a way to be able to transfer it to me but they ended up taking it. That was my last chance at a prohib licence too!
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u/snowylambeau Apr 11 '26
In 2024, my father and I did this with the family Luger (<105mm) that my great-uncle took from a German who didn’t need it anymore in North Africa.
If it’s pre-1946 and it was registered before 1998, then as a direct family member you can inherit it and you will have a 12(7) restriction added to your RPAL.
It’s a bit of a slow process, and you should do it before he passes. If you have your RPAL, contact the Canadian Firearms Program at 1-800-731-4000 and they’ll walk you through it.
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u/BayGullGuy Apr 11 '26
I’ll have to find out how old it is. Dad was born in the 60s and the guy he got it from had it then.
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u/snowylambeau Apr 12 '26
If it’s a Smith & Wesson K-22, they were common before 1946.
Whether or not he registered it is the other question.
It’s worth checking out, and I found it to be a fun father/son project. Good luck.
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u/Eat_Cantaloupe_ Apr 10 '26
There is not a legal way to transfer a handgun in this situation