r/canadaguns 24d ago

Competitions/matches Recently started my journey on becoming an "Olympic" sports shooter.

Recently started attending bullseye/sport pistol practices at the gun club. I also plan to compete in sanctioned SFC matches as well. This is the gun that I've chosen to borrow from the club in the meantime. It's a Ruger Mark II Target. The gun belongs to the club but I will stick to using this exact model every time so I can build familiarity with it.

Hopefully by the end of the year I will have accumulated enough practice sessions and matches to get an exemption letter so I can buy my own "Olympic" style handgun.

I know the state of firearm laws in Canada are trash at the moment but I will continue to enjoy the sport/hobby any way I can.

280 Upvotes

60 comments sorted by

101

u/Major-Ad-4288 24d ago

the by-product of this is Canada is going to have a very competitive Olympic shooting team.

48

u/Agent_1812 https://youtu.be/mrAwb9ptu9U 24d ago

I recognise that table! Welcome!

19

u/mwmwmwmwmmdw 24d ago

its funny how many ranges or gun shops can be uniquely identified by just a small clip of a wall or table.

11

u/julienjj 23d ago

absolutely unrelated to how much time we spend there ๐Ÿ˜‚

51

u/-rifle-is-fine- 24d ago

Good on you for taking action instead of complaining!

I give you early applause for legally increasing the number of handguns in Canada in the future. ๐Ÿซก

17

u/theservman on 24d ago

Not only do I recognize that port table, I'm almost certain at least one of my students used that pistol for the club safety course on Saturday, which is why I'm going to ask you to flip it over so that ejection port is pointing up and the RO can see the chamber is empty.

15

u/22GageEnthusiast 24d ago

Photos were mainly taken for my reference and so that I have the serial number to let the discipline director know which gun I'd like to use each time. Chamber flag is always in the gun when not in use.

2

u/Hisoka365 22d ago

Do you guys have a mailing list for the competitions hosted in Burlington?

Is there any happening next? Thanks

1

u/22GageEnthusiast 20d ago

https://www.rangeburlington.ca/disciplines.php

scroll down to the "Bullseye" discipline for the information

8

u/CLIMAXJONES 24d ago

What province are you in OP ?

33

u/22GageEnthusiast 24d ago

Onterrible

6

u/CLIMAXJONES 24d ago

Same here brother. I am in the process or borrowing my brothers 22 pistol so I can work towards and exemption let. Any idea how much proof you have to send it before asking for an exemption letter?!

9

u/22GageEnthusiast 24d ago

Tbh I don't know how much proof I'll need. Everyone seems to have different answers about this. At the moment I'm just logging all my practice session scores and any future match scores in a spreadsheet and I'll eventually submit that as proof. I'm going to try as early as possible to ask for an exemption. Once I have about 2-3 months of scores accumulated I'm submitting the request.

7

u/Agent_1812 https://youtu.be/mrAwb9ptu9U 24d ago

The discipline director will help you get the letter

2

u/22GageEnthusiast 24d ago

Good to know. Thanks.

2

u/CLIMAXJONES 24d ago

Thatโ€™s awesome to hear man . Good idea about the spread sheet! I think lll do the same . Please keep me updated ! Best of luck

2

u/edyuster 22d ago

There's a section on the SFC site that talks about the requirements and an email for the request and to ask for more details.

From my communication with the Director of Sport Development (the email goes to this person), they asked you create a portfolio that shows your involvement in Olympic handgun disciplines over a 4-6 month period, which can include your scores in matches or events.

The 4-6 month period is dependent on how often you shoot.

I'm sure there are other ways you can probably fast track this if you have a good relationship with your match director or club organizer, but this requirement is coming from the person that pretty much signs off your exemption letter.

2

u/daiimer 24d ago

I submitted a link to my OIHL scores for the season

1

u/22GageEnthusiast 24d ago

I'm hoping to compete in the OIHL in the fall but it'll depend if there's room

2

u/Revolutionary_Fun_6 23d ago

Cool Spawn avatar. Best of luck with your application and shooting comps.

9

u/Equivalent-Shoe-1652 24d ago

What's the coolest pistols people have got under olympic exemption? I just can't get excited about the ruger personally. Taurus looks the most esthetically pleasing in opinion.

6

u/22GageEnthusiast 24d ago

I have heard through the grapevine that the SFC is currently sending out exemption letters for any 22LR handgun.

5

u/DafuqStonr 23d ago

Glock44?

3

u/22GageEnthusiast 23d ago

Theoretically this could be exempt because it's chambered in 22LR. The problem is trying to find a retailer who's got it in stock. Maybe IRunGuns?

2

u/Equivalent-Shoe-1652 24d ago

I remember someone posted in here a few months ago about a pistol he was getting exemption for and was being brought in by irunguns from the states. Does anyone know if that went through? I want something that is more modern looking personally. Planning to get exemption this fall.

5

u/22GageEnthusiast 24d ago

I'll probably have to use IRunGuns as well cuz it seems that they can get the model of handgun I want at the better price.

2

u/Equivalent-Shoe-1652 23d ago

What pistol are you looking at?

1

u/22GageEnthusiast 23d ago

One of the Ruger Mark IV models is the goal atm but I'd settle for a Mark II or III

5

u/One_Salary_9068 24d ago

Are you doing the 25 or 50 m... And witch target do you use. I want to by some target on the SFC website but not sure witch one ๐Ÿค”

3

u/22GageEnthusiast 24d ago

20m/25m. The club provides the targets.

2

u/One_Salary_9068 23d ago

How many bullet do you need to shoot per practice ?

2

u/22GageEnthusiast 23d ago

65-70 rounds per practice/match

2

u/One_Salary_9068 23d ago

So what exactly do you need to do in a 25m olympic style match ?

1

u/22GageEnthusiast 23d ago

So the practices/matches are either the Bullseye Pistol or Sport Pistol disciplines. I'd say look it up on Youtube for reference. Tbh some people find these disciplines boring cuz essentially all you're doing is standing still, shooting at a target one handed at 20m/25m and that's it.

However, I like how difficult it is and even after a few sessions I've already seen slow improvement. Just gotta keep doing it and just take in and advice/pointers from the more experienced people there.

2

u/One_Salary_9068 23d ago

You keep saying 20/25m... But i tought olypic style is 25m... Im asking for the examption purpose ๐Ÿ˜

1

u/22GageEnthusiast 23d ago

Bullseye is 20m and the Sport Pistol is supposed to be 25m but I think they do 20m for practice. That's why I can't say for sure between 20m or 25m.

2

u/Agent_1812 https://youtu.be/mrAwb9ptu9U 22d ago

25 yards, our range predates a Metric Canada
About 23m, our targets are scaled appropriately

1

u/One_Salary_9068 23d ago

So unless im mistaken ... There is only one discipline (Olympic 25m rapid fire pistol) is a men's-only shooting event where athletes use .22 caliber pistols to shoot at five distinct targets in rapid succession. The target distance is exactly 25 meters away. Shooters have only four seconds per round to hit all five targets. So im trying to inderstand how far appart are those targets. Are they on the same paper?

3

u/Agent_1812 https://youtu.be/mrAwb9ptu9U 22d ago edited 22d ago

https://backoffice.issf-sports.org/getfile.aspx?mod=docf&pane=1&inst=455&file=ISSF-Rule-Book-2026-Edition-2025-Second-Print-07-2026-Effective-1-July-2026.pdf

Page 199, standard pistol target, 25m

That being said, our targets are a little bit smailler as the range predates Metric in Canada and was designed in yards, not meters. The targets are about 10% closer and 10% smaller.

2

u/thecoop1999 23d ago

Can I ask what club in Ontario you're doing this at?

2

u/22GageEnthusiast 23d ago

Burlington Rifle and Revolver Club

2

u/thecoop1999 23d ago

Ahh nice! I've reached out to them about conpeting. Do you mind if we chat quickly through DM?

2

u/Agent_1812 https://youtu.be/mrAwb9ptu9U 22d ago

The discipline director can probably help bullseye.brrc@gmail.com

are you a member? we do host other clubs during the season

2

u/thecoop1999 21d ago

Unfortunately I'm a member at another club and was hoping to find a place I can shoot Bullseye without having to join a second one. So far no luck though...

1

u/22GageEnthusiast 21d ago

Look up the Ontario Intercounty Handgun League to see if the range you joined is a part of the league.

5

u/16gaugeguy16 24d ago

Great choice!

4

u/1baby2cats 24d ago

If you get approved, where can you even buy a hand gun now? I'm assuming regular retailers don't carry them any more

7

u/22GageEnthusiast 24d ago

Certain retailers in Canada still carry handguns for sale to exemption holders only. However, they don't advertise on their website. It seems that you have to ask around to see who's got inventory.

Also, there's some people selling on Gunpost to exemption holders only and the SFRC auctions usually have handguns open for bidding to exemption holders as well.

4

u/Dill_Pickle_Tears 24d ago

In the same boat OP. Just joined a club and will be joining the bullseye team. Just need to wait for the range course date so I can become a full member

3

u/Enough_Challenge7264 23d ago

How many hurdles, and how high have our Liberal overlords set the bar? Have to pay them $thousands? 10's of thousands?

7

u/22GageEnthusiast 23d ago edited 23d ago

To be fair getting this exemption won't cost thousands. If you factor in the RPAL fee, a range membership, practice/match fees and a membership to the SFC the total cost would be around $600-$700 not including the gun and ammo/accessories.

5

u/One_Salary_9068 23d ago

So forget about the 50m Olympic bullseye discipline; it was removed from the Olympics in 2020. What's left is the 25m rapid fire pistol event. This consists of shooting at 5 targets with 5 .22 caliber bullets in less than 5 seconds per shot. Besides, rumors say they are going to remove this discipline too. When that happens, well, that's game overโ€”no more exemptions

0

u/22GageEnthusiast 23d ago

"Rumours say"......can you back that up with actually sources? Or are you just another Liberal Party plant trolling the sub?

3

u/One_Salary_9068 23d ago

Are you crazy ๐ŸคŒ๐Ÿผ .All im saying is, lets hurry up and lets all do it before they take out. And by the way, Summer olympic are every 4 years ๐Ÿ˜

3

u/SwampyUndies 22d ago

Ok someone needs to tell me. One of my regrets is not getting a S&W 500.

Could I get a S&W 500 so that I can train to handle the recoil better, for olympic shooting of course?
Would this be doable?

1

u/22GageEnthusiast 22d ago

lol.....good luck

2

u/SoldiersofChristBR 22d ago

I'll be cheering for you in the olympics!

1

u/NemrahG 24d ago

Great gun! I got one to use a mk1 in my last competition and it was such a pleasure to shoot