r/canadaguns • u/NoGrapefruit1213 • 2d ago

Buy recommendations 9mm options coming soon.

So it looks like there’s a few new 9mm options coming to Canada. The Schmiesser psr-9 pump action and sterling rc-9 in semi auto and the sterling rl-9 lever action. I’m pretty excited. unsure if I’ll go with the psr-9 or the rc-9 what are your thoughts? It’s also pretty cool what sterling says they are gonna do for all the guys who have the now prohib r9!

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u/Reasonable_Hall2346 2d ago

Interesting. Especially so if RCMP did in fact admit they made a mistake with the original FRT ban. But then now allegedly classifying it as a pistol seems odd. How does that even work….

Sterling Arms promise of free of charge R9 to RC9 conversion, apart from shipping, would be a good redemption story if it were to happen. More hopeium for the R9 owners.

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u/number75 2d ago edited 2d ago

It's really simple. The R9 was sold as a braced "pistol" in the states while awaiting classification change in Canada. Then the RCMP said they would approve it, but they wanted SAI to make sure they weren't just selling the braced "pistol" version in Canada. To comply with this, SAI made some geometry changes in the reciever to ensure the RC9 receiver is not compatible with the R9 reciever.

However, if sounds like because the R9 was officially a pistol first; that means it's proprietary magazines are legally pistol magazines. So even though the RC9 will be sold as a Rifle, it'll be using 10 round pistol magazines.

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u/Acceptable_Visit_115 2d ago

Canada has the "once a handgun always a handgun" law, unlike the US where handguns and SBRs can change with the swap of a stock.

So if a modular firearm reached the market as a handgun guise first (Akdas SA-9, MAC IX, etc.), ahead of the rifle (R9 Mk1), then everything compatible with that handgun frame (or in this case, lower receiver) will be classified as a handgun in Canada.

Fortunately, it doesn't work the other way around: the AR-15 long predates the LAR-15 Pistol, so even if the LAR-15 is a handgun, the AR-15 remains a rifle.

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u/Reasonable_Hall2346 2d ago

It was sold as non-restricted in Canada for months before the FRT ban and it was not a pistol prior to SA shipping the lowers down south.

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u/Acceptable_Visit_115 2d ago

It was claimed to be non-restricted, without a FRT, at the time it went on sale.

  and it was not a pistol prior to SA shipping the lowers down south.

While Sterling's own version arrived in the states after the ban, the pistol version existed earlier in Turkey as the SA-9. SAI also claimed that there's a R9 Mk1 Pistol in order to justify the 10 round capacity. They explicitly said that. There were even multiple (rather reputable) users here on this very sub swearing to god the pistol version exists as well, before the rifle version even shipped.