r/canadaguns • u/AutoModerator • Aug 14 '22

Weekly Newbies & FAQ Thread - Post your questions here for PAL/RPAL application, timelines, CFSC/CFSRC, references & requirements, or general new to firearms ownership -type questions

This thread will be used for the "new"-type questions, PAL/RPAL applications, references, CFSC/CFRSC requirements, storage/transport, or other general "new-to-me" firearms ownership questions.

In response to this thread, the community was quite positive for a thread to cover these subjects.

These threads will be stickied for a week, renewing every Sunday @ about 0600 AST. Previous threads here. Take a look, your question may have been answered!

If you have any suggestions for this thread, please feel free to ask here, or send the Mods a message.

Thank you!

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u/PaulM4444 Aug 16 '22

Hey

Firstly, I know nothing about guns or licensing.

I would like to buy a Lee Enfield No.4 Mk1 rifle to display with my Grandads war medals (RAF). I'm hoping for British made but would also take long branch. I've looked at replicas, deactivated and soft air but they all cost more and are less common than real.

I've looked at ads and some seem to request a PAL and some don't say anything. Also I'll probably need it shipping to Saskatoon.

Am I able to buy the gun without a license, it will be hung on the wall with no ammunition in the house?

Is shipping an issue?

Is there a better way to get what I need?

Thanks

5

u/[deleted] Aug 16 '22

If it's not deactivated, you need a license, get one, it's easy.

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u/PaulM4444 Aug 16 '22

Thanks. Is it just the PAL I need to do?. Is it just paperwork?

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u/ClemementineSweetie Aug 16 '22

TL,DR: not quite... There's more... May be more work than it's worth... See below...

Full reply:

There's the safety course (a whole day course usually run on Saturdays)... And a whole application process with background checks and references... Takes a few months total of mostly just waiting and waiting and waiting. License also is not good for an entire lifetime, so every 5 years you'll need to renew your license to keep within legal compliance just for a one gun display...

My opinion will always be to get the license and get a real rifle... Potential to honor the g-pa every once in a while by throwing some lead down range like he did, but it may be more work than it's worth if you never plan to shoot.

Also, look up display regulations... May not be as easy as you think to display an actual functioning firearm. Not quite as simple as "put a rack on the wall and stick the gun on it". The required locking devices or need to render it inoperable (I.e. Remove the bolt) may not fit your desired aesthetic. A deactivated one or air soft, would be far more flexible in that regard as you won't have a big old lock or the bolt not being in the rifle ruining your display.

There is also the issue of where it's displayed... Below after this paragraph is the actual reg for display of a non restricted... The whole "secure room" thing isn't quite "just a room with lock on the door"... The whole "not readily broken into" is a bit grey as to where exactly it falls in the security level scale of "regular bedroom to bank vault"... I'm sure there are others on here who went with the secure room route instead of a safe for storage who can opine on that... I think to display it without a lock, and fully operable, it'd need to be in a "safe room". And in my view, if someone unlicensed can get into the room, you can't keep the gun there so that may be an issue if you live with someone else since they'd have to not be able to enter a portion of your place... Note, that last sentence is purely my interpretation and I'm not a lawyer. Also in my opinion, keeping it in a secure room sort of defeats the "display" purpose since people shouldn't be able to get into the room so no one can see it...

Quote from the regs:

8 An individual may display a non-restricted firearm only if it

(a) is unloaded;

(b) is rendered inoperable by means of a secure locking device or is in a container, receptacle or room that is kept securely locked and that is constructed so that it cannot readily be broken open or into; and

(c) is not displayed with and is not readily accessible to ammunition that can be discharged from it.

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u/PaulM4444 Aug 16 '22

Thanks for the detailed reply. I hadn't even considered the display issues, I'll have to have a rethink here