Originally Posted by
Reverend Al
Yes, any handgun in .25 calibre, .32 calibre, or with a barrel less than 105mm (4.14") is now considered a 12.6 category "Prohibited handgun". Fortunately those of us who already owned those types of guns and had them registered with the RCMP were "grandfathered" and we are allowed to keep them, shoot them at approved ranges, and buy sell and trade for similar guns in that category as long as we always keep at least ONE gun registered in the 12.6 category. If we sell them all then we lose our grandfather status. Guns that were manufactured pre-1946 are eligible to be inherited from family members if they hold a Restricted licence for handguns, but they cannot buy more like them ... they can only keep possession of the inherited Prohibited handguns.
The ".25 and .32" calibre regulation really threw a wrench in the works. As soon as it was done the Canadian Olympic coaches complained to the government that they had just prohibited a large number of guns that are used in Olympic competition (.32 S&W Long target pistols like Walther GSP's, etc.). The government came up with a list of suitable guns for competition shooting and they are exempted, but if your gun is not on the specified list you are out of luck and it is a 12.6 Prohib. The other problem is that when they specified calibre only it then included guns like TC Contenders with barrels in .32 S&W Long, .32-20, .32 H&R Magnum, etc. regardless of their barrel lengths. It also included the Ruger Hawkeye single shot pistol just because it is in .256 Winchester Magnum. Nobody who drafted this legislation of ours had a clue about guns or calibres ... their intention was small and easily concealable handguns in .25 auto and .32 auto, but of course who cares since in Canada you can only take any handgun to an approved range for target shooting so who cares what calibre it is in or what length the barrel is? It's all complete nonsense created by imbecile anti-gun politicians.