Team CSSA E-NEWS – March 5, 2015
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COMMENTARY – THE MISLEADING COMMISSIONER OF FIREARMS REPORT – 2013
The annual report from RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson on the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of the Firearms Act tells an interesting story, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. Surprised?
Once again, our favourite Pinocchio moment from this report is about the use of the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) to query the Canadian Firearms Program (CFP) computers about firearms licences and registrations.
According to the report: In 2013, Canadian law enforcement agencies queried the CFP database an average of 17,407 times per day regarding firearms.
This statement would erroneously lead a person to believe that police were querying the firearms database wilfully and intentionally over 17,000 times a day. We say erroneously because it has been widely reported for over a decade that the vast majority of these queries are, in fact, automated – not generated intentionally by front-line police officers.
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In short, it’s a deceptive way of increasing statistics to make the program look far more effective than it really is.
Sadly, it is also a shallow and tiresome sleight of hand that the RCMP’s Grand Kahuna, Bob Paulson, seems willing to perpetuate even though the evidence of this deception has been public knowledge for well over a decade and has been admitted to by the Government of Canada itself. See below:
Frequently Asked Questions: Changes to the Firearms Program
(Originally from the Public Safety Canada website – This document, http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/media/nr/2006/nr20060517-3-en.asp, is no longer online)
Q18. How can you say that the gun registry is a useless criminal justice tool when the police use it 6,500 times per day?
A18. The “6,500 hits” figure for the Canadian Firearms Registry On-Line (CFRO) is misleading. Whenever police officers access the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) for any reason, such as for a simple address check, an automatic hit is generated with CFRO whether the information is desired or not. This is the case, for example, with the Toronto Police Service (5,000 officers), the Vancouver Police (1,400 officers), and the BC RCMP (5,000 officers).
2. Police Use of Gun Registry Database Wildly Exaggerated by Liberals: 2005 research results from inquiries by MP Garry Breitkreuz show the RCMP bureaucracy is, uh … not exactly truthful … when it comes to reporting query stats from the Canadian Firearms Program database.
One day the RCMP white shirts may learn to tell the whole truth. Apparently that day has not yet arrived.
“Allan Rock said he came to Ottawa with the belief that only the police and military should have firearms. I believe that firearms ownership is a right, but a right that comes with responsibilities.” – The Honourable Steven Blaney, Minister of Public Safety
HELP SUPPORT THE GREAT WORK THE CSSA DOES TO PROTECT YOUR RIGHTS. DONATE HERE
* CSSA “STICK TO YOUR GUNS” DINNER – FRIDAY, APRIL 3, 2015 – CALGARY, ALBERTA – Holiday Inn, 4206 Macleod Trail South. Cocktails at 6 p.m., dinner at 7 p.m. Superb “All-You-Can-Eat” buffet. Raffles, prizes and special guests. Tickets $69.99 per person.
* CSSA ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING – May 30, 2015 – Ottawa Convention Centre. Great speakers and seminars, Special Guests
“STICK TO YOUR GUNS” DINNER– Stay tuned for details.
For information, please call Heather at 1-888-873-4339 or email: info@cssa-cila.org
COME SAY HI TO THE CSSA AT:
* ATLANTIC OUTDOOR SPORT AND RV SHOW, MARCH 6-8, 2015 EXHIBITION PARK, 200 PROSPECT ROAD, HALIFAX NOVA SCOTIA
* CHILLIWACK – GUNS – KNIVES – MILITARIA – ANTIQUES SHOW AND SALE – MARCH 7 – 8, 2015, LOCATION: HERITAGE PARK, 44140 LUCKAKUCK WAY, CHILLIWACK, BRITISH COLUMBIA
MOTHER OF DEAD TEEN SUES EX FOR IMPROPERLY STORED RIFLE – (By Caroline Pailliez | QMI Agency | First Posted March 2, 2015 – updated March 3, 2015)
MONTREAL — In what’s believed to be a Canadian first, a woman is suing her ex for improperly storing a hunting rifle that their teen son used to kill himself.
Marlene Gauthier wants $250,000 after Olivier Bergevin, 19, shot himself in the head with the gun on the evening of Dec. 10, 2012, in the Montreal suburb of Laval.
“I know it won’t bring him back,” the emotional mother told QMI Agency. “I’m not doing this for the money, either. But it’s my duty to make this situation known so that it will never happen again. I don’t want Olivier to have died for nothing.”
The father had custody of the teenager, who suffered from anxiety problems.
In her lawsuit filed last month, she accuses her ex of “reckless and gross negligence” for failing to store the rifle properly.
The Crown has also charged the father, Rejean Bergevin, with criminal negligence causing death and negligent storage of firearms. He faces several years in prison and refused to comment when contacted by QMI.
The mother says Bergevin had promised to keep the guns out of reach after the son had said he feared using them to commit suicide.
“Olivier’s death could have easily been avoided,” she said.
Canada’s National Firearms Association, while opposing new gun-control laws, nonetheless stresses the importance of responsible gun ownership.
“These rules are very important. Everyone has to take responsibility,” said Quebec director Claude Colgan, who lost a sister in the 1989 Polytechnique massacre.
See the article: http://www.torontosun.com/2015/03/02/mother-of-dead-teen-sues-ex-for-improperly-stored-rifle
GUN SHOW – SUNDAY, MARCH 8, 2015 – PICKERING, ONTARIO. Pickering Recreation Centre, 1867 Valley Farm Road. 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information, please call Jeff or Charlene at 905-623-1778. Other upcoming shows can be seen at: www.ontariogunshows.com.
** Please remember that clocks go forward an hour this weekend. **
SASKATOON MAYOR DON ATCHISON PONDERS GUN AMNESTY TO CUT DOWN ON SHOOTINGS. IDEA FOLLOWS A SERIES OF RECENT SHOOTINGS IN THE CITY – (By Dan Zakreski | CBC News | February 26, 2015)
Saskatoon Mayor Don Atchison is floating the idea of a gun amnesty in an attempt to cut down on shootings in the city.
People would be encouraged to hand over their guns without punishment. This idea follows a shooting yesterday on 20th Street and several more firearms-related incidents in the last few weeks (one in Buena Vista and one in Willowgrove.)
Hirsch Greenberg, head of justice studies at the University of Regina, said the idea is worth considering. However, he said it needs more research and wonders if guns used in crime or suicide will be the ones turned in.
“Those guns, so far in the studies I’ve seen, tend not to be the same ones that get collected,” he said.
Citing a study out of Milwaukee, he said “the guns that are used in the commission of a crime or a suicide are different than the guns that were handed in through an amnesty.”
The mayor was unavailable today for comment. Saskatoon Police would not provide a response on the idea of gun amnesty at this time.
See the story: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/saskatoon-mayor-don-atchison-ponders-gun-amnesty-to-cut-down-on-shootings-1.2974005
GUNS – KNIVES – MILITARIA – ANTIQUES SHOW AND SALE – MARCH 7 AND 8, 2015 – CHILLIWACK, BRITISH COLUMBIA. Location: Heritage Park, 44140 Luckakuck Way, Chilliwack (Exit 116 off Highway 1). Hours of operation: Saturday, March 7, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.; Sunday, March 8, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. General admission is $5. Parking by donation – ATM on site. RV parking available. Food Concession. For further information or table rentals, please call Gordon Bader at 604-747-4704 or Al Amundson at 604-941-8489. Check out our website at: www.HACS.bc.ca. WE SUPPORT THE CANADIAN CANCER “KIDS’ CAMP” AND CKNW ORPHANS’ FUND.
A MESSAGE FROM THE CANDIDATE FOR THE WILDROSE PARTY IN STRATHMORE-BROOKS, ALBERTA – DEREK FILDEBRANDT
Law-abiding gun owners need real allies elected to office. Here in Alberta, we have a PC government that turned a blind eye while the RCMP broke into people’s homes to unlawfully seize their firearms. Nobody as yet has paid the consequences for their actions.
I’ve been a member of the CSSA for years and if I am elected as the Wildrose MLA in Strathmore-Brooks, you will have a strong advocate for gun owners. This is important for law-abiding owners everywhere in Canada. Please consider helping to support my campaign with a small donation.
Derek Fildebrandtderek@fildebrandt.ca
Mobile | 403.690.4910
LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS – MARCH 7 AND 8 – AT THE ANNUAL GUN SHOW – MURILLO FAIR GROUNDS.
The Thunder Bay District Fish and Game Association has a booth at the show, and we are looking for volunteers to do shifts manning the booth. If you are able to help out, please email mailto:fandgsec@gmail.com or contact myself (Doug Johnson or Barry Ewing).
Doug Johnson, President – Thunder Bay District Fish and Game Association
CANADA IN THE ROUGH – ONTARIO WILDERNESS BLACK BEARS
THIS WEEKEND – Kevin Beasley takes out Dream Hunt winner, Barry Gale, to Algoma Country in Northern Ontario, where they are treated to first class accommodations, meals and black bears at Red Pine Lodge. On this hunt, Kevin has a great encounter with a noisy three-pawed black bear.
See the teaser: http://www.canadaintherough.com/ontario-wilderness-black-bears/
Canada in the Rough can be found on OLN, WILD TV, and CHEX. For a full schedule, visit: http://www.canadaintherough.com/schedules/
WAYNE LAPIERRE: “UNIVERSAL BACKGROUND CHECKS” MEAN GUN REGISTRATION, GUN BANS AND CONFISCATION – (By Wayne LaPierre | The Daily Caller | February 27, 2015)
Only in the Orwellian world of double-speak employed by President Barack Obama and billionaire elitist Michael Bloomberg would nonsense be hailed as “common sense.”
Take gun registration masquerading as “universal background checks”—their latest mantra that mandates the recording of data on lawful gun transfers. This scheme focuses only on peaceable citizens, not violent criminals who are already prohibited under federal and state laws from even touching, much less purchasing, any firearm.
Facts tell us that criminalizing private transfers of firearms among family members and friends under a universal background check system would do nothing to prevent “gun violence,” and importantly, would not have prevented the profound tragedies that gun banners use to promote such a system. Perpetrators of those acts either successfully passed background checks to get the guns or they stole the guns.
What’s more, gun transfers universally requiring approval by the government cannot be enforced without mandatory gun registration, as Obama’s Justice Department has already admitted. At some point, the government has to argue, “Without registration, we won’t know who had the gun in the first place.” Whether the initial proposal includes a government registry of firearm transfers or firearm owners, that’s the end game.
All around the world, registration has led to confiscation: Australia, Canada, Bermuda, Cuba, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Ireland. The list goes on.
The pattern is the same no matter which country or what era. The excuses vary, but always include “keeping civil order” or “preventing crime.” Whenever the creation of a national, computerized database of gun owners is proposed, the advocates pushing it insist that people have nothing to fear because politicians will not abuse the enormous power inherent in such a database. Then, history proves, shortly after records of law-abiding gun owners are compiled, gun bans are put in place and firearms are confiscated.
On Feb. 16, 1995, gun owners listened to Canadian Justice Minister Allan Rock’s political siren song assuring them, “There is no reason to confiscate legally owned firearms.” Less than a year later, Parliament passed the Canadian Firearms Act that resulted in hundreds of thousands of legally owned and registered handguns being reclassified as illegal contraband. Some gun owners could battle the bureaucracy to hold onto their guns, but in reality, the majority faced three options: sell their guns back to government-approved dealers; render them inoperable; or surrender them to the government.
In 1996, Australia’s gun registration and licensing system escalated into a massive government-mandated firearm confiscation program that saw more than 600,000 once lawfully owned firearms rounded up under a mandatory “buyback” program and destroyed.
Around the world and throughout history, gun registration schemes have one thing in common: registration virtually always precedes mandatory and compulsory gun surrender or confiscation. Yet too many Americans say, “It can’t happen here” or “You don’t have anything to worry about.” But itcan happen here. It has happened here. And it is happening here.
In 1967, New York City required rifle owners to register their guns with the promise that registration lists would not be used to confiscate the firearms of law-abiding citizens. But in 1991, Mayor David Dinkins pushed a bill through the city council banning the possession of many semi-automatic rifles, claiming they were “assault weapons.” Tens of thousands of law-abiding gun owners who had registered their guns since 1967 were stripped of their right to own them.
In 1976, the District of Columbia enacted one of the nation’s strictest handgun registration and gun-ban laws. All handguns currently owned had to be reregistered, and no more handguns could be legally acquired by anyone. When the law was enacted, politicians promised that gun registration lists would not be used to confiscate handguns from legal owners, but even an inadvertent failure to reregister could put a gun owner crosswise with the law.
In 1977, after D.C.’s Superior Court upheld the handgun ban, the Washington Star headlined the decision, writing “Gun Law Upheld, But No Searches, Yet” of the homes of residents who failed to reregister their guns. Indeed, police counsel Vernon Gill warned D.C. residents that the only thing preventing door-to-door, house-to-house searches were “administrative problems [to be] worked out.”
D.C.’s gun registration system still haunts residents to this day. In January 2014, gun owners who had registered their firearms in 1976 were given 60 days to show up at police headquarters, pay a fee, be photographed, fingerprinted and re-register their guns yet again—or face a criminal conviction that carries a maximum penalty of a $1,000 fine and a year in prison. Worse, the only “notice” D.C. gun owners received of this new, intrusive mandate came in the form of an advertisement that appeared in a single day’s print edition of a local newspaper. Miss the ad, face jail time!
In just the past two years, law-abiding gun owners in New York and Connecticut were also forced to line up and register their semi-automatic firearms to qualify for “grandfathering” under newly enacted bans. What’s next? How long will it be before government officials demand that gun owners receive notices to sell, disable or surrender their firearms just because gun-ban politicians say it makes “common sense?”
Already in New York City, licensed (i.e., registered) handgun owners have been harassed by dragnet-style demands to demonstrate compliance with the magazine capacity limitations under New York law. New York’s misnamed “SAFE Act” made the situation even worse by declaring previously “grandfathered” magazines illegal. Anyone with a licensed handgun that could accept a “large capacity” magazine was automatically deemed suspect by the government, and faced possible license revocation.
To top it all off, how is it “common sense” to establish a gun registration system in America that would apply only to law-abiding citizens, not criminals? That question has been starkly answered by the U.S. Supreme Court.
In 1968, the Court reached a landmark decision in the case of Haynes v. United States. Miles Edward Haynes decided to fight his arrest for possession of an unregistered, barrel-shortened shotgun. His argument was brief. Because registering the firearm would force Haynes to admit to having unlawfully possessed the shotgun before it was registered, Haynes argued that registration laws violated his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination. The Supreme Court agreed, and in an 8-1 decision ruled that individuals with a legitimate claim of self-incrimination are immune from registering their illegally possessed firearms with the government.
The upshot of this case is that registration requirements can only be enforced against the law-abiding, the same people who own firearms to protect themselves against violent criminals. Obama, Bloomberg and nearly every politician and gun-ban zealot pushing for a universal background check system are on record supporting mandatory gun registration, outright bans and even confiscation. To them, “universal background checks” are just the first step in their long march to destroying our Second Amendment-protected rights.
Wayne’s column appears in the NRA publications American Rifleman, American Hunter and America’s First Freedom.
See the article: http://dailycaller.com/2015/02/27/wayne-lapierre-universal-background-checks-mean-gun-registration-gun-bans-and-confiscation/
A LOOK AT CARTRIDGES SUITABLE FOR BIG-GAME HUNTING – (By Everett Mosher | Moncton Times & Transcript | March 4, 2015)
When two hunters sit down at a local coffee shop, chances are the conversation will drift to hunting and the telling of tall tales.
If the subject of the best cartridge for deer, bear and moose enters the conversation, things can get a little heated because most hunters tend to defend what they are currently using.
With the fall hunting season many months away, we most certainly have time to spare in taking a closer look at what the Maritime hunter needs in the way of a cartridge suitable for hunting big game.
The most commonly used are the .308, the .270 and the .30/06, with bolt actions becoming the standard. This popularity is shown in terms of ammunition sales as recorded by Federal Ammunition. The .223 cartridge is their big seller, followed in descending order by the .243, .30-06, .308, and .270 Winchester. The RCBS Company that makes reloading dies for those that reload rifle cartridges states their top seller is the .223, followed by the .308, .30-06, .243 and .270.
The .223 and .308 are popular in part due to being civilian versions of the standard army cartridges used by all NATO countries. They are also the cartridges chambered in the AR-15 style of rifle that is currently the big seller in the U.S. The .223 and .308 are also the most common cartridges used in rifle competitions.
As a varmint cartridge, the .223 is very popular, while the .308 is often chosen as a hunting cartridge due to being so close a ballistic match to the .30-06 that the difference in the field is unnoticeable. The .243 has low recoil and is flat shooting, and that’s the reasons why it’s so often used for deer in the U.S. and for varmints such as coyotes. It’s also the minimum cartridge that is legal for use for deer in many states and in several provinces in Canada.
To get another prospective on hunting rifles and cartridges, look at what the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) has to say, especially since Alaska is home to 1,600-pound mature bull moose and 1,500-pound coastal brown bear. In their Internet-available recommendations, they state that “if you presently own a rifle chambered for the .270 Winchester, 7mm-08, .308 Winchester or .30-06 and can place all your shots in an 8-inch circle out to 200 yards, you can be a successful Alaska hunter.”
The ADF&G further states that although many believe they need a rifle chambered for a magnum cartridge when hunting Alaska, that is simply not true. They point out that in firing a magnum rifle, the noise and recoil is unpleasant and often painful, and that can adversely affect the hunter in shooting accurately.
The most common complaint by professional Alaskan guides is hunters who are not in good physical shape and hunters that cannot accurately shoot their rifle. Because hunters do not practise enough, they cannot shot accurately enough. Most experienced guides prefer the hunter to show up with a .270 or .30-06 rifle they can shoot well rather than a shiny new magnum they may have shot only enough to sight in.
Muzzle-brakes are not recommended, and if recoil is a problem, I suggest using a heavier rifle. This lessens recoil. The concern is that with a muzzle-brake there is a much greater chance of hearing loss, and especially so for those that might be in close proximity to the shooter when a shot is fired, such as their guide.
If you are going to hunt brown bear on the Alaska Peninsula or Kodiak Island, the ADF&G states that a .30-06 loaded with 200- or 220-grain Nosler or similar premium bullet will do the job with good shot placement. Consider using a .300, .338 or larger magnum only if you can shoot it as well as you can a .30-06.
They also add that with most hunters the upper limit of recoil is the .30-06 or the 7mm Remington Magnum, and that a majority of hunters are more comfortable with a .308 or .270. They then sum up by stating that you can’t go wrong with a stainless steel bolt-action rifle (due to Alaska’s rainy weather) chambered for a standard cartridge that you are comfortable with, and can shoot accurately, loaded with a high-quality bullet.
Most certainly, if the Alaskan hunter finds the .270, .308 or .30-06 more than adequate, that should also apply to the Maritime hunter. Note the recommendation to use only high-quality bullets. You pay more for cartridges loaded with such bullets, but why take a chance with anything less than the best?
Yet often a hunter will want a rifle chambered for a magnum cartridge and believe they will then be able to shoot animals 500 or 600 yards away. While the rifle and cartridge may be capable of this, unless the hunter gets sufficient practice and can become conditioned to the recoil, the hunter will not achieve that capability. That requires shooting at least 200 rounds or more each year out of that rifle at targets at all ranges up to 600 yards or more.
While the 30-06 cartridge has always been the top choice due in part to its ability to handle 180-, 200- and 220-grain bullets, recent major improvements in bullet construction has now made the .270 as much, and perhaps more, of a top choice for Maritime hunters. The .270 was first popularized by Jack O’Connor, gun editor for Outdoor Life magazine from the 1930s to the 1970s. O’Connor preferred the 130-grain Nosler partition bullets once they became available.
While not a first choice for Alaskan brown and polar bears, the .270 when loaded with premium 130-grain bullets shoots as flat as the magnums, has manageable recoil, and is a death ray for deer, moose and bear provided the hunter can shoot accurately and hit the vitals.
Everett Mosher Everett Mosher is a Sackville-based writer and avid outdoorsman. His column appears weekly.
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The CSSA is the voice of the sport shooter and firearms enthusiast in Canada. Our national membership supports and promotes Canada’s firearms heritage, traditional target shooting competition, modern action shooting sports, hunting, and archery. We support and sponsor competitions and youth programs that promote these Canadian heritage activities.
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