Gun Clubs, Shooting Ranges etc - Page 2

Jeff OTMG · #1 06-13-2002, 11:20 PM

Dionysus, right you are. A person who is against guns somehow feels that a woman raped and beaten to death in an alley is somehow morally superior to a woman who killed her attacker with a firearm.

Optimus Prime, it depends. Texas has very strict letal force statutes and theft and criminal mischief are only justifiable if 'in the night time.' You mention 'rob'. Robbery is not a theft. Robbery is a crime against a person and presumes that there is a use of some force against the individual to relieve him of the property. Since the crime is against a person, as opposed to strictly a property crime, lethal force is justified day or night. All the letal force laws are also in place to 'prevent' a crime, be it against a person or involving property. It is not justifiable to punish a crime. Arson is a good example. If you are watching your neighbors house and notice someone trying to burn it down, like pouring gasoline on a tinder pile or striking matches, you may use lethal force to prevent the arson from occurring. If you look out the window and see him lighting the fire, then go grab your gun, when you return he may just be standing there watching the fire. You may NOT shoot at that time because the arson has already occurred and you would not be preventing it.

DG*FSU*Jenn · #2 06-13-2002, 11:43 PM

My daddy is a state trooper and he took me out into the fields behind our house and taught me to shoot a pistol when I was 12 and I've been hooked ever since!

Like everyone seems to be saying, a .22 is a great weapon to start off with. It allows you to get the feel of shooting a gun. I don't carry a gun with me of course, but when I am home and want to do some target shooting I use a 9mm.

Whatever feels most comfortable to you!

CutiePie2000 · #3 06-13-2002, 11:47 PM

Jen,
I am pretty sure that there is a rifle range/gun club in North Vancouver...I believe that it is on Lillooet Road, near Capilano College (well,...past it, on the way to the Seymour Demonstration Forest).

NeonPi · #4 06-14-2002, 01:52 AM

For some of you unaware, brooklineu lives in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

The guns laws here are INCREDIBLY strict up north here, especially with gun registeration etc., but guns clubs have become more of an outlet for collectors and fanciers.

Definately shop around - there used to be a few clubs around Surrey and White Rock. Lessons can be had, but be prepared to jump through a few hoops etc.

Good luck!!

Shala (moving back to Toronto in 2 days - eek!)

CutiePie2000 · #5 06-14-2002, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by NeonPi
there used to be a few clubs around Surrey and White Rock.

Shala (moving back to Toronto in 2 days - eek!)

Shala,
I don't think it's an accident that gun clubs are found in Surrey...if you know what I mean?

Jeff OTMG · #6 06-14-2002, 07:12 PM

NeonPi, thank you for that clarification. I am not very familiar with the laws in Canada beyond they are very restrictive. They have strict transportation and storage requirements, especially for handguns. I do know that it is illegal for any of the U.S. citizens to bring a handgun to Canada, even if driving through going to Alaska. They have recently implemented a very expensive registration system in Canada, to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. It is possible that once the registration is complete that you will be looking forward to a gun ban in the next few years. That is what happened in the UK back in 1998.

Jeff OTMG · #7 06-14-2002, 10:12 PM

I got some detailed info on Canadian gun laws and I have found a couple of gun owners in BC who would give you more detailed info and be willing to take you to shoot if you are in their area and if legal.

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Just for the record, YES, Canadians may own firearms (including handguns).

In more ways than one, the entire process of buying firearms in Canada more than goes against the values of our good American neighbors, but here are the basic facts and procedures, just so you can be informed about North American gun laws

1. To get a firearms license that will allow you to buy non-restricted (rifles/shotguns) and restricted (handguns with barrels over 105mm), you take a safety course and test. 90% of the time, the instructor will probably think as lowly about the test as you do, and despite the fact you need 80% to pass it, I haven't seen many people who have failed it.

2. Mail in the paperwork stating that you have passed the test. Then Wait. For a long time. On average, it takes 6 to 8 months, though some people have lucked out and have had them come through in a month.

3. Get license in the mail.

4. Find a gun store in your area, and choose a gun. I reccomend a German-made Sig P226

5. Buy the gun. On the day you pay for it, the store will call in the CFO (Chief Firearms Office) and inform them they're moving said firearm from their inventory to your name. The operator will want to talk to you to confirm your info, then finish the transaction. If you have just bought a rifle, go to 6. If a handgun, go to 7.

6. Wait for about 30 minutes, browsing the wares and finding out what else you can't live without or should start saving up for. The paperwork will be faxed over to the store (this is your temporary registration), and you can take your baby home for your own personal use.

7. Wait for the transaction to complete, then go on vacation for about 2 weeks or more. You won't be able to take your gun home until the government feels like getting off its arse and processing a temporary ATT (Authorization to Transport), which you will always need whenever you transport your handgun or restricted firearm. You can apply for a permanent ATT later on, or just keep calling them for temporary ones until they get sick of you and give you a permanent one.

8. Take your gun home, and wait patiently for your "permanent" registration comes in the mail (read: piece of paper with dotted lines). Practice at the range, brush up on your safety, and become a proud Canadian firearms owner.

As you can see, the mess is absolutely horrendous, and the entire process of registration really grates amongst our Southern friends. For the gun owners amongst us, however, the trouble is worth it. As a bonus, here are a few tasty tidbits of information regarding our wacky firearms laws:

- If you owned a firearm with a barrel length of less than 108mm or an "assault rifle" of some sort prior to the new set of rules, you have a license to purchase "prohibited weapons", which are, as you might have guessed, guns with barrel length under 108mm and/or classified assault rifles. If you didn't and just got into the sport recently like myself, you're SOL, but you can still purchase and own (non) restricted firearms.

- Canadian laws are federal mandate, and do not vary from province to province. That usually means a wonderfully ridiculous delay in processing paperwork, but also means that the feds are really slow to catch on to developments that bring us closer to improvising probibited weapons; i.e. the HK P7M8 has a barrel length of 108mm, but whilst by definition it is a Prohib, it is only classified as restricted. More entertaining is the fact that we can get HK SL8-4 (the .223 SL8 in black and with a ported foregrip and mounting rail) as a NON-restricted firearm. Trunk gun ahoy!

- Not counting guns with short barrels, guns are considered legal unless otherwise stated, meaning we don't have to expect a gun to appear on a list before we may own one.

- The militia store by Chinatown in Edmonton has HK-91s and a Steyr AUG (but they're prohibited... )

Well, that's all, folks! You can probably find this information at the Canadian government's propoganda page at http://www.cfc.gc.ca ... where the "GC" stands for "Gun Control"
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