Do I need a range membership?

[westwayshooter]

In BC, you are required to have a club membership to purchase a restricted firearm and maintain that membership for as long as you own it. You would be surprised how many people get a membership in a club, let it lapse after a year and then, after their RPAL and LTATT are up for renewal, scramble to try to get a new membership. With the caps on membership and new membership requirements at most of the clubs around the lower mainland, they are hard pressed to get one. We do not anticipate any new memberships being available this year at our club.

[Old Dragoon]

Hello,

I'm a newbie to GOC, but not to the world of gun ownership in Canada.

Here in Alberta, the CFO won't process a restricted weapons purchase without having your club membership on file for the current year.

The justification, as has been mentioned, is that you will be registering it for target-shooting.

Those long waiting lists are alarming. Here, the closer clubs (50 km or less) all seem to be closed for membership.

The others (which all seem to be exactly 100km for me), not a problem so far.

Just a long drive.

[6MT]

West of Edmonton, there is CHAS and Wildwood. If you want a restricted firearm, you'll need a range membership for an ATT.

Those two clubs above, have no waiting period. You pay and you're a member. At CHAS, you will need to take a range safety course. No biggy.

[Edenchef]

Minor correction 6MT, you have to pass a "range orientation" at CHAS. It may be completed online.

Cheers!

[Wendell]

During debate in the House, a government member stated that - should C-42 become law - there will no longer be any requirement to belong to an approved shooting club or range.

Published to YouTube on May 26, 2015 by Battle Beaver
This video is the 3rd and FINAL Reading on May 25th 2015. Bill C-42, "Common Sense Firearms Licensing Act" in Federal Parliament during HoC Sitting No. 216 on May 25, 2015.
Next step for this Bill is to be sent to the Senate, and it should be made law by the end of June 2015.
Source of video:
http://parlvu.parl.gc.ca/parlvu/Conte...

[RobertMcC]

Nova Scotia they will not allow the transfer to go thru, if you do not have a current membership to a gun club.

[RangeBob]

During debate in the House, a government member stated that - should C-42 become law - there will no longer be any requirement to belong to an approved shooting club or range.

Are you sure?
I heard an MP say that if Bill C42 becomes law that there will no longer be any requirement to belong to an approved shooting range to transport a firearm there.
I did not hear an MP say that if Bill C42 becomes law that there will no longer be any requirement for a target shooter to belong to an approved shooting range to renew an RPAL.
I did not hear an MP say that if Bill C42 becomes law that there will no longer be any requirement for a target shooter to belong to an approved shooting range to purchase a restricted firearm.

John Barlow (con, alberta)

As a result of an authorization to transport being made a condition of a restricted licence, some people have asked whether it would be a requirement of getting a licence to be a member in good standing of a shooting club or shooting range. The clear answer to this is no. There would be no requirement in law for individuals to maintain a membership at a gun range in order to transport their restricted firearms.

May 25, 2015
http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublicati...&Parl=41&Ses=2 &Language=E&Mode=1

Admittedly, politicians are not usually accurate in their statements, but that's what he said.


I have heard a lawyer say that that there has never been any requirement for a target shooter to belong to an approved shooting range to renew an RPAL or to purchase a restricted firearm.

[Mil Specs]

You may purchase a restricted as a collector with no range membership. However this has it's own set of problems that accompany it . You must provide a letter with your application for collectors status for each firearm stating what makes it a collectible piece . This is easy enough , Back when i bought my first collector revolver everything was hand written as i didn't have a computer. Every five years the CFO/CFP held up my renewal until all the letters were re-submitted for my collector firearms. It turned out to be far easier and more fun just to join a range and shoot them .

[Edenchef]

Short legal answer: no, you don't. Complex CFO answer: yes, you do.

As put so succinctly by Awndray, at the beginning of this thread.

And this is so much the problem, today, in Canada. Bureaucrats making up "law" as they see fit, by way of regulation and they were not elected or accountable to the people or the elected representatives of this country.

Cheers!

[Wendell]

...that's what he said...

What I heard:

"...There would be no requirement in law for individuals to maintain a membership at a gun range in order to transport their restricted firearms."

Maybe that isn't what he meant.

...I have heard a lawyer say that that there has never been any requirement for a target shooter to belong to an approved shooting range to renew an RPAL or to purchase a restricted firearm.

The law requires the CFO to evaluate whether the restricted firearm(s) are actually being used for the stated purpose; if the stated purpose is "target shooting", the individual must be prepared to prove to the CFO his/her participation in target shooting. As we all know, the CFP has required the respective CFOs to require membership in at least one approved shooting club, but, in the case of a bonafide target shooter - as (Saint John) Jon Gould's court case proved - membership in an approved shooting club isn't actually required by law.

P.S.: I can't find a transcript of the Gould case...do any of you have a link to it?