Flintlock Muzzleloaders in Canada
Hello;
I've been reading this forum for some time, but this is my first post here. I'm the type of person who doesn't expect everything handed to me, I tend to do as much as I can myself, before asking for help. However, I've come up against the proverbial brick wall, and I'm clean out of ideas.
I've been interested in getting a muzzleloading rifle for a while now, and I've done tons of research on them. I settled on getting a Lyman Deerstalker flintlock version. If I'm going muzzleloader, I want the real experience, as these flintlocks will provide. However, when I went to actually buy one, I found that this was easier said than done. First, I located one at LeBaron. I had the page bookmarked, so it would be there when I was actually ready to buy. When I went back to that page recently, I found that LeBaron, a company that's been in business for 58 years, was suddenly closing, and this rifle was no longer available online. I live in Northern Ontario, so I need to have this rifle shipped to me.
So, I looked for an alternative, and found Wholesalesports.com. Their website showed none in stock, but further searching showed that their Regina store had limited stock. However, unbelievably, again, that store was closing, and I was told that they could not ship any items, only in store sales allowed. Well, I have to say, it seemed like there was a conspiracy afoot to make these rifles difficult, or even impossible to buy, here in Canada.
I'm starting to wonder if there is some kind of forces at work, trying to prevent the sale of these guns, classed as antiques, here in Canada. To be honest, it wouldn't surprise me at all. I found the same kind of issue recently when I tried to purchase road flares of all things. Seems that they don't want to sell them to the public anymore. We can't be trusted with such dangerous items. They aren't illegal, but still they're making it more difficult to get them. I did, eventually, get those flares, but I haven't yet been so lucky with this latest endeavor.
Anyway, that is what has brought me here. I was wondering if anyone had some useful ideas regarding the purchase of a Lyman Deerstalker flintlock, or even a Trade Rifle would be acceptable to me. I know I can order a Traditions PA Pellet rifle from Cabelas, but it's not what I want. Any ideas are welcome. Thanks.
Alan.