Handgun Hunting

[brent]

I thought that it wasn't even the FWCA or any provincial law that prohibits the use of handguns but rather federal firearms laws...am I wrong?

Correct. There is no law provincially, that outlaws hunting with handguns.

You can hunt with a 44 mag handgun or rifle, providing where you are allows for such caliber.

What makes it illegal is the federal firearms law.

You can still illegally hunt now with some antique handguns in Ontario.

[robster]

As one of those who used to legally hunt with a handgun here in Ontario I would love to see it come back into" legality".
We needed to be closely checked by the local police as well as the OPP. This was before CPIC and computer records so it took a few months. The result was a permit to carry that was good anywhere in Canada. Sort of a "We trust you to be good" recomendation from our government. If you did not have a squeeky clean record, you did not get one. It helped if you were a member of a target club or a personal friend of a cop for references.
My permit was valid up into the seventies.....

That was then! I think it would be a problem now. We went through the registry because general public thought it would be safer. It took a beating, and so did the legal owners not criminals. A lot of bad publicity around hand guns in our N.A. media so I don't think it will happen. As well on this forum the debating of ethical hunting on what calibre to use, which one nobody should use, bows, crossbows etc. Wounding of animals, not the tools fault the user (us ). I'm not against handguns, but I would be against all the people jumping at the opportunity who wouldn't put the effort into the practise, and being safe and considerate to others and the animals being hunted. We have that now. Just imagine the people who have that fantasy brought on by the movies of carrying a handgun around even if it was only in the bush. There used to be this thing called respect. More bad things than good would happen. Just my 2cents.

[greatwhite]

Brent according to the regs you cannot hunt with a handgun.

since all Handgun (excluding pellet and BB pistols) are restricted or prohibited they are illegal. I guess if the Feds were to make them unrestricted then they would be legal.


Firearms include rifles, shotguns, air or pellet guns, bows and crossbows. You may use semi-automatic or repeating firearms for hunting in Ontario, but not handguns that are restricted or prohibited
firearms or fully automatic firearms. Air and pellet pistols with a muzzle velocity less than 152 metres (500 feet) per second may be used for hunting in Ontario (see restrictions on page 24).

Correct. There is no law provincially, that outlaws hunting with handguns.

You can hunt with a 44 mag handgun or rifle, providing where you are allows for such caliber.

What makes it illegal is the federal firearms law.

You can still illegally hunt now with some antique handguns in Ontario.

[woody1948]

You have got to be kidding! Hunting with a handgun. If hunting with a rifle, shotgun, compound or crossbow has become too boring maybe you should consider another sport. Handguns were made for protection and target shooting, not hunting.

I am not sure if this is an anti hand gun or anti hunting rant.

[jaycee]

Handgun hunting back in the late 50's and early 60's was a privilege granted by Kelso Roberts who was the Attorney General appointed by then Premier Leslie Frost.
Kelso Roberts was also an avid handgun shooter with the Toronto club, he granted the privilege of hunting with a handgun ; provided you had a valid carrying permit and a valid hunting license. Those were the only stipulations , I had been checked back then by a few Game Wardens as they were usually called and there was never any problems , the usual comment was " carry on ".
After his tenure as Attorney General , he become the Minister of Natural Resources and died about the mid 60's.
When a new Gov. was elected our "privilege " was gone which was a real sad situation, as I do not recall anyone ever running into trouble with the handguns while hunting as back then we all respected this privilege granted to us .
As far as a change back to handgun hunting , I for one would sure appreciate it but I am not holding my breath because in the eyes of the unknowing public , we hand gunners are demonized, we are the bad ones , we are put in the same class as the ones that have shoot outs on Yonge street in downtown Toronto.

[400bigbear]

" It wasn't until the first Trudeau that law abiding people carrying guns even became an issue. "

Could the FLQ crisis been a factor in any change back then?

Funny you mention that Gilroy . It actually became a real issue when the 14 women were slaughtered in Quebec by a MAD MAN . Thats when the hammer really came down and the battle started . ALL FIREARMS owners in Canada should never ever forget KIM Campbell . Remember her ? And what PARTY did she belong too ?

I've battled for many years the restrictive ,biased gun laws in Canada but I'm just a pup compared to a few on here and many others I know . Nobody supported the lads in those days and forward ,,, and I think as others have said .... the battle is huge and uphill .

As firearms owners we should never give ground . You can't afford too when your going uphill on a steep incline .

I'm not more danger to anybody whether I have a knife strapped to my belt, a handgun , or a rifle in my hand, or an axe . That is the point . Its just a tool we use to harvest or help in our harvest and nothing to fear .

Gilroy I lived at the time the FLQ crisis went on and the Wars Measures Act was enacted in Quebec because of the murders of top officials in our country Canada . I was just a kid but I was old enough to know . People yell about Trudeau although most were not even born ,,, but that half bald , ugly Liberal showed,,,, muchos balls . Harper got rid of the long gun registry . He's a Conservative but it was his balls that has us climbing the hill .

TD

[400bigbear]

Handgun hunting back in the late 50's and early 60's was a privilege granted by Kelso Roberts who was the Attorney General appointed by then Premier Leslie Frost.
Kelso Roberts was also an avid handgun shooter with the Toronto club, he granted the privilege of hunting with a handgun ; provided you had a valid carrying permit and a valid hunting license. Those were the only stipulations , I had been checked back then by a few Game Wardens as they were usually called and there was never any problems , the usual comment was " carry on ".
After his tenure as Attorney General , he become the Minister of Natural Resources and died about the mid 60's.
When a new Gov. was elected our "privilege " was gone which was a real sad situation, as I do not recall anyone ever running into trouble with the handguns while hunting as back then we all respected this privilege granted to us .
As far as a change back to handgun hunting , I for one would sure appreciate it but I am not holding my breath because in the eyes of the unknowing public , we hand gunners are demonized, we are the bad ones , we are put in the same class as the ones that have shoot outs on Yonge street in downtown Toronto.

Well said sir . In all honesty I don't think were going back to those days any time soon either but I do have HOPE .

TD

[Blackwolf]

So.. what would you hunt with a handgun? I really have no use for a handgun, Except for target I have an air pistol which works perfectly for grouse and bunnies. So imagine a 9MM for a grouse? There would not be much left of a grouse. So if a 3030 is not big enough for deer, as a lot of hunters feel only a 300 win mag will take a deer, even a 22 has more power and is a lot more accurate....

[Waftrudnir]

So.. what would you hunt with a handgun? I really have no use for a handgun, Except for target I have an air pistol which works perfectly for grouse and bunnies. So imagine a 9MM for a grouse? There would not be much left of a grouse. So if a 3030 is not big enough for deer, as a lot of hunters feel only a 300 win mag will take a deer, even a 22 has more power and is a lot more accurate....

if I had my wish...
a lot of things many think is adequate to hunt with, I would rather not like seeing used on game. childhood memory tells me that a pellet gun is one of them!
however, it is not about my personal preference. it is about creating opportunities. regulations are a limitation - nobody says you have to use them (better don't get me started on the rules around controlled hunts)
I don't believe there will be handgun hunting any time soon, but I hate the idea that our very own folks are the number one limiting factor. as said earlier, as backup for a bow hunter tracking a bear in the undergrowth or for the trapper it's the first choice. and I'm sure there are many more applications, let alone the enthusiasts who will use them as primary tool (again, wouldn't be necessarily my personal choice)

[Pat32rf]

Actually a good old 1911 was a lot better for partridge than a 22. Unless you hit the spine with a 22 the bird normally flew off, but a big old 180gr slug at 700fps anywhere in the body would anchor the bird with hardly any meat wastage, even on a breast shot.The 38 special police load was also good for grouse, but it was hard to stop a porky with them. A body hit with a 357 and the porky would just curl up and quit. I found a slide the other day that was taken in the early seventies of my wife holding a raccoon and my old 38auto, forerunner of the 38super. It worked on coons and one rabid groundhog that was wandering around our lawn one afternoon. Back then we also used it to kill snapping turtles. Hand loads only as 38 auto ammo was pretty hard to find and 38super ammo was too powerful for the gun.
Originally, handguns weren't mentioned in the hunting regs. Then there was a note that handguns and fully automatic arms were not allowed across the border. Finally this was changed to handguns not being allowed for hunting.
i remember being camped in a field for the deer hunt when the FLQ situation was starting and Trudeau involved the War Measures Act. This piece of legislation made the six of us all liable to instant arrest, similar to the Homeland Security Act they have down south .....