Federal public safety minister, RCMP clash over banned rifle

By CSSA

BY DOUGLAS QUAN JUNE 29, 2015 8:44 PM
NATIONAL POST

The federal public safety minister’s office has asked the Mounties to review its decision to classify a rifle as prohibited after it roused the ire of gun enthusiasts.

This is not the first time the government has taken issue with the way the Royal Canadian Mounted Police has classified a gun and the latest spat reflects its push to obtain greater control over such decisions.

The conflict started when the RCMP classified a Mossberg-brand rifle, the Blaze, as non-restricted, but ruled the Blaze-47 was prohibited.

Gun enthusiasts were perplexed. They say both .22-calibre rifles are virtually identical, except the Blaze is fitted with a black-plastic stock, whereas the Blaze-47 has a wood-coloured stock.
Tony Bernardo, executive director of the Canadian Shooting Sports Association, said he suspects the Mounties classified the Blaze-47 as prohibited because of its resemblance to an AK-47 assault rifle.

But Bernardo, who called the public safety minister’s office last week to complain about the gun’s prohibited status, said the Blaze-47 is no different from thousands of “fun guns” used for informal target practice and shooting tin cans.

“They’re not remotely the same” as an AK-47, he said. “Racing stripes on a …read more

Source:: AmmoLand