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Sunday, December 24, 2000 10:54:51 AM
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My Canada Customs Story...
What follows is a little overview of a situation that has occurred in my attempting to import a pellet pistol from the United States to Canada.
On may 4th The Airgun Express, based in Iowa, confirmed their shipping me a Gamo P23 pistol. I waited patiently for the item to arrive through the regular post. I had corresponded with a few American distributors about the importing of air pistols to Canada and none had ever had any trouble with this practice. I have since contacted a Canadian distributor of this Gamo pistol and they told me they have never had any trouble either and offered to sell me one.
I waited patiently and on the fifth week a letter arrived from Customs Canada informing me that they were holding my Gamo P 23 pistol as a prohibited weapon under tariff item 9898.00.00.00 of the customs tariff.
This item is regarding the importing of replica firearms into Canada. The Customs Officer that seized my pellet pistol is holding it because she thought it was a "replica firearm"
In Canada the lawmakers have decided, and I quote page four of the Canadian Firearms Hand book is as follows: "Replica firearm means any device that looks exactly or almost exactly like a firearm, but is not a firearm. Most replicas cannot discharge projectiles at all, or discharge only harmless projectiles. Devices that discharge projectiles that can cause serious bodily injury, such as the penetration of an eye, are not replicas."
If my pellet gun is indeed not a replica firearm why is it being held in the first place?
Firstly , I think I know why they have my pistol. There is an airsoft product on the market that is exactly the same as the pistol I have ordered but it falls in the category of prohibited due to its low muzzle velocity and plastic BB ammunition. An airsoft pistol could poke a hole in your eye if it were fired close enough but that is not the case I am concerned with at the moment. This leads me back to the error of their judgment argument. My pistol is not an Airsoft product but was mistaken for one. The officer I spoke to mentioned Airsoft in our first conversation. They still have the item but now it has gone to the RCMP testing lab in Ottawa. This lab has not informed me of its having the GAMO P23.
Secondly, I was told by Customs Canada there was a shipment of GAMO P23's seized some time ago by them for testing by the RCMP. When the pistols were tested by the RCMP in Ottawa they were found to fire (some sort of Laser hawk brand of pellets) at velocities greater than 500 fps. They said the manufacturer of the pellet boasts a 30% increase in velocity. The simple math of 400 fps multiplied by 30% makes the pistol (or any pellet gun close to the 400 fps range) fire above 500fps. This makes the GAMO P23 a weapon in the eyes of the law that requires an Firearms Acquisition Certificate. This is totally silly to me and here's why.
When the SSG shells (slugs) were first outlawed they did not suddenly outlaw the shotgun. They did not suddenly seize all the shotguns they could and test them with slugs to prove they were dangerous.
Canada Customs has made an error in seizing my already paid for property and are now trying everything in their power to keep it from me. No one likes to admit when they are wrong, especially government.
So why would they suddenly try to make my simple pellet gun a weapon due to the use of some light grain pellet? This indeed does not make any sense. Make the pellets a matter of the FAC, not the pistol. Without the pellets the pistol does barely 400 fps on a warm day in July with a tailwind!
I have sent a few faxes and made a few calls to the Appeals Section and I must say the officer I have been dealing with has been very patient (considering this person must get about a hundred calls a day like mine). There were however long waits on the phone and in more than one case I was cut off in the end by the call center in New Brunswick.
The Appeals officer I spoke to told me about some tribunal that is in the works so there is a chance the whole process could take months and in the end I could lose my already paid for property.
This would be unacceptable.
I would advise Canadian importers of these items to call their local Canada Customs branches before ordering anything from the United States. Be certain to write down the names of those you talk to as well as the date and times.
Check back to this page periodically because I try to update it frequently.
Directly below is a posting to the
Airgun letter forum (now finished) and what follows are all the updates to the situation.
The Final results are in about the GAMO P23...
This will be the final Update on this Issue:
December 23 , 2000
I received word a few days ago from the new officer handling the airgun case that the RCMP had deemed my item a FIREARM. Here is a copy of the letter from my email:
This is to advise you that the ballistics test has been completed on the P-23 Co2 pistol.
It has been determined that it can cause serious bodily harm, therefore it is considered to be a firearm as per Section 2 of the Criminal Code. Consequently it cannot be a replica under the terms of a prohibited device.
The pistol is to be classified under item 9304.00.10, rather than 9898.00.00.
However, it has also been determined that it can fire a projectile (3 grain -.20 grains) which exceeds 152.4 meters per second (500 feet per second).
Thus it is considered to be a restricted firearm for the purposes of the Criminal Code and the Firearms Act. Refer to Part III, subsections 84(1) and 84(3) of the Criminal Code. The required FAC, acquisition permits, and transport/carry permits must be obtained.
Consequently, I would like to know if you have or will wish to obtain the necessary permits and pay ,in addition to the duties & taxes, the cost of transport by a carrier licensed to transport restricted firearms to your domicile.
If not, I will simply have the article returned to the sender.
Respectfully yours, Kenneth D. Blondin
End of message....
I opted to have the pistol sent back to the Airgun Express instead of getting the FAC at this time.
I would like to thank the Airgun Express for refunding my money without question. They could have chosen a different route since the duration of this affair has taken nearly 7 months to conclude. I would like to take the time to recommend the Airgun Express to anyone with an FAC. Their customer service (promptness to email and general tone) has been excellent. In the future when I have an FAC I will not hesitate to order from them again.
National Firearms Association.
Subject: Alliance Release on Airgun Issue
NEWS RELEASE
November 17, 2000 For Immediate Release
LIBERAL FIREARM REGISTRY RULES "AIRGUNS" ARE NOW FIREARMS
BILL C-68 WILL MAKE MOST PELLET GUN OWNERS CRIMINALS ON JANUARY 1ST
"The Liberals are more concerned about registering pellet guns than getting
tough on criminal use of firearms."
Yorkton - Today, Garry Breitkreuz, MP and Canadian Alliance Candidate for
Yorkton-Melville, blew the lid off an issue the Liberals were trying to keep
secret until after November 27th. RCMP sources have confirmed that the Canadian
Firearms Registry has ruled that millions of the most popular
models of airguns are now firearms. "For months now, the Liberals have been
stonewalling investigators from the Information Commissioner's office on one of
my requests to the gun registry. Finally, we know the reason why," declared
Breitkreuz. "Instead of issuing a public warning of the Registry's ruling
to all airgun owners that they need to obtain a firearms licence by the end of
this year or face up to five years in jail, the Liberals have been keeping this
explosive information a secret until after the election.
As if Canadians needed any more proof that the
Liberal gun registry has anything to with controlling the criminal use of
firearms, now this fiasco."
Breitkreuz calls his revelation "explosive" because the Liberal gun
registry's decision now places many innocent Canadians - unknowingly - in
violation of the Criminal Code of Canada and under the threat of long prison
terms.
The Liberal decision affects thousands of
businesses that are now criminals for selling airguns without a firearm dealer's
licence. The Liberal decision affects more than a million law abiding airgun
owners (including every teenager with a pellet gun) who will be criminals unless
they have a firearms licence in their possession by the end of this year. The
Liberal decision affects millions of airguns that are now firearms according to
Bill C-68 and are going to have to be registered by the end of 2002. The
Liberal decision has also banned tens of thousands of airguns that will have to
be confiscated by police. "If the Liberals are consistent with their
previous dictatorial decrees, they will also refuse to pay compensation for
seizing and destroying this legally acquired property," explained
Breitkreuz. ."
Please see the attached preliminary list of 13 makes and models of airguns the
Canadian Firearms
Registry has changed from non-firearms to
firearms.
"This is just the tip of the airgun iceberg!" exclaimed Breitkreuz.
"We are still checking dozens of other airgun makes and models." The
reason for the Liberal ruling is because of airgun muzzle velocity tests,
conducted by the RCMP, with a new type of laser pellet being sold under the
brand names:
Lazerhawk, Prometheus, and Beeman. The
Saskatchewan MP explained, "RCMP muzzle velocity tests with a new type of
laser pellets confirm that any airgun with a current muzzle velocity of over 400
feet-per-second (fps) will likely exceed the 500 fps airgun exemption in section
84(1)(3)(d) of
the Criminal Code. See the attached summary of the impact this Liberal
legislative legacy will have on thousands of airgun dealers and more than a
million airgun owners.
"This one change will easily push the Bill C-68 implementation costs
from the current $585 million to well over the billion dollar mark before
the gun registration deadline of January 1, 2003. The registry already has a
backlog of more than a million licence applications to process before the end of
the year. What are they going to do when all the airgun owners start filing
applications?" asked Breitkreuz.
"In 1995, during the C-68 debates, we warned
the Liberals that their poorly drafted bill was going to lead to
chaos," reminded Breitkreuz. "Firearms experts told the Liberals to
use 'muzzle energy' instead of 'muzzle velocity ' to define firearms in the
legislation, but of course Chretien and his crew wouldn't listen to common
sense. This is just one more reason why Bill C-68 has to be scrapped, killed and
abolished. I hope the millions of airgun owners out there heed this
warning."
AIRGUN DEALERS AND OWNERS BEWARE
Here's a preliminary list of airguns the Canadian Firearm Registry has
changed from non-firearms to firearms in their Firearms Reference Tables
(FRT):
Crosman 357 mag - Prohibited Firearm - FRT# 41822-1 (now prohibited
because of barrel length)
Webley Hurricane - Restricted Firearm - FRT# 43386-1 (muzzle velocity: 640fps)
Webley Tempest - Restricted Firearm - FRT# 43382-1 (muzzle velocity: 560 fps)
Beeman Model p1 - Restricted Firearm - FRT# 17122-2 (muzzle velocity: 580fps)
Crosman Model 1740 - Restricted Firearm - FRT# 89275-1 (muzzle velocity:600fps)
Crosman 1008 - Restricted Firearm - FRT# 41826-1
Crosman 1377c - Restricted Firearm - FRT# 90615-1
Crosman Model 1760 - Non-Restricted Firearm -
FRT# 89255 (muzzle velocity:750fps)
Crosman Model 1077 - Non-Restricted Firearm - FRT# 41814-1
Crosman 760 - Non-Restricted Firearm - FRT#
41799-1
Crosman Powermaster - Non-Restricted Firearm - FRT# 72071-1
Diana Model 20 - Non-Restricted Firearm - FRT# 38510-1
Marksman Lazerhawk - Non-Restricted Firearm - FRT# 79371-4
NOTE: These reclassified airguns and pellet rifles are very common and are sold
in 400 Canadian Tire Stores, 120 Wal-Mart stores, 300 Home Hardware Stores, 300
Federated Co-op stores and most True Value Hardware stores as well as thousands
of other smaller businesses and shops across Canada.
IF YOU SELL AIRGUNS
If your business is in possession of ANY airgun that the Canadian Firearm
Registry has reclassified as a firearm and you do not have a licence to sell
firearms (and most airgun dealers do not), your business is
criminalized. If you do not have your airguns displayed or stored in accordance
with the display and storage provisions of Bill C-68, your business is
criminalized.
If you sell any of these reclassified airguns to
anyone without a valid Firearms Acquisition Certificate or Possession and
Acquisition Licence your business is criminalized. If you sell any of these
reclassified
airguns without the firearm being registered with the Canadian Firearms Registry
and/or without the transfer of ownership being approved by the Canadian Firearms
Registry, your business is criminalized. Finally, all the staff in our store
must also have a valid Firearms Acquisition Certificate or Possession and
Acquisition Licence in order to handle these reclassified airguns in your store.
IF YOU OWN A RESTRICTED OR PROHIBITED AIRGUN
If an individual or business is in possession of any airgun that is a handgun
that the Canadian Firearms Registry has reclassified as a firearm - depending on
the barrel length - it is now either a restricted or a
prohibited firearm (See the above list for examples). If the barrel length
is under 105 mm (4 inches), your airgun-handgun it is 'prohibited' (like the
Crosman 357 mag listed above). If the barrel length is over 105 mm then your
airgun-handgun is 'a restricted' firearm. All these reclassified airgun-handguns
must now be registered immediately or you will be in unauthorized possession of
a firearm. If you do not have a firearms licence authorizing you to own a
restricted and/or prohibited airgun-handgun, you will be in violation of
Criminal Code section 91(1)(b) and subject to imprisonment for up to five years
or in violation of section 92(1)(b) and subject to imprisonment for up to
ten years.
All these newly reclassified airgun-handguns in
your possession must now be stored just the same as any other handgun in
accordance with the storage laws and regulations - if you do not you will be
criminalized. If you wish to transport your airgun-handgun out of your
house you must now apply to the
Chief Firearms Office in your province for an Authorization to Transport and you
will only be authorized to transport your airgun-handgun to a shooting
range approved by the CFO.
If you own a reclassified airgun-handgun with a four-inch barrel or less, it is
now prohibited. Due to another bit of poor draftsmanship in Bill C-68, you are
no longer eligible to be 'grandfathered' because you didn't register your
airgun before February 14, 1995, your now prohibited airgun will be
confiscated by police and destroyed - (likely without compensation from the
Liberal government.
IF YOU OWN A NON-RESTRICTED AIRGUN OR PELLET RIFLE
If you own a reclassified airgun or pellet rifle it is a non-restricted firearm
(See the above list for examples) you will need to be in possession of either a
valid Firearms Acquisition Certificate, a Possession Only Licence or a
Possession and Acquisition Licence before December 31,
2000 or you will be in unauthorized possession of a firearm and subject to the
penalties noted above. You will also be required to register your airgun or
pellet rifle before January 1, 2003.
Some of my postings....
Posted by NS Canuck on June 21, 2000 at 18:17:14: At the Airgun Letter Forum
Hello all!
Just keeping you up to date on the Gamo P23 seizure by Canada Customs.
Finally spoke to someone there at the Appeals Section today. Not bad, only four phone calls and three faxes, and a letter sent with the right appeals form.
The fellow on the phone did not have the Gamo P23 in front of him but said he would have it by 4 pm today. We spoke at length and I made it clear that some misinterpretation of the firearms law has been made. At first he called my pistol an "Airsoft product" and I corrected him. The Gamo is not and Airsoft replica item that fires little plastic pellets, it fires lead at 410 fps.
In the faxes and letters I outlined in quotes the Page four description of the difference between firearms and replicas. I also made it plain that other Canadian Airgun distributors were ordering these very guns on a regular basis ( I did some checking naturally). In the conversation the subject of Canadian Tire and their import practices involving realistic looking pellet guns was also brought to the forefront.
Nothing can be done until he has the Gamo in his hand but he made it clear the HE was the final WORD on this issue. I cannot understand this. If they have made the mistake how can HE be the final WORD?
Is there any one else out there that is having this same sort of problem?
He mentioned something about some sort of tribunal that may take MONTHS. Also, you might all be interested that a firearm seized cannot be re-exported to the place of origin so you are out your money.
Stay tuned for more ground breaking information as the saga continues. I would suggest not ordering anything that looks like a real pistol from the US if there really is some sort of change in the works.
Wish me luck!
UPDATES Section
June 29th, 2000
I spoke to another Customs Officer on the 28th of June and was told that my pistol was in the lab for testing. They are making certain that the muzzle velocity is less than 500 fps (even though the manufacturer's documents clearly state it is 410 fps) and then they will decide on whether or not is it a replica firearm.
The officer I spoke to read me some sections from the Canadian Criminal Code (section 84) which I am already aware of to some extent. I told this individual that I sent along the pertinent information already and asked why is it the big wholesalers and chain stores can sell these items? There was no clear response.
July 27th, 2000
I spoke to a customs officer again today and he explained the RCMP testing scenario (mentioned above). It seems that I may be requiring an FAC if the item fires above 500 feet per second (above 500 fps makes the item a weapon) but if it fires below that speed I may lose it.
The Laser hawk brand of hyper-velocity ammunition is a hybrid plastic casing with a BB in the end. If anyone has ever tried this brand I think they would have found the 30% increase in velocity claim to be a bit over-zealous. I have tried this brand of hyper-velocity ammunition myself and would not buy it again. I found the claims to be unwarranted and the ammo inaccurate. I could not seem to hit anything with it.
How can I lose something that is readily available in the large wholesale chains and sporting goods stores?
August 7th, 2000
I received a GAMO P23 pistol from a Canadian Distributor. This distributor LEGALLY IMPORTS and SELLS the GAMO P23 without difficulty here in Canada. When I mentioned what was happening this distributor could not understand why I was having trouble with importing a LEGAL item into Canada. The GAMO P23 does not require an FAC (firearms acquisition certificate) and should be released into my rightful possession.
I have some pictures of my new (second ordered) GAMO P23 pistol on my GAMO P23 page.
August 12th, 2000
My new (second ordered) GAMO P23 pistol seems to work well.
I have learned of a new section in the Customs Act that gives me the right to demand my rightful property. I am sending this letter to the officer that has my pistol. I am very certain the RCMP will find that the GAMO P23 will not fire above 500FPS no matter what they do to it.
In any case the item is an unrestricted item as of present and should just be given to me. If they want to test firearms let them buy their bloody own and stop hassling tax paying Canadians with their nonsense! I will include a copy of the letter here once I have received word back from the officer.
This is day 75 and enough is enough!
Day 138, so very tired...
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For the complete teardown of this rifle and more information try these links....
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