Deer Hunting Hints. — C-I-L (Canadian Industries Limited)

Some of you may remember C-I-L as the manufacturer of ammunition and sporting guns commonly found for sale at Canadian Tire and other retailers of hunting and shooting supplies. Imperial and Canuck were the brand names for the shotgun shells I recall seeing and using on occasion when I was a boy. C-I-L also manufactured rifle cartridges under the Imperial brand name. Together with the ammunition C-I-L manufactured the company published a series of booklets packed with useful information for hunters, and,  of course, advertisements for its line of sporting guns and ammunition. I remember my father had some of these booklets, which, unfortunately, are lost to history, but I keep an eye out for these booklets when I browse at used and antiquarian book shops. Deer Hunting Hints was published in 1950, though there is no date on the copy in our library collection; it may be a reprinted edition. Still, in its 37 pages, it packs a lot of useful information for the hunter interested in the pursuit of deer.

The opening chapter introduces the reader to the three species of deer, white-tailed, mule and black-tailed, their ranges and provides illustrations on how to identify them. The second chapter takes on the subject of firearms, offering hints as to what kind of rifle and ammunition the hunter should use in deer hunting and showing the C-I-L line of rifles and shotguns and ammunition, how very clever of them.

The remaining chapters cover topics such as cleaning and maintaining your deer rifle, sighting it in, clothing and equipment for deer hunting, deer hunting techniques and how to dress and butcher a deer once it is on the ground and crucially, the Ten Commandments of Hunting Safety, in this publication called the Basic Rules for Hunting Safely. I remember in each of these C-I-L publications these safety rules were included.

In keeping copies of these publications I enjoy learning about the hunting culture in Canada as it was in the past, before I was born. I find that it is really not so different in the present as this quote from the introduction of Deer Hunting Hints shows: “The first consideration, of course, is sportsmanship; the good sportsman respects his quarry as well as the rights of others. In the actual hunting of game, the first concern of the novice should be to perfect his marksmanship. He must be able to place his shots where he wishes them to go. This is his prime objective and it is not achieved without constant practice.” Publications such as Deer Hunting Hints preserve a record of our hunting and sport shooting heritage, that it has always been about sportsmanship and safety and is well worth defending for succeeding generations of hunters and sport shooters in Canada.

Posted by Geoffrey

Canadian Shooters Rights. — Edward L. Burlew, L.L.B. Barrister & Solicitor

This volume, published in 2000 by Edward L. Burlew is a very useful guide to wading through the tangled web that is the current state of firearms law in Canada. In particular the book addresses the reality that faces gun owners in Canada as of December 1, 1998 when the Canadian Firearms Act became law. Burlew notes the foundation of the Canadian Firearms Act is licensing and the content of this legislation is aimed at the law abiding gun owner. What this means is that when the Canadian Firearms Act became law, possession of a gun in Canada is now a crime, unless the owner is licensed. The book has chapters detailing licensing, the buying and selling of guns, storage of guns and ammunition, dealing with police and courts and the handgun prohibition (short barrelled .25 and .32 calibre handguns were prohibited with the passage of the Canadian Firearms Act) that went in to effect in 2001.

Burlew identifies two key points of which gun owners must be acutely aware: (1) Licensing and (2) Storage of guns and ammunition. Gun owners need to be licensed and see to it that their license is current, that there is no lapse between the dates of expiry and renewal. With regard to storage, he is clear on this point, stating, “read the actual regulations and be sure you are storing the guns and ammunition in strict compliance with the regulations.” He illustrates the importance of seeing that you are in strict compliance with storage regulations in the chapter titled Hunters Beware. This selection from the chapter tells the story of what happened to one peaceful and law abiding hunter.

Mr. Hunter took several guns with him hunting. He kept them in his pickup bed. The guns were cased, covered, but not trigger-locked and not in locked hard cases. Ammunition was carried in the bed and in an unlocked box. The pickup bed was covered with a locked cap, bolted down and an additional wire and lock held the cap door closed in addition to the lock. Mr. Hunter slept in a hotel. During the night thieves broke the cap door off at the hinges. The lock held fast and two guns were stolen.

The police arrested the thieves, impounded Mr. Hunter’s truck without a warrant and seized his remaining guns and ammunition. Mr. Hunter faces criminal charges of unsafe storage of guns and ammunition and unsafe transportation for leaving his guns unattended. The police say he should have had trigger locks or locked hard cases and the ammunition should have been in a locked box.

This may sound ridiculous to you, Mr. Hunter has a good defense and should be found not guilty. The police say let the judge decide. Mr. Hunter’s guns are seized until trial. He must hire a lawyer and travel from home to the court where the theft took place. The trial will be nine months after his truck was broken into.

This book, though published in 2000, is a timely reminder of the reality facing Canada’s gun owners following the passage of the Canadian Firearms Act, the intentions of the Liberal government of Prime Minister Jean Chretien that passed it and the dire straits Canada’s gun owners find themselves in until the Canadian Firearms Act is repealed.

Posted by Geoffrey