Just The Numbers

2 People are killed every week in Canada by a firearm (that includes suicides.. without suicides, the number is too small to report)

28 people are killed every week in Canada by drunk driving. 

896 people die from substance abuse each week in Canada. 

1574 people die from Cancer every week in Canada

(based on 2019 stats)

Declaration of War

I’d like to address the open declaration of war against gun owners by the race-baiting, blackface wearing, man child posing as the prime minister.
I have been asked what this means and unfortunately I can not tell you exactly.  His statement was vague.
There are several possibilities of what his words can mean.  As time goes on, I hope to get a more accurate picture of what his ill-targeted intent actually is.

The most likely scenario is a ban by OIC.  Easy OICs have already been established by the passing of C-71.  They will target AR-15s and some big firearm names.  Some of these firearms will be bought back like he says, but costs will quickly spiral out of control forcing them to put the bulk of their bans in the Mystery 12(9) class.  Storage regulations can be changed by OIC to allow lower governments a say in storage but this will be challenged in court and I expect it to be defeated.
OICs require no parliamentary debate.  They are easy and the limited attack on gun owners and our previous pattern of “taking it” will ensure their agenda advances without resistance.

The most dangerous scenario is a legal change.  If they attack by OIC, gun manufacturers can adapt with new designs just like they have in the past.  If they change the law to ban all magazine fed semi-autos, the gun industry and our sport will never recover.  People taking up hunting is down but people taking up target, sport and action shooting is way up.  It is the later groups that will be criminalized.  They proved they can make changes with C-71 with no repercussions.

More information is needed to determine what path they will take.

The SKS - Not a $220 Rifle

I get angry when I read about people who dismiss the SKS as a junk rifle;  They equate price with value.

The rifle was exceptionally designed.  It was in every sense of the word, a winter warfare rifle.  The stock was short because it was designed to be worn with a thick winter coat, the ammo was corrosive because non-corrosive offerings might not reliably ignite in -30 weather.  As I will detail later, it was over-gassed to compensate for ice.  In a climate such as Canada's I would put my faith readily in the venerable SKS.

If we were to manufacture a SKS today it would cost about $600 to manufacture with the materials, labor and machine time.  The industry standard is a markup of about 20% from the manufacturer and another 20% if it comes through a distributor.  That means if the SKS was manufactured today it would retail at around $800.

The next complaint is accuracy.  You need to understand why the SKS is not very accurate.  The big reason is the gas system.  The gas port is much larger then what is actually needed to cycle the gun.  Its ejections are forceful.  This is to compensate for potential reliability issues from mud, dust, ice and other messy battlefield conditions.  Just look to Canada's WW1 rifle, the Ross; it was a great, accurate rifle but when exposed to dirt and mud, it failed miserably putting lives at risk.  The SKS will work when it needs to work.  No questions asked.

But there is also the cultural difference in definition of accuracy.  In the west accuracy is defined in groups.  So-and-So rifle is a 1.5 MOA rifle, this-and-that is a 2 MOA rifle.  Soviet accuracy is based on the realistic expectation that it will hit a man sized target at infantry ranges.  For a rifle of war, what can you reasonably expect?  It does exactly what it needs to do.  The Soviets did not build it so Canadian and Americans could use it to "dick measure" with their arbitrary bench shot, MOA measured, groups.  MOA is irrelevant in the real world.

The ballistics of the round are similar to a 30-30.  Nobody expects the 30-30 to be a sniper rifle or to shoot distances over 200m so I find it disingenuous that people get angry that the SKS can not.

The SKS was replaced in all the militaries that adopted it...with a similar gun.  The AK47 in Russia and the Type 81 in China.  Both the AK and T81 were made with the same thoughts in mind as the SKS; the main difference between their old rifles and their new ones was detachable magazines, cheaper to build and ergonomics.  Arguably all things that are available after-market for the SKS nowadays.

So the SKS is not a "cheap" rifle.  It is a steal for what you actually get from that low price tag.

Intelligence, Police and Made up Bogymen

I have attended many counter-terrorism conferences when I was part of the Intelligence Branch of the Canadian Army.  The last conference I attended (2013) was fear mongering the Freeman on the Land Movement (FLM).

Although deranged and perhaps a nuisance, the FLM has not killed anyone.  They do not advocate violent overthrow of government or the mass genocide of those who disagree with their point of view.

Yet back in 2013 I saw political correctness entering the intelligence world and, let me tell you, being politically correct is a poison when it comes to clarity and analysis.  We have millions of dollars and thousands of man-hours chasing an annoyance.  With thought processes like that we might as well turn the might of our intelligence apparatus towards shoplifters.

In an attempt to be racially and ideologically inclusive, like some sick affirmative action program, the chase is on for a non-Islamic based bad guy.

A few weeks ago a RCMP officer was tragically killed outside a casino in St Albert by Shawn Rehn.  Someone posed the question:

My heart is broken for the RCMP member. Indeed the question goes out from the RCMP themselves, "How is/WAS the suspect still on the streets"?

My response (as a gun owner):

How was he still on the streets? I don't want to politicize this or diminish the tragedy but this man was on the streets because he is NOT the focus of law enforcement. We are.... you and I. Every day you are checked on a criminal database. You are required to provide your address to the government like you are on house arrest. They can search your home without a warrant - even a criminal has the right not be arbitrarily searched. They can take your property away with the stroke of a pen. He is on the streets because they are busy watching you. Drug dealers, murderers and thieves take second place to social engineering.

So our intelligence community is chasing FLM and our law enforcers are chasing people with a PAL and there are people who think that taking away more of our privacy and freedoms will fix our ills?  We need to turn our efforts towards legitimate bad guys – Jihads, Drug Dealers and Rapists and stop government agencies from wasting their time on political correctness and social engineering.