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Laws on discharging rifles

9857 Views 17 Replies 15 Participants Last post by  gothemi
Starting this thread to see what other think about the discharge rules in NB. Specifically target practiceing. If I dont belong to a gun club then I need a permit to fire my 3006 in July but if I have a varmit license and a 22250 then I can shoot anywhere safe that is 400m away from dwellings. I personally think this is a law that should be repealled as it doesnt make any sense to me.
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These laws never made any sense to me either. I get a permit about once every month during the off season. I've never understood why I can't hunt coyotes with any of my rifles other than a .22 caliber. Never understood why I have to be 400 meters from a dwelling to discharge a firearm but can go 400 meters and shoot back toward a house.(not very safe but still legal) Guess there's a lot of things I don't understand.LOL.
I asked my uncle (30+ yrs @ RCMP) about the 400m law and being 400m away and shooting toward a house and his response was;
"That's when the law CARELESS USE OF A FIREARM COMES INTO PLAY." so no you can't go 400m away from houses and shoot without using some common sense.
Starting this thread to see what other think about the discharge rules in NB. Specifically target practiceing. If I dont belong to a gun club then I need a permit to fire my 3006 in July but if I have a varmit license and a 22250 then I can shoot anywhere safe that is 400m away from dwellings. I personally think this is a law that should be repealled as it doesnt make any sense to me.
This is a senseless law to me as well but it does at least give me an excuse to own one more rifle. lol.
Lets see if I can stir it up here.
I am sort of ok with the law. What it was trying to do, but missed by a bit I think, is to keep people from running around with high powered rifles all the time. Remember at the time of the making of the hunting with nothing bigger thana 22 there were no 22-250 or 223 or 222 etc or at least you did not hear of them much. All those weapons became popular after the law was made in Canada. Plus with everyon always carying around a high powered rifle it was very temping to some to just shoot the deer out of season on the edge of the road. I don't think the law did much to slow poaching but that was the attempt and to change a law after the fact it is very hard to do. Kinda like the law in Fredericton that states if you have no money on you, they can put you in jail. What in the world was that going to stop?
this is only my humble opionion.
When the varmint license came about, many considered it a "poacher's license". And in many cases it was.
Don't matter to me,I carry my 223 in summer which is plenty for coyote,but I could see changing it to maybe a week before gun deer sason to go and sight in your rifle.
I find the regulations in this Province to be way over the top. I can't help but feel that there is this assumption made that if I want to go and target practice or sight in my rifle I am not responsible enough to 1) not poach 2) use my firearm responsibly.

Last I checked I've been wearing big boy pants for quite a while and am capable of doing both. Is this requirment to have a permit for everything a money grab or is it something else?
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I find the regulations in this Province to be way over the top. I can't help but feel that there is this assumption made that if I want to go and target practice or sight in my rifle I am not responsible enough to 1) not poach 2) use my firearm responsibly.

Last I checked I've been wearing big boy pants for quite a while and am capable of doing both. Is this requirment to have a permit for everything a money grab or is it something else?
You said it, Money Grab!
Just FYI, the varmint's license permits you to carry a rifle of caliber 0.23 and smaller. That is the actual law.
But to me the law doesnt make any sense gothemi. Why is it legal to carry 22250 but not my 243 or 3006? Just another stupid NB law if you ask me.
Are you allowed to target practice with a .223 on sundays? Since theres no hunting?
Are you allowed to target practice with a .223 on sundays? Since theres no hunting?
You might need a permit, but I know that I can go to the private range and shoot all I like on Sunday, and any caliber. It is a licensed range however, and membership is required so that may be the reason.
So in NB you still need a permit to take your gun to the approved range.

In Ontario if you have a small game licence you can carry any caliber .280 or less year around (few exceptions like deer season if you dont have a deer licence). So in the Summer if I want I can carry my .270 win.
I can carry any non restricted weapon to a sand pit or range.

I believe it is the same in NS and Quebec.
I don't believe you need anything to go to the range but if you wanted to shoot out on the back 40 on a sunday??? Maybe you might, don't know
As far as I know I'm able to transport any of my non-restricted rifles to the range without a permit as long as I have my range card with me.

Well at least I hope I've been doing it right after all this time! lol
As far as I know I'm able to transport any of my non-restricted rifles to the range without a permit as long as I have my range card with me.

Well at least I hope I've been doing it right after all this time! lol
You have Country Girl if your range membership benefits includes a licence to transport and a liability insurance coverage like mine does for the firing range I belong to. This is well explained with my renewal papers.
But to me the law doesnt make any sense gothemi. Why is it legal to carry 22250 but not my 243 or 3006? Just another stupid NB law if you ask me.
Didn't say the law made sense, and I agree with you. Just stated that the legal caliber to carry hunting during the "varmint" season is .23 and under.
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