Antiques pistols!

[LawrenceN]

Up here (Canada), our laws surrounding handguns are convoluted and very restrictive. The only legal "work around" is a good high condition functional antique. I was fortunate in getting my hands on a S&W "Frontier" in extremely good condition. I intend to use this a carry firearm when I'm working or trekking the bush or woods. I wanted a good reliable pistol for my wife as a deterrent for a potential SHTF urban scenario. Given her petite hands, it had to be small and handy. I found a very nice Remington New Model in .32 rf. that was one of those converted from cap and ball to cartridge. I have a couple of boxes of .32 in good condition so she can fire off a few rounds to get used to how it feels and where it shoots. These beat the hell out of my budget but I have some odds and ends whose sale will defray the outlay. For now, enjoy.

[Jim Watson]

Reminds me of the mystery novels about the Scottish gunsmith who loaded a flintlock when he wished to go armed.

At one time French gun law was much less restrictive on antiques. A SAA was easier to get but it had to be a real 19th century revolver, not a modern reproduction and you could legally shoot it only with black powder.

[RickB]

A Canadian buddy has a Colt revolver chambered in .41, and because the cartridge is obsolete, he can own/shoot/carry in the woods, without the restrictions that apply to a modern, .45, .38. .357. etc.

Another interesting twist, is that magazine capacity laws apply to the original, intended capacity of the mag, so my buddy has .40 S&W mags for some of his 9mms, as the 10rd .40 mags will hold eleven or twelve 9mm rounds.

When I lived nearer the border, a few Canadians would come down to shoot, and they all had .30rd mags with rivets through the mag tube that limited capacity to ten; they'd drill-out the rivets, shoot for the day, then install a new rivet before they went home; nobody seemed to care about a foot-long magazine, as long as only ten rounds would fit in it.