in E News TEAM CSSA E-NEWS – Feb. 03, 2014
TEAM CSSA E-NEWS – Feb. 03, 2014 ** Please share this E-news with your friends **
COMMENTARY: CANADA’S OUTDOORS IN GOOD HANDS WITH THE BEASLEY BROTHERS
Beasley Brothers Outdoors Inc. may sound like a corporation, but it’s really about people.
Keith, Paul and Kevin Beasley are three brothers behind a broadcasting and publishing business in Peterborough, Ontario who deserve the support and gratitude of all sport shooters. The Beasleys and their staff are determined to show North Americans that hunting is an accessible dignified heritage activity – and it belongs to everyone.
The enterprising young brothers produce the popular hunting adventure TV show, Canada in the Rough. Created some 10 years ago by the esteemed Thomas Pigeon, the show is now available in Canada on Outdoor Life Network (OLN), Sun News, WildTV, CHEX, Ch12 Durham, CKWS, Bell Media’s RDS in French, and on The Sportsman Channel in the United States.
Many CSSA E-News readers will recall that Canada in the Rough was dropped by Shaw/Global TV in 2012 when the anti-gun broadcaster decided hunting shows were no longer suitable for their delicate viewing audience. Rightfully, viewers abandoned Global TV in droves to watch the Beasleys on other networks as they hunt for game from coast to coast to coast in Canada.
Undaunted, the Beasleys decided to make lemonade after Shaw/Global’s executives banished the show from their mediocre network. Now, sport shooters everywhere take great pride in the brothers’ tenacity as they legitimize the role of firearms in the heritage sports. The Beasleys also publish Ontario Monster Whitetails Magazine and produce Big Game Records of Ontario as directors of the Foundation for the Recognition of Ontario Wildlife. These capable ambassadors are shouldering a load for all responsible users of firearms and the CSSA is proud to count them among our members. Now in their 30s, the Beasleys are the future of Canada’s hunting heritage.
There is more of the bush man than TV star in Keith, Paul and Kevin Beasley – they are the real deal. Regardless of their Hollywood good looks, these guys do the work. Not reliant upon guides for the behind-the-scenes heavy lifting, the Beasley brothers like to rise before dawn to pursue deer, moose, bear, mountain sheep, elk and things with wings.
The Beasleys invited CSSA/CILA executive director Tony Bernardo and Saskatchewan M.P. Garry Breitkreuz to a waterfowl hunt for a Canada in the Rough episode that will air on March 8. The hunting party spent long days trudging through autumn fields and swamps in the prairie outback, followed by short sleeps in rough cabins. The tried-and-tested techniques of their forefathers and good, old-fashioned patience paid off in a generous duck and goose harvest.
Canada in the Rough portrays honourable people engaged in an honourable pursuit. While some U.S.-based hunting shows tend to lampoon sport shooters as rednecks and fuel the ire of hunting critics, the Beasleys do just the opposite. They consistently conduct themselves as intelligent, safe and responsible wildlife stewards. And, they are the same people when the cameras wind down. These hard-working broadcasters harness their personal joy in Canada’s outdoors and simply share it with others at home.
As beneficiaries of that insight and tenacity, Canadian sport shooters can (and should) show their gratitude by tuning in every week. Better yet, you can let the show’s sponsors know you are buying their products to support the Beasleys. In doing so, you can help the Beasleys portray Canadian hunters with pride and class. The brothers’ web page makes a bold claim: “This isn’t just a business, this is a passion!” The CSSA has seen the proof – and so can you at www.beasleybrothers.com
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ALL THE NEWS THAT FITS
THIS WEEK ON CANADA IN THE ROUGH: MOOSE MADNESS
The Canada in the Rough crew heads to Quebec in search of a bull moose. Keith Beasley will be alongside John Mock of Stoeger Canada and Kari Kuparinen from Sako International. With lots of moose sightings, the boys finally get to pull the trigger on a gorgeous bull moose!
Check http://www.canadaintherough.com/schedules/ for the dates, air times and networks in your time zone. You won’t be sorry!
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B.C. BLACK POWDER CARTRIDGE MATCH: 21st Annual British Columbia Silhouette Match on June 19-21, 2014 at Heffley Creek Gun Club. Black powder only – eye and hearing protection required, but no extra modern equipment allowed. Fee of $70 includes main match, target setters and campground access – 36 shooter maximum, so sign up today. For indormation email [email protected] or [email protected]
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GUN AND MILITARIA SHOW: Lyndhurst Legion in Lyndhurst, Ontario – February 23 and July 12 and October 19, 2014 from 9 a.m. To 3 p.m. Buy, sell, trade forearms, ammo, knives, military antiques, hunting and fishing gear. For info call John at 613-928-2382 or email [email protected]. See www.wingslivebaitandtackle.ca/events
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CANADA’S GUN-CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM CALLED ‘DEEPLY FLAWED’: At James Cox’s gun store in Calgary, there are eight rifles imported from Switzerland that he’d love to put up for sale, but they’re sitting in a vault.
That’s because the Mounties have spent months reviewing whether the entire line of Swiss Arms-brand sporting rifles, which have circulated in Canada for more than a decade as either restricted or non-restricted firearms, should be reclassified as prohibited.
Cox and other gun enthusiasts don’t understand why the review — whose outcome could affect hundreds, possibly thousands, of gun owners — has dragged on. They say the case illustrates how the gun classification system is “deeply flawed” and lacking in transparency.
“They have to make a decision and stick to it,” Cox said. RCMP officials refused an interview request and did not respond to several written questions after more than two days. In a short statement, they said “new information” had prompted the review and the matter was being examined “thoroughly.” The guns’ manufacturer and importers have been contacted to “obtain all pertinent information.”
If they ban the guns, compensating owners could be costly. Each one runs about $4,000, according to an RCMP briefing note obtained by Postmedia News. The problem is authorities don’t know exactly how many owners there are. They know there are 301 restricted Swiss Arms rifles registered in Canada, but they don’t know how many non-restricted ones there are because of the end of the long-gun registry. Cox estimates there are more than 2,000, which, if true, could cost the government $8 million in buy backs.
The RCMP has reversed the legal status of guns before. In 2012, the Sport Systeme Dittrich BD38 and 3008 firearms were reclassified from restricted to prohibited after regulators physically inspected them.
Typically the RCMP makes its initial assessment of a new firearm based on descriptions provided by the manufacturer or importer, according to a bulletin last year. “If the initial assessment indicates the firearm may be high-risk, or the information provided is incomplete, an inspection of the firearm may be required.” The government compensated 71 owners $219,447.22 for their loss.
Jean-Christophe de Le Rue, a spokesman for the public safety minister, said this week the government has “no plans to broadly reclassify firearms. Our government is committed to standing up for law-abiding hunters, farmers and sport shooters,” he said. “We will always ensure that gun owners are treated fairly.”
Ironically, it was a call that Cox made to the Mounties last year about a possible counterfeit firearm that triggered the broader review of Swiss Arms rifles. Someone came into Cox’s store, The Shooting Edge, wanting to trade in a Swiss Arms rifle. Cox said as soon as he saw it, he knew something was “bogus.” From 2001 to 2008, Cox imported Swiss Arms rifles — models like the Classic Green and Black Special — and came to know their “impeccable” workmanship.
The one brought into his store had “mismatched colours” and looked “beat up.” He concluded that the rifle was a variant of an old Swiss Arms SG550, which is prohibited in Canada, that had been refurbished to look like a Classic Green.
Cox said he felt obligated to call authorities. “If somebody comes in here with an illegal gun you can’t just turn your back,” he said… (The Windsor Star – January 31, 2014)
To read the rest of story: http://www.windsorstar.com/news/national/Canada+classification+system+called+deeply+flawed/9455192/story.html
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THE STORY – BREAK-IN VICTIM CHARGES WITH GUN INFRACTION: A 66-year-old London man who was the victim of a seemingly random break-and-enter Tuesday night was charged with weapons offences in connection with a gun he had at home.
A bizarre chain of events led to the charge, one that started when a stranger forced his way into the senior citizen’s Queen’s Ave. apartment around 11 p.m. Tuesday. He fought the intruder, but the intruder took away his makeshift weapon and fought back.
The occupant escaped and went to a neighbour’s for help, leaving the intruder in the home. Police arrived and arrested him, and paramedics took both men to hospital for injuries from the fight. Meanwhile, police also learned the tenant of the home had a gun inside.
The next day, they obtained a search warrant and went inside to investigate the gun situation. Myron Ireland, 48, is charged with break-and-enter and assault with a weapon. Peter Athanasakos, 66, is charged with the weapons offences. (January 30, 2014 – lfpress.com)
THE REBUTTAL – BREAK-IN VICTIM CHARGES WITH GUN INFRACTION:
Dear Sir/Madame: I read with interest where the victim of a violent home invasion was arrested by police simply for possessing a firearm. While the firearm was not apparently used to defend the victim, it is against the law to own a firearm in Canada without a license. This has been the case since the Liberal government of Jean Chretien criminalized simple possession of a firearm in order to wrest the property licensing away from provincial jurisdiction. The victim is facing a stiff prison sentence and a fine for the “crime” of not having the correct paper work (Section 91, 92 CCC).
As Ayn Rand stated, “the only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, where there aren’t enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws”.
So much for Canada being a liberal democracy. Those days seem to have passed.
Sincerely,
Robert S. Sciuk
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THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
The CSSA is the voice of the sport shooter and firearms enthusiast in Canada. Our national membership supports and promotes Canada’s firearms heritage, traditional target shooting competition, modern action shooting sports, hunting, and archery. We support and sponsor competitions and youth programs that promote these Canadian heritage activities.
To join or donate to the CSSA, visit: http://www.cdnshootingsports.org/membership.html
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CANADIAN SHOOTING SPORTS ASSOCIATION / CANADIAN INSTITUTE FOR LEGISLATIVE ACTION
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