Dewats Canada

[elvis3006]

Was there ever a time in Canada where a dewat was able to legally disassemble ? I know now newly deactivated guns are welded shut, but like old cock and click versions are there any that can be still found that can be field stripped fully or partially ? Thank you

Information

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[browningautorifle]

Way back when Crown Assets was a functioning storefront, you could find Stens for instance, in a cardboard barrel dewatted and for sale by the metric ton. If you took a look, you might find some that were done at the barrel and some that were done by the receiver. Put two together and...yes you could strip them. The .50 cals that came from belly packs were done at the feedway and barrel, with a torch cut in the side. If you held them by the muzzle and bashed the buffer on a hardwood block the parts would recoil and be free. You could take the working parts out anyway. The thing was, no one was too concerned. You could own full autos at that time and they were registered like a handgun is now, you could legally shoot them. They'd be on the tables for sale at the gunshows...

Now days they must be cock and click by the old definition or solid by the new one. If you can strip it, no one's going to understand, legally.

[elvis3006]

Thank you for the reply. I remember seeing sten gun dewats here in Canada and in some pictures it was field stripped. This obviously must be older spec dewats.

[browningautorifle]

Perhaps the pics were of a live gun...? Something from a book.

[Seaforth72]

Yes. In the 1970s (and earlier of course) there were hundreds of Stens, Brens and BARS etc. sold in Canada that one could take apart. The bolt face was usually damaged and barrel usually had a hole in it. Receiver often had some cuts. If you find one like that, DO NOT TRY TO REACTIVATE AS THAT WOULD BE ILLEGAL! Do NOT ask your local police. There is a recent report of a collector going in and asking the police what was required to deactivate a machine gun, and the story goes on to say that they raided his place the next day. Prudence would be to follow the spirit of the law and make sure that it cannot fire and cannot be made to fire. Older dewats are scrap metal in the eyes of the law and are not firearms, therefore current firearms guidelines for deactivation logically do not apply to them. For newly deactivated firearms, the guidelines will apply as police will refuse to deregister them until they are satisfied.

[elvis3006]

Thank you for the answers, just curious if there are any dewats out there that can cock and click and take apart like an old style dewat such as in the UK for example.

[NavyShooter]

[browningautorifle]

Is that the way it was done?