Gun show sees large crowd

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/10/2023 (615 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Friedensfeld Gun and Collectables Show saw more than 300 people attend the one day event.

Organizer and owner Sheryl Shaler said the show has been in operation for 37 years.

“My father was a gunsmith and he started the show and then when he passed away in 1994 I took over. I put this show on, plus I put the gun show on in Dugald in the spring in April,” she said.

Shaler said the Steinbach show is smaller than the Dugald show having only 70 tables with about 200 to 300 rifles compared to 140 tables in Dugald.

“There are collectors there but the majority that come are hunters. The average cost for a gun ranges from (more than) $100 to $1,000. We have it all there.”

Compared to gun shows in the United States, gun shows in Canada are stricter and don’t carry military grade weapons for sale. Guns in Canada are legally owned for the purpose of target shooting or hunting whereas in the U.S., much of gun ownership is for the purpose of self-defense. Canadian law requires that many restricted firearms cannot legally be owned without special approval. Canadians are not allowed to carry concealed weapons.

To get a permit to carry a gun you must first take two eight-hour courses (Canadian Firearms Safety Course and Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Course). In the course, students learn how to properly use the different types of guns and the safety rules regarding them. In the application form to get a Firearm Acquisition Certificate (FAC), the RCMP ask for a photo, which category of gun you will carry, if you own any other guns, personal history, information on your former partner and current partner that you have been living with for the past two years, and references. The process to get a gun can take about two months. Then the seller must transfer the ownership of the gun from the store to the buyer and register the gun with the RCMP.

“You have to have an FAC…to purchase a firearm or shells,” said Shaler.

Shaler said that gun owners are very passionate about their guns whether they’re hunters or collectors and that that wasn’t going to go away.