How to Dispose of Unwanted Firearms
If you have unwanted firearms there are legal alternatives to
turning in your guns to the authorities for destruction.
- When the firearm is of some historical significance, a museum may
be interested in adding it to their collection. If this is the case
you should be able to get a tax receipt for a charitable
donation.
- You can sell or give your gun to someone with a valid firearms
licence or to a firearms dealer. The market for used firearms is
fairly depressed because so many people are selling firearms; hence
prices are often less than they were in the 1990s.
- You can have the firearm deactivated so that it becomes a
"non-firearm". Call 1-800-731-4000 and ask for the deactivation guidelines.
- You can give the firearm to some gun club or firearms instructor
for use in firearms training, if the recipient has an appropriate
licence. This can help the shooting sports
by making it easier to deliver programs and training.
Many of those involved in delivering firearms training do not have
the resources to purchase guns for disabling or cutting away to
turn them into training aids. You can always attach whatever
reasonable conditions you would like to a donation, so that your
generosity is not abused.
If you do not have a valid firearms licence, you are committing
criminal offense(s) if you possess firearms (unless you are holding
firearms as the executor of an estate).
Remember, it is not legal to just give your gun to someone, it must
be registered upon transfer.
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