[Talking moose]

Originally Posted by Jack Hardin

About 8 years ago I was in Wholesale Sports in Calgary at the gun counter waiting for my number to be called. One of the clerks was showing a guy in a cowboy hat a 12ga coach gun with hammers. A guy standing next to me also waiting for his number to be called said to no one in particular, "That's a neat looking shotgun," I told him it is used in cowboy shooting. He said that the only gun he ever shot was his service pistol. I asked him if he was Calgary Police, he replied that he was.

We got chatting and he said, "Remember when you used to be able to carry rifles in the back window of your pick-up?" I said yes, and you still can. He said no you can't. I said yes you can if you have a valid PAL and the firearms are unloaded, you can have them in the back window of your truck. However, if you leave your vehicle, they must be taken down out of the window be made so that they cannot be seen from the outside, lock your doors and you can leave your vehicle. He said no you can't. I just thought to myself, "Here is a cop that doesn't know the regs."

Now having said that, I would not drive down the Deerfoot with long guns in the back window of my pick-up, because you would see the smoke from the 911 call centre with the lines being overloaded with people calling in, saying that there is a crazy guy driving down the Deerfoot with a bunch of guns in his back window. If you were coming in from the north, you probably wouldn't make it past the 64th st overpass before the Calgary Police Tac Team would be all over you.

There have been too many instances where the police have harassed people legally transporting firearms, because the police do not know the regs.

I would bet good money that well over half the police force in Canada would think it’s against the law to display guns in the back window while driving.