Gun replicas-Canada

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BusterHamilton

I am working on a short that involves two actors. The lead actor and the Gun. The gun is listed as an actor because of what an integral piece of the short it is. Of course it will not be listed in the credits; I just wanted to emphasize how important it is.

That being said, it is very hard to find replica machine guns in Canada due to strict laws that do not allow replicas to be shipped over our border. I would order a good one from the USA but they will not ship it.

What other options do I have to purchase, rent, borrow, or make one on a lower budget?

I am in the Ottawa area if anyone has one they can loan or rent to me. I would include your name in the credits as an advisor or under props or something haha. Whatever you want, I am at your mercy!

Any advice or help here would be fantastic.
Thanks!
-buster
 
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BusterHamilton said:
I am working on a short that involves two actors. The lead actor and the Gun. The gun is listed as an actor because of what an integral piece of the short it is. Of course it will not be listed in the credits; I just wanted to emphasize how important it is.

That being said, it is very hard to find replica machine guns in Canada due to strict laws that do not allow replicas to be shipped over our border. I would order a good one from the USA but they will not ship it.

What other options do I have to purchase, rent, borrow, or make one on a lower budget?

I am in the Ottawa area if anyone has one they can loan or rent to me. I would include your name in the credits as an advisor or under props or something haha. Whatever you want, I am at your mercy!

Any advice or help here would be fantastic.
Thanks!
-buster
Click to expand...

Right off the bat I can lend a hand.
Replicas in Canada are EXTREMELY hard to get permission to use unfortunately. The closest thing you may be able to get is airsoft guns. It sucks, but that's the way our law works. Anything considered a replica firearm is illegal. You need a propmasters licence to actually use legitimate replica firearms and it's next to impossible to get one. Also, if you do manage to get one, replicas are not by any means cheap. There IS a way to get around this, and don't worry it's 100% legal ;)
IF you own an AIRGUN (IE pellet gun, airsoft gun) that is shooting at a velocity OVER 500 feet per second, it can look EXACTLY like a real life weapon, and it is not considered a replica. It is now under Canadian Law, considered an "Unregulated Firearm." This means by law, it is considered almost a weapon, but it doesn't shoot fast enough for you to need a licence to own it. You just have to be over 18.
WEIRD WEIRD laws I know, but it's true. So if you go to an airsoft website IN CANADA and find an airgun that has the look you want, order it and you have your prop. Do not try to ship one across the border. It will very likely get seized by customs, OR if your airgun/prop is shooting at the correct velocity you can get customs to test it, however lucky you gets to pay for that, and it's a huge inconvenience. Your best bet is to go to a Canadian airsoft website and look for a gun already in Canada, when looking for gun props for a lower budget film.
IF you have the budget and time, you can try to get real replica firearms to use, but it's a hassle and I'm afraid I don't know the full process. Anyway I hope that helped at least a bit!
 
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