Steve Coppola

Editorial image of a Canadian firearms safety course classroom with adult students and course materials.

Advocacy

Safety courses keep filling under the handgun freeze

Toronto's course board is a small signal, but an honest one: even under the handgun freeze, new Canadian shooters are still paying to learn the lawful path.

A new PAL holder at a cold Canadian range threshold, with empty benches, distant target backers, and a single Holdover red square.

Gear

Your first PAL comes with a regret list

A Canadian thread about the firearm that got away says more than nostalgia. New shooters inherit a market shaped by bans, freezes, scarcity, and policy aimed at the easiest owners to find.

Editorial illustration of an empty federal evidence binder, a public budget ledger, and a red square print mark.

Advocacy

The evidence should exist before the cheque

A $742 million firearms program should not need an access request to find its public-safety argument. Licensed owners deserve evidence before policy burden.

A single-stage reloading press at the corner of a worn wooden workbench, a .338 Lapua case sitting half-resized in the die, brass casings and a digital powder scale visible in the foreground.

Handloading

I started handloading with .338 Lapua

Most people get into handloading the same way I did: by looking at what factory match ammunition costs in Canadian dollars, doing some quick arithmetic, and deciding to buy a press. The conclusion is approximately correct. It leaves out a great deal.

Editorial illustration of a Quebec precision-rifle machine shop, export-control map fragments, and a small Holdover red square register mark.

Gear

The rifle is not the scandal

A current Global News story about Cadex rifles in Russia should make Canadian shooters proud of the gear and much less patient with policy aimed at the wrong people.

Editorial illustration of a Canadian firearms-law desk with a Criminal Code volume, PAL card silhouette, transfer reference slip, range notebook, and red square register mark.

Advocacy

The law is already heavy

A current Canadian legal explainer says the quiet part clearly: firearms law is already heavy. The real policy question is aim.

Editorial illustration of a Canadian rifle range bench with target cards, a chronograph, handloading notes, and a small Holdover red square.

Precision

The target does not care what I bought

Accuracy is worth chasing. It is also very good at making expensive confidence look foolish, which might be the part of precision shooting I needed to learn most.

Editorial illustration of a Canadian rimfire precision firing line with a modest .22 setup, steel targets, and a red square print mark.

Gear

The best first precision rifle is still a .22

Current Canadian rimfire matches show the sane way into precision shooting: start small, learn wind and position, and let targets decide what gear actually matters.

Editorial illustration of a large Firearms Reference Table PDF, Canadian legal books, a range counter, and a red square register mark.

Gear

The FRT is not the law

The RCMP's Firearms Reference Table is useful gear intelligence, but it is not the rulebook. New Canadian shooters should learn that distinction early.

Editorial illustration of a highway shoulder near the border, a heavy suitcase, and a distant Canadian range line.

Advocacy

The suitcase is the policy failure

A CityNews report on an alleged 89-firearm smuggling attempt into Canada shows the policy gap Ottawa keeps stepping around: the regulated owner is visible, while the real handgun pipeline is elsewhere.

Editorial illustration of a compact black Cadex-style .308 precision rifle with folded stock, Vortex-style optic, bipod, and range notebook on warm cream paper.

Gear

The Cadex Covert is not a shortcut

The Cadex CDX-SS Seven S.T.A.R.S. Covert in .308 looks like the compact answer. It is not. It is a serious precision rifle that happens to fold short.

Editorial illustration of a federal compensation portal, receipt binder, closed case, calendar, and red square register mark.

Advocacy

The portal says wait

Public Safety's May 7 update tells owners to wait for notification and a funding agreement before disposal. That small instruction says a lot about the buyback.

Safety courses keep *filling* under the handgun freeze

Your first PAL comes with a *regret list*

The evidence should exist before the *cheque*

I started handloading with *.338 Lapua*

The rifle is not the *scandal*

The law is already *heavy*

The target does not care what I *bought*

The best first precision rifle is still a *.22*

The FRT is not the *law*

The *suitcase* is the policy failure

The Cadex Covert is not a *shortcut*

The portal says *wait*

Safety courses keep filling under the handgun freeze

Your first PAL comes with a regret list

The evidence should exist before the cheque

I started handloading with .338 Lapua

The rifle is not the scandal

The law is already heavy

The target does not care what I bought

The best first precision rifle is still a .22

The FRT is not the law

The suitcase is the policy failure

The Cadex Covert is not a shortcut

The portal says wait