The new Canadian Ranger rifle design was revealed last last month, with test production starting this summer. Rangers should expect to start seeing the weapons next summer. - photo courtesy of Colt Canada |
Canadian Ranger rifles revealed
Group will test new guns by next summer
Casey Lessard
Northern News Services
Monday, July 6, 2015
KITCHENER, ONT
A new Canadian Ranger rifle is on the way after the Department of National Defence (DND) awarded Kitchener-based Colt Canada a $1.5-million contract to test the rifle replacement design this summer.
This first of two contracts to the firm will see 125 rifles produced and distributed for testing.
Once final tweaks - if needed - are made to the design, Colt will produce 6,500 rifles that Rangers will start receiving for use next summer, according to a government document dated June 23.
All Rangers should have new rifles by 2019.
Stoeger Canada designed the customized TIKKA T3 Compact Tactical Rifle that will replace the .303 Lee-Enfield the Rangers have been using since 1947.
The DND has been running out of spare parts for the Lee-Enfield, which is no longer manufactured.
"A lot of my members don't have a complete rifle," Rankin Inlet Ranger Sgt. Herb Scharer told Nunavut News/North in 2011. "The stock might be loose, and you can't get a screw for it. Some of the sights don't stay put because the springs are broken. It's quite difficult to have everyone have their rifle up to par with broken parts and missing parts."
Despite this, Scharer said at the time, it's been a workhorse.
"This weapon has never failed," he said. "It's consistent and durable, takes a lot of abuse and keeps on shooting."
The rifles are primarily for Rangers to use as protection from bears and other predators, and Rangers are encouraged to use the guns for personal hunting purposes. For the federal government, the weapons are an essential tool for the people who are the first line of defence in Arctic sovereignty.
"The Canadian Rangers play a vital role in Canada's ability to assert sovereignty in the North," Associate Minister of National Defence Julian Fantino stated in a news release.
"This contract with Colt Canada will ensure that the Canadian Rangers get the equipment they need to protect Canada," said Public Works Minister Diane Finley, noting the contract will create 30 new jobs and support a total of 120 jobs at the Kitchener production facility.
