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NWT
Each year, every one of our country's 4,700 Canadian Rangers is issued 200 rounds of ammunition, a safety vest, a red sweatshirt, a ball cap and a .303-calibre Lee-Enfield rifle.

Canadian Rangers listen to a firing range safety briefing during Exercise Narwhal in the Cumberland Peninsula area of Baffin Island in 2004. Rangers have been using the Lee-Enfield rifle since Sept. 4, 1947, when the first patrol was formed in Dawson City. Soon after, a second patrol was formed in Whitehorse. This year, there are 58 patrols in the North. - photo courtesy of the Canadian Forces

In 2014, nearly 70 years after the first ranger patrol was formed in Dawson City, the Canadian Forces could be issuing a completely new .308-calibre rifle.

The change is part of the government's growing military presence in the North and its national small arms modernization project.

In addition to outfitting the Rangers with new rifles, the government is also planning to expand the force, which is part of the Canadian Forces Reserve, to 5,000 members.

"While the Lee-Enfield rifle is still an excellent weapon and meets the Rangers' requirements, there is difficulty in obtaining spare parts," Marc Greatti, a captain with Canadian Forces public affairs, wrote in an e-mailed statement.

Since the mid-1980s, the Canadian Forces has had to use spare parts from spare rifles to keep them in stock, according to Greatti.

Although they still function well, in the next few years national stocks will be so low that a shortage could occur and repairs would become impossible.

"It's a very straight, very functional utility rifle. It's a basic step up from the old musket," he said.

"It has a big kick to it."

The Lee-Enfield rifle is currently used to protect against bears and other predators during patrols.

In addition, Rangers are encouraged to use the guns for personal use when they're on the land, according to Sgt. Kevin Stevens, who has been with the Rangers since 2003.

In 2010, Defence Research and Development Canada held focus groups with approximately 135 Rangers from four of the five Ranger patrol groups, including the 1st Canadian Ranger Patrol Group, located in the Northwest Territories, the Yukon, Nunavut and northern British Columbia.

The 2nd Canadian Ranger Patrol Group in Quebec was not consulted with because of scheduling conflicts, according to Greatti.

It was decided the .308-calibre Winchester, which is made by several companies, would be the best fit as a replacement.

The full cost of replacing the Lee-Enfield rifles will be determined after the federal government awards a contract, which will likely be for 10,000 guns.

"There are a number of companies that are bidding for it on a worldwide scale," Greatti said.

There are Canadian Rangers in every territory and province in Canada, with the exception of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.

This month, the patrol group will be taking part in Operation Nanook, an annual Arctic sovereignty exercise near Resolute Bay, Nunavut.

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