Input Needed!

[Arctic Lake]

Okay fellas this is my first post to this site as I am a new member here.I didn't even know this site was around,I'm glad I found it though!I need some reliable information on a very touchy subject.Depression, with respect to an expired FAC and it's renewal.About 6 years ago I suffered a major depresive disorder.I crashed big time,think the worst,bad,bad thoughts,you know what I mean,I really do not want to go in anymore detail other than to say I was hospitilazied for 2 months 1 month one place 1 month at another.I am on medication for this and have been for all the years after the big crash.I see two doctors one I see every month.I can't handle stress anymore I am a stay at home dad.I am stable though.Enough backround I think.I never have or will, make any threats to anyone,I do not have those thoughts.So my FAC expired and I filled out a renewal form and being honest filled it out completely.Then I get a letter from the chief firearms officer.He wants a letter from my doctor pertaining to all the above I have mentioned.My firearms were put away in another location since this all happened.I do not want to loose them as I would like to hunt this year or next I have not hunted for 6 years now.I was a responsible hunter and succesesful as well.I miss it ,a lot.But now I think I'm going to loose the right to hunt do to my past medical history.I would appreciate your thoughts
Thanks
Arctic Lake

[The Hermit]

I don't see the problem yet... so get your doctor's to write a letter to the Firearms Officer. If they agree with your self assessment regards your stability and are not likely to harm yourself or others it should be fine. Depression is a common illness and usually very treatable with meds that shouldn't affect your judgement.

If they do not agree you could always buy a bow, practice, and go hunting this fall! My guess is that you would find bowhunting to be at least as much fun and curative as rifle/smokepole hunting!

Good luck.

[lunatic]

Sorry to hear about your problems AL. Though I can't begin to know how you feel, I do understand it. My wife has suffered from depression for 21 years now since our son was born. Hers luckily,is more S.A.D. related, so is generally only really bad during the winter months. I have no idea how they will rule on your situation. Being the a-holes they are, unfortunately I wouln't count on it. I think your best bet would be to talk to your doctor and see if you can convince him that getting out hunting could be very therapeutic. As long as you have had no suicidal thoughts that you've confided in him, you may be o.k. What ever happened to Doctor / patient confidentiality?

[sparkymacker]

I think if you comply with the CFO request to supply medical records you might have a fighting chance. However if your physician does not agree with your assessment of your present condition you will probably not be issued a PAL. As your hunting license and a PAL are separate entities, perhaps you could find someone to hunt with as I believe that person could let you use his/her firearm under direct supervision.

[Monashee]

Take up bowhunting or get a flintlock.

[Kody94]

Make sure your Doc knows how beneficial hunting is for your condition (I know it helps me manage stress!), and highlites that in his letter.

If just thinking about choking the living crap out of some azzhole would prevent us from owning firearms, this website would have to be renamed to "BowHuntingBC.ca"!!

:)

[Gateholio]

It's int he hands of your doctor. If your doctor says you are stable enough to own firearms, then it shouldn't be an issue. If he doesn't think you should, then maybe he is correct?:-D

[In4TheHunt]

I agree with Gatehouse.. In docs hands. as far as rifle hunting.
I think Bow hunting is the next best idea.

In my opinion
I do hope youd Doc gives you a pass..so you can hunt

[Dad and son]

Do not worry about the letter. That is what forms are for. I would expect the government to follow up on all unusual things disclosed on the form. The government is just following protocol. Have your Doctor send in the letter and I expect everything to be good. Hunting will be a very good thing for your mind. Nothing better for body and mind than to be in the outdoors surrounded by God's wonderful creation

[bowhunterbruce]

welcome back to persuing your desires,i'm going to have to agree with the majority here on saying its almost intirely up to what your dr. has to say.
however there is nothing wrong with hunting with a bow, in fact the added challenges will only make you that much better of a hunter.
after your doctor gives his report it still rest's in the hands of the regional firearms officer and even if he decides that you can not have a pal you can still go out with family and friends that do have one.
years ago i too was in trouble and a pal wouldnt be issued to me so the mrs got hers and registered all my guns in her name so we wouldnt lose them.i even had the police show up on 1 occation to see if they were stored correctly.
after jumping through thier hoops for a few years i was once again allowed to have my pal. the bottom line is, no matter what decision is made its very impotant that you dont get yourself down because of a decision that is out of your hands,better yet use that decision to fuel your desire to be back out in the bush,doing what you love to do and jump through all thier hoops with eager antisapation that one day you will be back out there on your own, harvesting food for yourself, friends and family.
remembering that there are a ton of options, just look around.
bruce
p.s.
as a newby here at huntingbc ,you owe us a joke!!

[M.Dean]

I think only you can answer the question your asking us. You have to be 100% confident that having a weapon in your possession again posses no threat to you or any one around you! If you seriously think you have no desire to do the unthinkable, go get a letter from your doctor. Think hard and long, it could be one of the biggest decisions you make in life! M.Dean

[hunter1947]

If me I would ask your doctor to stand up for you ,ask him if he will wright a letter to the firearms marshall and see what happens.

I'm glade to see that your are back on your feet ,good for you http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/images/icons/icon14.gif ,keep it up.

O ya welcome to this site ,you need to know anything you get lots of feed back from members :wink:.

[325]

Bowhunting....better than rifle hunting. I took it up about 2 years ago, and feel like I'm 14 again. Even seeing a doe makes my heart race. Also, archery practice is very meditative....you may find it quite calming, as I do.

[sawmill]

Bowhunting....better than rifle hunting. I took it up about 2 years ago, and feel like I'm 14 again. Even seeing a doe makes my heart race. Also, archery practice is very meditative....you may find it quite calming, as I do.
That is so true,I used to shoot an hour or two in the evenings and after a while you find the zone and you sort of think the arrow into the bullseye.Very Zen and rewarding,much better than meditation!

[SteadyGirl]

Nothing beats depression like moving your body like you mean it while living outside as much as possible. Welcome to HBC and I hope you never walk down that road again, much too much to enjoy in life! I know I would be very uncomfortable with my legal firearms future in the hands of someone else. Good luck.

[Arctic Lake]

Thanks Very Much
To all of the members that have replied to my situation I am very gratefull.Sometimes only amongst people with like minded interests can the gravity of the proplem hit home.I am shocked that so many of you replied, and so soon.Doctors appointment next week,I will keep you posted
Thanks Again
Arctic Lake

[BC30cal]

Arctic Lake;
I'll add another voice to that of 325 and sawmill who find archery to be a benefitial mental excercise.

My theory is that any activity such as fly fishing, darts, maybe even putting but I don't golf, but anything that requires both physical activity combined with high levels of mental concentration are great stress relief. One can't shoot a bow well and think about how crappy your day was at the same time, you know?

I used to shoot about 18 arrows every day after work just to become fit for human consumption again. For me it worked anyway and apparently works for other folks here too.

Also some of the new bows are really fun to shoot and easy to hit with. My buddy brought by his new Matthews this spring and even though he's 6" taller than me and the bow was set for him, I was able to shoot better with it at 30yards than my ancient round wheel compound. Unfortunately, I now need a new bow.....:roll:

All that said, do go to your doctor to see what his opinion is. It will be an important step in your overall healing process likely, eh?

Good luck with the doctor, the PAL and returning to hunting.

Dwayne

[TheDuckinator]

As long as your doctor finds that you are mentally fit to own firearms all will work out, they are just following procedure like Dad and Son said

Best of luck

[Arctic Lake]

Hello Again Fellas
Thanks Again to all of you that have responded to my situation.You have given me some hope to look forward to.You know I really don't think anybody can understand this except someone that has hunted.If all else fails I will take the advice and try bow hunting .I must admit I know nothing about it.I mainly hunted moose in Region 7 and had sucsees the last few years I hunted.Calling really worked well for me and my partner.It's amazing how close you can bring them in!
Thanks Again

[bowhunterbruce]

with the bows that are avaialible today it does not take very long to get good enough to anchor an arrow into the boiler room of a bull moose at 40 or 50 yards .once a bow is tuned in for you and your sight pins are adjusted for the yardage, it just becomes learning and recognising that yardage under hunting situations.for that try and find 3d shoots that your able to attend and pretty much anyone will gladly take you around a coarse and show you the ropes.
even if you are successful in getting your pal, archery is awsome.
bruce

[hopsing]

Hey Artic!
Glad you are trying to come back. It will be the best thing. Don't sweat it. Just talk to your doc and be honest about it. Get him to do a nice spill. If you get turned down the first time, try again. In the meantime get your Hunting License. It is good from April to the end of March. I always have a sling shot in my back pack. After a while I am deadly with it. Just because you can't possess a gun does not mean you can't hunt with one. You just have to find a buddy and smack him to hand the gun to you when you see the game first:biggrin:

[Arctic Lake]

Hello Fellas
Well got some news from my doctor today,he has concerns about me renewing my POL and will express them to the cheif firearms officer.In other words because of my past mental health issues he will not recommend I have it renewed .My doctor is a great guy and saw me through the whole mess of my situation,so I guess I can't really fault him for what he is doing.I did however ask that in the letter to the cheif firearms officer that my doctor put in writing that he may review my situation at a later date,if i try and apply again.I hope this helps me in the future.So now I have to read up on what's next so that I can still keep my firearms without them being taken away.If I am not mistaken they can make exceptions so that a relative ,spouse or someone else can keep them for you.Anybody know more on this?I really can't have those firearms taken away from me.My wife is all for her having them in her name or whatever to keep them from being confiscated.Thanks A lot
Arctic Lake

[NaStY]

Nothing stopping you from gifting the firearms to someone with a valid pal. Or you could sell a couple of them and give bow hunting a try. Either way, you can still be out enjoying what nature has to offer even without a gun.

[hunter1947]

The doc knows best http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/images/icons/icon12.gif ,one good thing about it all is that that the doc can review your situation at a latter date..

If it where me I would get the guns to a person that you know very well to hold for you.

If you really like to hunt ,you can always get a compound bow or cross bow and hunt till you can carry your rifles again ,or head out with others to tag along on a hunt.

[mikeman20]

I would suggest like many people said giving bowhunting a shot (no pun intended) until the doc decides you are fine to have firearms.

[Arctic Lake]

Many Thanks To you All!
You guys have been very supportive with my questions and really I am gratefull.I don,t want to bore the hell out of you but there has been yet another development.My doctor phoned me at home last night and has given the whole thing more thought.He figures that he should not write a letter thus not releasind any information now.Then in a couple of years if I can apply again and I have shown a longer stretch of stability it would work in my favour.In the meantime I will go about transfering my firearms over to my wife who will take the firearms traing so that she may aqquire a PAL ,What are your thoughts fellas?
Thank a lot
Arctic Lake

[HD95]

No reason to not enjoy the up-coming season.Go to your local archery shop and get outfitted.Most shops are more than happy to spend the time to outfit and tutor you.There is enough time before the early archery season opens.You can still enjoy hunting,good luck to you...

[bowhunterbruce]

In the meantime I will go about transfering my firearms over to my wife who will take the firearms traing so that she may aqquire a PAL ,What are your thoughts fellas?
Thank a lot
Arctic Lake

it worked for me,it can work for you if you want it bad enough.