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The federal public safety minister’s office has asked the Mounties to review their decision to classify a rifle as prohibited after it roused the ire of gun enthusiasts.

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This is not the first time the government has taken issue with the way the Royal Canadian Mounted Police has classified a gun and the latest spat reflects its push to obtain greater control over such decisions.

The conflict started when the RCMP classified a Mossberg-brand rifle, the Blaze, as non-restricted, but ruled the Blaze-47 was prohibited.

Gun enthusiasts were perplexed. They say both .22-calibre rifles are virtually identical, except the Blaze is fitted with a black-plastic stock, whereas the Blaze-47 has a wood-coloured stock.

Tony Bernardo, executive director of the Canadian Shooting Sports Association, said he suspects the Mounties classified the Blaze-47 as prohibited because of its resemblance to an AK-47 assault rifle.

But Bernardo, who called the public safety minister’s office last week to complain about the gun’s prohibited status, said the Blaze-47 is no different from thousands of “fun guns” used for informal target practice and shooting tin cans.

“They’re not remotely the same” as an AK-47, he said. “Racing stripes on a Mustang doesn’t make an Indy 500 car.”