DATE: 2008.03.18

Dryden-area resident and former gunsmith Bruce Montague was sentenced Tuesday to 18 months in prison on 26 of 35 firearms-related offences.

Justice John Wright had some harsh words for Montague as he delivered the sentence in Kenora.

Wright described Montague as stubborn and tenacious to a fault, saying he acted foolishly by making automatic weapons.

The toughest sentence was for converting semi-automatic guns into automatic weapons.

Montague was also handed sentences ranging from six months to a year, but all will be served concurrently.

Lawyer Doug Christie says he plans to seek bail for his client so he can remain free while the appeals process is ongoing.

Montague had faced 53 charges, including possession of firearms without a licence, obliterating serial numbers, having readily accessible ammunition and building a sound suppressor.

He was acquitted on all charges relating to explosives and being a danger to the public peace.

Montague's wife Donna was given six months probation for owning a firearm without a licence.

Montague has been an outspoken critic of the federal Firearms Act for years, touring from province to province, trying to get arrested so that the law could be challenged in court. He was arrested at a Dryden gun show in 2004.

The first stage of a constitutional challenge against Bill C-68 and the Firearms Act was dismissed last October.