[chemgear]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/otta...-gun-1.2811249

The design of the lever-action rifle, virtually unchanged for 120 years, may have limited Zehaf-Bibeau's ability to inflict mass casualties on Parliament Hill.

Advanced by the standards of 1894, it holds a maximum of eight rounds, but more normally seven, stored end-to-end in a tube under the barrel. It is not semi-automatic; the lever must be racked between shots.

Unlike more modern rifles that can be reloaded with a clip or magazine containing multiple rounds, the Winchester, once empty, must be painstakingly reloaded round-by-round, inserting the cartridges into a small port on the side of the receiver. The process takes an experienced shooter about 30 seconds -- an eternity in the kind of shootout that took place inside Centre Block.

It all means that Zehaf-Bibeau must have obtained his rifle either by stealing it, buying it on the black market, or been given the rifle, either by someone unaware of his motives or an accomplice.

It may be that last possibility that explains why police are so focused on tracking the weapon's history.