I was considering buying a Browning BAR to do some wild boar hunting here in Italy as there are many hunters I know who use them.

My question is this: Are there any European countries that do not permit the use of a semi-automatic rifle such as the BAR for hunting? I believe there are some African countries that do not allow them but I was wondering there were any European countries as well.

In Germany BAR's are legal and seen on Drive Hunts.

Here in Portugal the semi auto rifles are the preferred weapons for drive hunts, they are perfectly legal but they must be limited to three rounds.

In Spain they are also legal and widely seen, not sure is there is any restriction about the number of rounds you can load.

In France they are also popular but they have a law that the magazine can not be removable from the rifle.

Hope it helps,
Cheers

They are legal to use here in Czech. We have a few people in our hunting club who use them and the Remington 740's. A standard hunting license will allow you to use one in catagory B or C.

B is anything with a barrel length less than 600mm, or self loader which holds more than 3 rounds.

C is barrel lengths longer than 600mm and self loaders limited to 3 rounds.

The BAR is a great rifle, I have one in 30-06.
It is by far one of the most accurate semi autos I have shot and it is very relliable. The only fault I find is the trigger SUCKS.

In Germany, Switzerland and France, semi-autos are legal, provided they are chambered in a "legal" caliber. However, I believe semi-autos are subject to a maximum of either 1, 2 or 3 shots contained in the magazine. So there are restrictions, which often make semis less pouplar than one would otherwise think.

Legality of calibers differs from country to country. In Germany and Switzerland, legality of a particular cartridge primarily depends on game hunted and exact location (canton in Switzerland). In France, the issue of outlawed military calibers is an additional factor.

In general, I find the BAR quite heavy and quite long for its barrel length. The extra weight is not necessarily a drawback for use on running game, though.

- mike

In Finland semi-autos are legal, also the military weapon look-alikes. The magazines to be used in hunting mustn't have more than 2 or 3-round capacity, depending on the game species hunted.

Do they still make a Browning BAR in 9,3x62mm?


Aleko

Yes they do.

They call it the Evolve, it has a silver grey receiver engraved with game animals and a Monte Carlo stock with a very pronounced grip ( They call it Kaiser Grip).

There is another version, which appeared one or two months ago called the Premium, it’s the standard BAR, with black receiver, and the Evolve stock.

There is word in Spain about a Long Track in 9.3x62mm appearing in the near future.

The 9.3x62 is becoming more and more popular in Portugal and Spain.

Cheer´s

Pete Lincoln, our esteemed AR Gunmsith is also working on 9.3x62 barrels for Remington Semi-Auto series.

www.roedaleprecision.com

NRA Life Member

Altough I prefer a double for driven hunt, In Spain it is very popular. The unique restriction is you cannot load more than three rounds in the rifle (2 in the magazine + 1 in the chamber).

quote:

Originally posted by 6_5X57:
Altough I prefer a double for driven hunt, In Spain it is very popular. The unique restriction is you cannot load more than three rounds in the rifle (2 in the magazine + 1 in the chamber).

and you can't use 308 win in a semi auto in Spain, only in a single shot or manually operated rifle, such as pump- or bolt-action. Seems to be 'cos 308 is considered military, hence we can have expanding 308 ammo, but not FMJ! Odd that my 9mm pb and 338 lapua are NOT considered military, and i can have a .700 Nitro Express but not a .50bmg....and don't even ask about 5,56 NATO, not allowed at all.

And in the UK, no semi-autos rifles at all except for .22lr (which we can't use for hunting here in spain.......)

Thank you all for your replies.

in Italy there in no problem to use the Bar self loader.
the Browning make the BAR Evolve caliber 9,3x62.
i have this rifle.

Hi Gerry, they have although taken a back seat just lately to getting customers rifles done and playing with my 9.3RSM.
The BAR is an excellent weapon although more expensive than the remington, my idea with the 9.3x62 barrels for the Remington is to give an alternative to the BAR.

To answer the question.. Semi Auto's are banned in the UK. but as far as i thow the rest of the EU is ok.
Pete

markino,don't buy a BAR you are going to regret it.