Hello
Norway, Sweeden, Denmark, Iceland.
Im just wondering how these countries rate in terms of Hunting and Firearms rights.
I have never been to any of them, but I have several friends that have lived in Norway and Sweeden, but they were not interested in hunting at the time.

Norway - we don’t have any "rights" at all. One has to apply to the police for each and every firearm. To get a permit for one specific firearm one has to have a specific "reason".

For instance:
If you want a shotgun, then the reason must be either hunting or competition (though I have heard of someone getting a permit for recreational shooting). Just telling the police is not good enough, you have to document either membership in a shooting club or possession of the hunting certificate. If you don’t have a criminal record or the police don’t see any other reason you should not have possession of firearms, then you’ll get a permit to purchase the specific firearm you applied for. One has to be 18 years old (with some exceptions).

Once you have a firearm in one caliber it is usually difficult to get another in the same caliber, this is because of some old laws made up to stop revolutionary communist from legally stockpiling weapons of the same caliber. We don’t have any laws forbidding military cartridges in Norway, but AP and incendiary bullets are illegal.

The need to apply for each and every weapon based on specific use (like: “light rifle for hunting in the mountains in caliber 6,5x55†and “9,3x62 rifle for hunting mooseâ€), is under review by the authorities, a new law making it possible to buy 8 long-guns of free choice after the mandatory background check is probably coming soon.

For revolvers and pistols there is an age limit of minimum 21 years and one has to have a security course and a 6 month trial membership in a gun-club.

Joe,
for Iceland:
No limit on number of firearms and no justification needed. The catch is however that in rifles we have a maximum bore width of 8mm (all above 8mm are considered to be dangerous you see)
To obtain a gun in any caliber above 8mm you have to give a very convincing argument and justification which the National Wildife Management has to agree upon. Nobody can really explain why it is so since the people at the NWM have absolutely no clue whatsoever about guns
In shotguns a 12ga is the max with semiautomatics limited to 3 shells including one in the breech.
Handguns are not allowed with exceptions, one has to be a competitive shooter in a registered shooting club to stand a chance of getting one.

All licenses go through ones local police chief who has to consult a pencil rodent at the so called State-police who gives the final say. Said pencil rodent doesnt either have a clue about firearms or calibers...sounds a bit frightening doesnt it.

So as long as it is a rifle in 8mm or below or a shotgun in 12ga with a modified magazine (if it has one) you can have as many as you wish.

Regards

hi,
which is the level of flexibility and intelligence of the police and/or various commissions in managing these problems?
Are they open minded enough or they apply the rules on the side of the max restriction?

Steve,
the level of flexibility regarding the various authorities is none.
I can give you a perfect example, I being an Icelandic citizen temporarily living in another nordic country applied for an addition to my gun licence just a few months ago. The gun fell perfectly within the frame of laws in being a bolt-action 6mm rifle. The bureocrat at the State Police simply rejected the addition.
The reason ?
There is a clause in the Icelandic laws of firearms saying that the police chief in ones home community takes care of the licence itself...there is no icelandic chief of police in Stockholm, Sweden so bye bye licence. Regarding the intelligence (or lack of) of the same person, he said to me that the 7.92x57 and the 8x57 were two unrelated cartridges makes one really wonder what said person is doing in his post
A friend applied for a 375 H&H the other day and got a promt rejection to the ownership of a 357 Magnum by the same person at the State Police

The "specialist" at the National Wildlife Management gave a rejection to another friend who applied for a 378 Wby, planning on a trip to Africa. The rejection was based on the high amount of energy generated by the cartridge as if that alone makes the gun more unsuitable to an Icelander.
The 30-378 Wby generates almost as much energy but is considered legal ! (you see, it is below 8mm in bore width )

So, there is no flexibility, and the amount of intelligence is as minimal as possible in those authorities. Sadly, wrong peolpe at wrong posts.

Regards

and for pump/sa shotguns: 1 round in the magazine and one in the barrel for hunting, the original magazine must be plugged for hunting usages if the game ranger/police comes to inspect.

Im probably getting a Takedown rifle in a few years ,like a Sauer or Blazer because extra barrels dosnt count as a weapon,just barrel,and you must apply for them,but its easier to get a barrel, than a new weapon.

And then there is the police offices that has different points of wiew,like if you have a target rifle in 6,5x55 and you apply for a hunting rifle in the same caliber, perhaps you get it perhaps you dont.

Thats happened due to the fact that if you have one rifle that is allowed for big game hunting ,why do you need a nother one? But the Sauer 200 STR that weighs nearly 6 kg, how would you drag that in the forrest or mountain?

another example is a hunter that wanted a rifle in 416 Remington for he had been on a tour to Canada and he wanted something with more touch. He wrote that in the application and was rejected first with the saying that :"You havent booked another tour to use the rifle on!"

Plus for everytime you apply you must pay a fee,and that gets bigger every year,but its just for each time you deliver them,not for HOW many you deliver at each time. A friend of mine has at the most delivered 10 at once,and the fee divieded on 10 isnt much then, but think of paperwork the ladys at the office goes through for the amount of paper is good to think of!!!!

Some times it can justt be a few days before it comes back ok,but if they haven got the fee,time will go to months and they wont report it to you or work with the papers before they get the money.

Sad state of affairs! This thread and the one about equivalent restrictions and arbitrary decision making in the UK (see thread about 8x64S) should be a lesson to us all. Once you get stupid laws, rules and regulations on your books, you will never get rid of them again. Bureaucrats will make arbitrary decisions based on meaningless criteria, and we will be asked to pay for them - for good measure. The Antis are jumping at every chance at restricting gun ownership, and the bureaucrats like the idea as it secures their jobs. The fact that rules like these contribute ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to public safety is quickly forgotten - after all, rules are rules and must be followed...

Sad we don't have the NRA in Europe!

- mike

The only cartridge we have a ban on is the 50 BMG.

I recall what Charlton Heston said, he was a anti guns first but then when he realised what that would be if thay won , he quit and joined the NRA. If they loose, were will ammo, brass, bullets, and primers come from??

Hopefully Sweden will not get the ban on rileammo that contains lead in 2008, if they do the hunting industri will be taken away some of the things that makes it special. good ammo that kills good and with proper bullets.

BTW, there is another ban that there is over here and that is for millitary looking rifles if you arnt a collector, and on rifle that wa sbanned is the Walther G-22, a .22 Long rifle, because it was status in some crime gangs to have one, they claimed, and that it could take a silencer!!

There is other 8mm s The 8x68 Sm 8mm/404 wildcats ,but its tragic that the hunter/shooters hasnt gotten anybody to deceide in the goverment and those that are there are outnumbered.

People,
I'm sorry that for many years I believed that Italian situation for guns and ammo was +/- the worst in EU, but I'm dicovering that's not true.
For sure we must have a licence for hunting or for range shooting, we have limits on guns that are not loyal for hunting or for sporting (defined common and max 3), we have limits on sporting guns (max 6), we have limits on hunting cartridges (1500) and on pistol cartridges (max 200), but for now we do not have limits in having hunting guns, and hunting calibers start from 5.56mm (min. Cal.)*40 (min Case lenght) and arrive to .50BMG excluded (first caliber excluded). .222Rem for hunting is not permitted, 6ppc yes. for this reason I am thinking in bring back to life a 6mm Fadala or a 6mm on 222 case. We can have more guns in the same caliber.
Hunting licence lasts 6 years, is expensive (173 € every year) + regional fees (60€ +110€ + 60€, because I hunt in three different Italian regions).

Shotguns and pump have limit of three shots, 2 in the magazine and one in the barrel.

Beeing licensed is possible to buy guns without problems, with the duty to declare acquired guns to the local police station as soon as possible or however within three days.

About flexibility and intelligence, I must be honest, I've been lucky in the last 25 years, at the police station there were an official that helped me in taming all the bureucracy. He has been transferred, but the two substitutes are people with whom is possible to speak.

The responsible of the declaration of possess of guns asked me to use a different format, dividing the hunting guns from the " common" guns (pistols , revolvers and all the guns barrelled in a non hunting caliber.), discussed with me about the cartridges and the powder present in the declaration, after a month he gave me the declaration stamped and signed, the only thing that he has to do. He took a so long time, normally it take a week, because he follows also the immigration practices.

The responsible of the licences instead told me that he need a month to give me back my new document, but he leaved to me the old one that is valid until the end of August. In other police stations the resonsibles can get the old document. This lock the possibility to buy and sell guns and ammo until you have the new one. A month is a short time to have the new licence , because someone told me that often is necessary two or three month and sometime more.

We do not have "specialists" at the National Wildlife Management, that can stop us. I took a look at my guns declaration, I have 14 guns: 2 shotguns, a pistol, a 22lr rifle and 11 hunting rifles.

My condoleance for your troubles.

To hunt in Sweden you first need to make few test, both in writing and on the range where gun safety and handling as well as shootng skills are tested.

There's three kinds of writing tests. One for shotguns, one for small animals and the third for the larger ones (like elk (or for you Americans, moose), bear and a few more). The practical tests are mostly the same but with guns instead of a pencil ;-)

When you've managed that you can apply for a gun permit for each gun you want. Everyone above the age of 18 without a criminal record will get the permit. It's easy to get the permits for the first four shotguns and rifles and shotguns.

There's still quite easy to get two more but you will need to write down why you need those and how they differ from the ones you already have. Usually there's no problem if you already have had guns for some years but they would probably say no if you try to get all six at once.

More than six are very difficult to get and you will have to be a professional hunter or have some special needs.

The rifles ar divided into four classes where 4 is the the smallest (like 22 LR and similar) up to class 1 that's basically 6,5*x55 and larger. You need class 1 rifle to hunt elk (still moose and so on..) and bear as mentioned above.

I'm not aware of any limitation in what calibers you are allowed. You could probably get a 50 BMG or a 600 NE if you want. At least I know that 577 NE is being used by some poor rich fool..

The gun permit allows you to buy ammunition in the same calibre but if you need to buy in some other calibre you will need a permit for that too.

Hm, did I miss anything?

There's different rules about handguns and target shooting but I don't know about it. Maybe someone else could?

Even though we have a rather rigid gun law, one must not loose of sight that Norway still are one of the most "civilian armed" countries in Europe in company with Finland and Switzerland.

There are political fractions ( no doubt about it ) that would love to se all privately owned firearms thrown in the furnace and melted down to nails.
But as the optimist I am, I still belive in common sense and that the gun laws, even if they never will go away, still will allow us hunters and sportshooters to own guns.

The present Labour/ Socialist government has not ( by any means) fulfilled their election promises, and I really hope that by the next crossroad we will have a change of government.

I might have been lucky, but I have got the guns I have applide for, and those years I was an active pistol competition shooter, I got the handguns I felt I needed.

All my guns are registred, but as I have no plans to overthrow the legally elected government, neighter join any radical right wing or anarcitstic group who plan such, I feel rather comfortable the way it is.

Once in a while I could wish for a CC handgun law, but as long as our constitution sets limits regarding a citicens right to use lethal force, the issue is rather theoretical.

Competition shooting has a stronghold in Norway, as do hunting.
We have gun/sporting shops who are well stocked with firearms from all corners of the world.
Handloading is popular, and there are few limits or restrictions wheter one can buy the goods needed to handload ammo for the guns one own.

When I was kid, one could sling the rifle or shotgun on his back, jump on the bus and take to the woods without any comments from the other passangers.
Try that today and you would be behind bars in a second.
Thats mainly because the society has changed in a most radical way and not to the good I´m afraid. Open borders, the breakdown of the Iron Curtain, international mafia activities, immigration from cultures wich have social values who differ in radical ways from what we are used to.... a wery colorful melting pot !

If one belive that the European gun laws will be less rigid than they are today, one will be strongly dissapointet.

I cant see wich changes who can bring forth a more liberal view on the gun issue.
Perhaps a strong Right wing political movement who belive more in the induvidual freedom than in the collective " we shall take care of it all , and you have no individual right" theses that seems to rule today.

In France you need a shooting or hunting licence to buy guns. Rifles need to be registered, with a medical certificate of sanity. There is a rumour about limiting ownership of rifles to 5, which might be voted after the elections.

Some rumor in Italy in the last month, and not so good, as usual.....
First of all the Minster of Enviroment has been assigned to one of the most radicals between the italian
animalist. One of his first action had been to save 600 roe deers that Piemont Region has declared huntable.

It has been discovered by the animalist that the Piemont Region has autorized to hunt the animals in August, asking a fee on them. Piemont Region acted as any Italian Region do when there are exceeding Animals. What a scandal! Of course the preferred expression to describe roe deers is BAMBI, evocative sugary word for that tearful film made by Walt Disney Corporation, described as a company with a hight rate of gay.

Another representative of the Anti Hunt parties asked to change the law on guns because we seldom had bloody episodes of sudden and not predictable crisys of crazyness of gun owners.

Never mind that there are more frequent bloody episodes of sudden and not predictable crisys of crazyness of people who are not gun owners and use any other object to kill (hammers, knives, car, sticks etc etc). Less noise, no shot noises, less important.

For sure with a more careful management of info, some of the bloody episodes by gun owner could have been avoided, one particularly, but, undoubtedly, unpredictable episodes are unpredictable.

By now there is only a proposal of modification of the actual rules, maybe there will a proposal of a new law more restrictive.

I hope in a best future ...................

This is the latest news from Finland:

http://www.nra.fi/pjuk.html

Not a minute too soon and I hope this really becomes something with effect, but I have my doubts. It is not so easy to establish the US-format in here, where for example self-protection has never been an acceptable reason to own a gun etc. etc.

JTH.
This is interesting... I recon this a independent Finnish organition and not in any way affiliated with the American NRA ?

Yes, the organisation is independent, but it can probably be characterized as the localised version of the NRA of USA. I'm not a member yet, since I just heard about the whole thing myself. We have about 540 000 registered gunowners (whole population about 5 000 000) so there really is potential and a great need for the protection of our rights in general, so they can probably count me in soon.

It is time for a Norwegian NRA aswell so the tucking gunhaters can shut their mouth and let us go on with our business.