I was wondering what sorts of test you have to pass in the other countries before you start hunting or shooting?

Here in sweden we have to pass a 70 questions written exam with maximum of 10 wrong answers. The test is about animal recognisions to weapon types laws and finance.

Then we have some practial tests where you have to show guns safty, range finding for shotgun use, skeet shooting, shooting at a running rabbit target at 20m. Precision shooting with a 22lr at 80m five shots from a bench rest within 12cm, five shots with improvised rest (i was leaning against a tree) withing 17cm. And last a running moose target at 80m three series with four shots and all have to hit in the vital area. Then if you have no trubble with the law you are allowed to buy hunting weapons and ammo. You are allowed up to 7 hunting weapons maximum. For me it took about 6 months to study for the exam and i passed it just barely, the shooting was no problem for me but we where only 2 in a group of 12 who passed it the first time.

Me, I was lucky enough to start my shooting career in Australia in the 80’s when the only requirement was to walk into a police station and pay a small fee for a Shooter’s License.

That license expired. Later when I started shooting again the law had been changed to require a safety test be taken, but as I could show that I had previously held a Shooter’s License I was exempted from the test.

I’ve recently used my Australian license to get visitor’s permits in both Germany and France. It’s been very handy!

One day when my German is up to scratch I’ll sit a Swiss test.

- stu

France has a formal hunting license testing requirement. There is one quite easy afternoon at a skeet range for the "practical" training session and then a written test of 100 questions (I think you can miss 9 and still pass) but I can't remember for sure what the minimum correct answers is, it was a few years ago for me. The test is France specific on local legislation, species identification, species biology and game management. Most of the questions seem irrelevant to most hunters but it is France after all. The test is taken in a controlled setting with slides being shown and answers on a standardized form. You have to study for this test as most questions are neither common sense nor common knowledge based. I do remember that I missed only one question (and thereby didn't qualify for a an invitation to hunt at Chambord castle!) concerning the average number of eggs in a Red Partridge clutch. I still can't remember the correct answer.

I stopped hunting in France three or four years ago. On the driven hunts most of the other hunters scare the daylights out of me with their lack of etiquette and unsafe habits. Almost all of the game is bought from farms and released a day or two before the hunt. For big game it is a pain to get a tag and too expensive for what it is. I prefer to save my money to hunt in Africa.

In Germany the hunting test is horror.
My hunting examination cost me 9 months, two evenings per week during that at school, the weekends on the range, 1.500 EURO and 3 weeks hilyday, just before the final test for learning the whole day.
We had seven teachers 2 master gunsmith, 1 Veterinay, one police officer, and two foresters, one for the law and one for biologigal questions (or do you call it rangers) and one teacher for dogs and hunting traditions.

After 6 moths the first test, multiple choice.
About 200 wuestion, from about maybe 5.000 questions possible. Questions law, dogs, gun handling, balistics, animals, vetenery questions, forest management, hunting tradion (horn signals, hunters language etc.). We lost 7 members. Out and over,see you next year.

4 weeks later,its time for the range.
5 shots, 100 meters on a roe deer target, 50 points possible, you need 35 one chance to try it again at the same day.
With your shootgun you have to kill 7 of ten running tin - rabbits, distance 40 meters.
If not, you are out for next year but you have to make the multiple choice test agin, we lost 4 members.

Final test 3 teachers aks you questions, showing samples (animals, pants, pictures), asking for the different, sometimes very difficult, law situation - time 1 hour. You must reach 70% of the right answers. We lost seven of our friends. Next year and all three tests again.

When we started we were about 40 persons, icl. 5 girl. After all 22 passed.

Than the horror was over.
After confirming a hunting insuance and paying the license (both about 120-150 EURO - per year) you have the document in your hands the
German Jagdschein.

But its a very sensitive document. You drink and drive you loose your driving license - and your Jagdschein.
Advantage - in every country in the would this Jagdschein means you are qualified for hunting without any problems (I think in Scandinavia you have to make a shooting test, thats all)


Burkhard

Well as i said we have theoretical exam of 70 or 80 questions with max 10 wrong answers..

Patrik

In the Uk there is no test but they are trying to bring the deer certificate through the back door.The only thing that the test does is to restict the amount of people coming in to the sport.I have no problem with people doing the test and courses but only on a volunteer basic.The best way is for the people with the experience to help people who wants to get in to the sport of shooting and hunting.

B., perhaps the course and the examination is a horror, but you can be sure, that your education is an example in the whole world as many U.S.-soldier of the Rod und Gun-club will confirm. I think, that this is the same or very simular in Austria.

In spain, the hunting licence is NOT the same as a gun licence:

It depends a bit on where in Spain you live, but in Catalonia to get the hunting licence you only need a copy of ID and a hunting insurance. I think in some regions you have to do a written exam, but i'm not too sure? And its NOT a national licence, you have to get one for each area you want to hunt in!

To get a shotgun (or rifle) for hunting, you need:

hunting licence
medical certificate
a certificate showing no criminal convictions

then you have to do a 20 question multiple choice exam, and hit a pistol target at 25m with a shotgun...not too difficult! Then you will wait 3 to 6 months before you get the gun licence.

If you already have a licence from another UK country, it is not necessary to do the exam, but the rest stil applies. You also have to be RESIDENT in Spain to get a spanish gun licence. If you want shotgun and rifle licence, just pay a few more euros and you get both.

In Finland it takes only a literary test to become a hunter. 60 questions with multiple choices and you must get at least 53 right to pass. No age limit whatsoever. After that the hunting license is yours to go for 24 € per year.

For moose, whitetail deer, roe deer and bear you must pass a shooting test, which is renewing this year.

Applying a gun permit is a different thing. Practically nowadays (althought the law doesn't require it) you must have a hunting license if you apply a gun permit for hunting and to be a member of some sort of sport shooting club, if you apply for some sort of sport weapon. There are exceptions, but in the large scale this is how it goes.

No limit for the number of guns to be owned, but you must apply a permit for every single gun you want to have (beforehand). If you want to become a gun collector, it is a once again a bit different procedure, but as a collector you can buy whatever guns you want, including full-auto and artillery, if they are permitted in your collecting plan, and it is really possible. I've seen some enormous gun collections in here, having literally thousands of full-auto weapons, field guns and AA-artillery (and then some) in private hands

For normal hunters, the biggest trouble is that different officials have very different sort of opinions about the necessity of guns for individuals and requirements for obtaining them. The law isn't the same everywhere in the country, although it should, and that should be set right. Otherwise, I think our gun and hunting laws are as close to reasonable as you can expect in today's world.

I find this post very interesting in that I have hunted in all of the countries all of you are writting from (except Switzerland) and I have been fortunant that it hasent been any problem to obtain a hunting license. For the most part it took only a recomendation from a promenant resident who was a freind of mine and I had a temperary license. Once I had a hunting license the firearm permit was easy.
Now that I"ve said all that I must say that I haven't carried a rifle to anywhere in europe since 2000 And I haven't hunted there since 02.

Hopfully EU hasn't changed all that to much. My Jagdschein (hunting license) from Germany only needs for me to get one of my freinds who is a hunter,forester or gunmaker etc to recomend for renewel and go to the county hunting administrater for his stamp of approval. Good for two weeks. The differance with Auslandjagdschein (forien hunting license) is that it is only valid in the state where you obtain it ( in my case Bayern) and you have a time limit on it. Once it expires it can be renewed.

Interesting thread, and I will say that as a U.S. who went through the Rod & Gun Club, it was a learning experience, and that is in a shortened version and much cheaper than the Germans. If you pass, it is then a license to start learning.

There is a big difference in the licensing coming from another country or continent, then you get the 'temporary' license, normally after showing your own country hunting license, for a limited period of time. Like hunting Czech, you show a German hunting license and are then issued a temporary CZ license.

I do think the hunting courses are a good thing. When I grew up, guns were available, you walked in the local store, bought a license, and went hunting. It's just too populated in Europe to walk in the local store, plop down the Euro, and go hunting (even if family had the weapons on hand). Just wouldn't work, Waidmannsheil, Dom.

In Italy the examination is made by the people of the province where you are resident.
The examination, I think that there about 50 and only 5 errors permitted + the oral examination that was on the errors made in the written test and , is on guns, safety rules, first aid, animals, mainly on birds because that is an Italian traditional hunt, hunting laws, hunting rules and other notions. More or less like in Germany,, but absolutely softer, reading Burkhard notes. But the differences stop here. We do not have so interesting shooting test, there is a test to pass at the range to demonstrate to know the safety rules in gun management, but it is not so binding as in Germany. Some year ago it were requested only to the people that did not have military experiences. We have the voluntary and professional military recruit recently and conscription has been abolished last year
As range officer, I make this test to the people that want the license, and think that it is a poor and incomplete test.
To have the license is mandatory to have the declaration of a doctor about a good mental health, and on this we had some sensational event of people that got crazy, or that had the declaration being already mantally insane, that shooted to anyone.
For two years the new hunters must hunt with an expert companion that has to have five year of license.
A valid license gives the right to buy guns, there is no limitations on hunting guns, there are some limitation on cartridges, 1500 hunting cartridges, the type of cartridge is not considered.
Reload is permitted.
To maintain valid the license is necessary pay 125 Euro for the governative tax every year, if it is not payed the right of but guns and ammo is suspended, but there is no real control on this, however, paid or not the governative tax, the license expires after 6 years. To hunt is necessary also to pay a regional tax, to be enrolled in a hunting area as member. It is considered that every year a hunter pay for taxes, various memberships and hunting expenses, about 800 euro. Personally, taking in consideration that I live in Milan, and that I’m far about 120 km from the area where I go to hunt wild boars, that half of the road in on mountains and I prefer spend the week ends hunting than driving, and that for this reason I often sleep at the local hotel, I thin tha I spend +/- 1600/2000 Euro every year to hunt.
This is something about the Italian situation