Guns in Europe
Firearms regulations have recently (2017) been harmonized across the European Union. These regulations are a minimum, and countries are free to set more stringent rules (like the UK).
There are 4 categories, described (very roughly) as follows:
Category A: military weapons and all fully automatic firearms.
Category B: all handguns; semi-automatic rifle/shotguns which either can fire more than 3 rounds or have a barrel shorter than 24 inches
Category C: semi-auto that can fire less than 4 rounds and are long enough; manually repeating rifle/shotguns (bolt-action, lever-action, pump-action, break-action)
Category D: pre-1900 firearms, knives, bows and crossbows
A is stricly forbidden
B can be purchased with authorization and used at the shooting range only. The authorization must be renewed regularly.
C can be purchased with a mere declaration and used for hunting or at the range. Once purchased they can be kept indefinitely.
D can be purchased freely but not carried
The number of guns you can own is usually limited to around a dozen. In addition, concealed-carry can be granted by special authorization if you work in security. Both B and C require either a hunting permit or a sport shooting licence.
So what to do if you are a European resident?
Get a hunting permit and/or a sport shooting licence. Then get category C weapons such as a .22 LR rifle (for practice), a 12-gauge shotgun (for hunting and home defense) and possibly a higher caliber bolt-action rifle (for boar and deer hunting). In my view this is enough unless you want to buy a handgun or an AR-15 (category B).
Firearms regulations have recently (2017) been harmonized across the European Union. These regulations are a minimum, and countries are free to set more stringent rules (like the UK).
There are 4 categories, described (very roughly) as follows:
Category A: military weapons and all fully automatic firearms.
Category B: all handguns; semi-automatic rifle/shotguns which either can fire more than 3 rounds or have a barrel shorter than 24 inches
Category C: semi-auto that can fire less than 4 rounds and are long enough; manually repeating rifle/shotguns (bolt-action, lever-action, pump-action, break-action)
Category D: pre-1900 firearms, knives, bows and crossbows
A is stricly forbidden
B can be purchased with authorization and used at the shooting range only. The authorization must be renewed regularly.
C can be purchased with a mere declaration and used for hunting or at the range. Once purchased they can be kept indefinitely.
D can be purchased freely but not carried
The number of guns you can own is usually limited to around a dozen. In addition, concealed-carry can be granted by special authorization if you work in security. Both B and C require either a hunting permit or a sport shooting licence.
So what to do if you are a European resident?
Get a hunting permit and/or a sport shooting licence. Then get category C weapons such as a .22 LR rifle (for practice), a 12-gauge shotgun (for hunting and home defense) and possibly a higher caliber bolt-action rifle (for boar and deer hunting). In my view this is enough unless you want to buy a handgun or an AR-15 (category B).