Gun laws in Scandinavia.

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What are the gun laws like in Scandinavia? Are they anything like Switzerlands'? Please enlighten me as I would like to learn more of other countries' gun culture. God Bless.
 
I hear in Finland they hand out suppressors instead of hearing protection? :)

I just hired a guy from Sweden--doesn't strike me as a shooter, but I'll ask him.
 
Norway:

All firearms registered.
You must petition the state for the privilege of keeping arms.
You must state the reason you wish to keep arms.
The firearm you keep must be suited for your stated purpose (decided by the state).
Self-defense is a justifiable reason to keep arms (not sure how many permits are issued for this criterion, however).
Suppressors are sold over the counter.
Firearms must be stored securely locked and unloaded.
Law enforcement can inspect your firearm storage regime at will.

That's what I can remember, off the top of my head. I looked into moving there last year, but thought better of it.
 
Norway is not anti gun, but they aren't necessarily for it either. Very leftist thought there. Plus, from my understanding, alot of Islamic fundamentalists moving further and further into Western and Northern Europe. So be prepared for that too
 
I lived in Denmark for 5 years but never tried to buy a gun while there. However, I did shoot a rented revolver at a range in Denmark. I was told that if one wanted to own a handgun, it had to remain at the range. Apparently the only reason to own a handgun would be for target shooting.

I did see a shotgun, in a private residence, which was used for hunting so that was OK 20 years ago. No idea of todays regulations.

When friends have visited from Denmark I always take them plinking in the desert :)
 
First post from a Finnish shooter here. What a great forum this is!

Finland is technically not a part of scandinavia (more like Fenno-Scandia). However, In Finland things are pretty much like in Norway based on LemmyCaution's post above.

- All firearms registered
- Some restrictions in carbine lenghts and snubbys. It is possible to get a license for those, however, it is definately harder than to the normal sized rifles, pistols and shottys.
+ ARs, AKs and other semi auto type of "assault rifles" are ok as long as the overall lenght is over 33" and the barrel lenght over 16"
+ No restrictions concerning magazine capacity
+ If you have a license for a certain type of gun, you are allowed to borrow a similar type of gun from a friend even if it is of a different caliber.
+ Full autos are possible, but it is very difficult to get a "collector status".
+ Supressors are common and need not to be registered. Especially the hunters use them commonly in order to save the hearing of hunting dogs.
- Armed self defense out of the question, no licenses for that. No exceptions so no conceald carry here.
+- A DUI or a similar felony is likely to get your gun licenses revoked.


+ The gun laws in Finland have so far been somewhat liberal, compared e.g. to many other European countries. According to some statistics Finland is the third most armed nation in the world right after US and Yemen.
- The situation is getting worse though this year as a new gun law is going to be introduced.
- We have unfortunately had two separate shootings in schools during the last couple of years and the lawmakersare now targeting licensed gun owners. That is somewhat odd, since it really is not the problem here as only approximately 7% of the homicides here are committed with a licensed handgun.

All in all, to my mind the current situation concerning owning firearms in Finland is not too bad.
 
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MY family is from Denmark and I can confirm that owning handguns is either impossible or near impossible. I can remember going there as a kid in the 80s and my uncle showing me some kind of single shot shotgun. Also, I can remember one of my mom's cousins was a hunter and he had a bolt action .308 on the wall.

I always show my Danish relatives my gun collection when they come over and they get a kick out of it. On a side note my cousin's husband who I think is under 40 can remember being issued an M1 Garand in the Danish military.

Plus, from my understanding, alot of Islamic fundamentalists moving further and further into Western and Northern Europe. So be prepared for that too

I am pretty sure gun ownership is very common in Islamic countries so I doubt that will negatively affect the gun laws.
 
I have one of these Danish Garand built by Beretta in Rome with former Winchester machinery.

I am pretty sure gun ownership is very common in Islamic countries so I doubt that will negatively affect the gun laws.

well, i am pretty sure that is not how islamic movements inspire anti-gun movements..
 
As already said laws are somewhat lax in Finland, no weapon types have been outright banned for example. At least for now.

The reason why gun licenses and registration laws were accepted in the first place in the early thirties was because of the fear of another communist revolution attempt. The commies, with the help of Lenin, seized the power in Finland in 1918 which was followed by a bloody civil war where the communists were defeated and the legal government reactivated.

At first the gun registration didn't concern military, police personnel or the civil guard volunteers (most of the patriotic men were members of the civil guard). It's ironic that contrary to the original purpose of the system, nowadays the leftists are trying to use the gun license and registration process to control normal patriotic decent citizens from owning guns.

Anyway, if you want a gun, you have to apply for a buying permit first. You just fill a form and bring that to your local police station and they'll mail the permit to you after some days/weeks. When you have received the permit (valid for six monts), you can go and buy the gun and ammo with it.

You don't need to know specific type of the gun when applying for the buying permit, just the type, the caliber and the action type. I.e. "Rifle, .223 Rem, Semi-automatic".

Finland is a rather sparsely populated country where hunting has been not just a recreational hobby but an essential way to put the food on the table. My father doesn't hunt but most of my uncles and many of my cousins do. Finland also has a conscription and the mobilized field army mostly consists of reservists. For example, the reason for my AR-15 license was taking part of the reservist shooting activities. Out of total population of 5 million people, 650.000 have licensed firearms.

So totally banning guns would be difficult and very harming to the society, but it won't mean the leftists don't try it if they have a chance. :mad:
 
Here in Sweden to own hunting weapons you must do the hunting exam. Once you have passed that you can own up to 6 hunting weapons. the weapon licence is for life unless you do something stupid. I can purchace as much ammo as i like for each weapon. Should show my gun licence when buying ammo but they never ask me for it.
You can own all rifle types apart from fully auto and any sort of shot gun up to 12 bore. But people at the ranges i use would look at you funny if you turned up with a Evil black type rifle:)
Target weapons, you have to belong to a shooting club and justify that you have a use for each weapon you want.
You can have a pistol if you belong to a club and keep it at home.
If you asked a gun owner about haveing a gun for home defence they would look a you very strange and wonder who you were defending your home against.
I have at least 6 ranges within 45 minutes of me rangeing from a simple running moose range to Multi range skeet,trap, running moose. running small game and pistol.
 
J NAPPULA - " ... nowadays the leftists are trying to use the gun license and registration process to control normal patriotic decent citizens from owning guns."


Sounds exactly like the Democrats here in the United States.

Far leftists are the same the world over.

L.W.
 
I have one of these Danish Garand built by Beretta in Rome with former Winchester machinery

I have one too!! BREDA with bayonet!
 
LemmyCaution, i live in Norway and you got most of your facts right,exept the one about self defence.Self defence is not a justifiable reason to keep arms, only hunting or competing in a shooting sport is.No one in Norway have a lisense to carry weapons exept the bodygard unit in the police force.
The only thing you may get a lisense for as a self defence device is pepper spray
 
What about home self defense ? this is still a justifiable reason here in Switzerland.

Actually in Switzerland, you don't have to have a reason.. Your will is a good reason enough.. for how long..? i dont know..
 
Svenska

Here in Sweden to own hunting weapons you must do the hunting exam. Once you have passed that you can own up to 6 hunting weapons. the weapon licence is for life unless you do something stupid. I can purchace as much ammo as i like for each weapon. Should show my gun licence when buying ammo but they never ask me for it.
You can own all rifle types apart from fully auto and any sort of shot gun up to 12 bore. But people at the ranges i use would look at you funny if you turned up with a Evil black type rifle
Target weapons, you have to belong to a shooting club and justify that you have a use for each weapon you want.
You can have a pistol if you belong to a club and keep it at home.
If you asked a gun owner about haveing a gun for home defence they would look a you very strange and wonder who you were defending your home against.
I have at least 6 ranges within 45 minutes of me rangeing from a simple running moose range to Multi range skeet,trap, running moose. running small game and pistol.

Wanting to visit the old country and see our old farm, I was very interested to hear more about the reasons behind not needing firearms for defense. mY fATHER, aUNTIES AND UNCLES ALL TALK SO FONDLY OF THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE THAT i MUST COME HAVE A LOOK. Would a Johansson from America be able to try the shooting sports?

Thanks for your time

Shooter429
 
My wife is a Swedish national and I've been to Sweden multiple times and think I remember hearing about the "hunting test".

I was told you must take a marksmanship test of your ability to hit game while moving, and an exam on the habits of the game you wish to hunt.

Also, you must have a written statement from a land owner giving you permission to hunt on their land.

Now Sweden has a very interesting and wonderful law called "Every Man's Right". This is a very old common law that gives every person the right to access on undeveloped private property, i.e., you can camp overnight in a woods, hike through, pick berries and mushrooms, but not touch crops, damage trees, etc., or leave garbage behind.

I'm not sure if it gives you the right to hunt without permission, but I doubt it since the game would probably belong to the land owner.

Anyway the Swedes are used to this so you don't have to worry about someone threatening you if you decide to have a picnic in the woods along a road. Being the type of people they are, clean up is also not a problem.

Self defense, against whom? Probably one of the lowest crime rates in the world. Immigration hasn't helped that, but still very low.

Expensive to live there, but no doubt worth it.
 
Hunting in Finland also requires passing the hunting exam about the game, what can you hunt and when etc. If you want to hunt elk you have to pass a shooting test to prove you can hit the animal where it counts.

Around 25% of land area in Finland is owned by the Govt and hunting there is allowed for everyone with a valid hunting license.

Most of that land however resides in the northern parts of the country so the hunters in southern Finland need to hunt on someone else's land. Thats why you probably have to be a member of a hunting club to hunt in southern parts of the country, hunting clubs rent the hunting rights from the local landowners for the members.
 
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I'm not sure if it gives you the right to hunt without permission, but I doubt it since the game would probably belong to the land owner.

Right, it doesn't. However often the landowners will give hunting rights to local organizations or clubs. You can then buy a hunting permit from that organization for a low cost, or join the club.

To add to what others said above, in Sweden you also need a separate permit to purchase class 1 rifles, meaning high powered ones like .308, 30-06, 6.5x55 etc. Weapons and ammo must also be stored securely in a safe.
 
The Swedish hunting exam can be done as evening classes . About 15, 3 hour classes. The exam covers all huntable species of animals and birds. Also covers protected species. There is a weapons and ammo part as well. The test at the end is a multiple choice test of 80 questions. Shooting test covers gun safety,range estimation, clay shooting,running small game and not forgetting the running moose range.
I own my own land for hunting small game but i have put my land in with 10 of my neighbours to form a moose hunting team. Only 4 of us hunt out of the 10 and one has champion moose hunting dogs. So there is always moose meat every year. Team hunting,dog hunting is very popular here.
I moved here from England 6 years ago and will never move back to the UK.
 
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