Have you bought a gun in a foreign country?

[answerguy]

Just curious how it worked and how it compares to someone from outside the USA buying a gun here.

 

[answerguy]

Does lack of response mean no one here has ever tried to buy a gun in a foreign country? Let me try it this way; what would you expect to have to do to buy a gun in, let's say, Canada. Or pick a country of your choosing.

 

[loach369]

This is a real example.

I've been a target shooter for years here in England.

I currently own the following firearms which are all individually listed by make, model, type, caliber and serial number on my Police Issued Firearm Certificate:FOR TARGET SHOOTING ON APPROVED RANGES ONLY

Remington 700 VS in .308 with M14 box magazine conversion
Bushmaster M4 14.5" barrel in .223 (no gas system- manually operated only)
Ruger 10/22 Integrally Supressed .22LR
Mauser 66 .375H&H maganum (may only be zeroed with non expanding ammunition on approved ranges)

The amounts of ammunition I am allowed to purchase at one time are also listed on my certificate.

I've justed started deer stalking and I want a 6.5x55 Swedish (I'm after a LH Sako 75) for use in the field. Here's what I had to do.

Fill in a Police Firearms Form 101 requesting permission to purchase 'one (1) 6.5mm rifle'

State my good reason 'deer stalking'

Oh I want a supressor as well. Good reason? ' to protect my hearing and comply with health and Safety regulations'.

Where will the firearms be kept? In a Police approved safe (inspected by them)
Where will I use the firearms? On land I have permission to shoot. (vetted by them)

Form filled in and submitted to the local police with the requisite $50 fee.
Now the fun starts......

Police: the 6.5mm round is a military sniping round. Very deadly. Why do you want it?
Me: so my quarry doesn't suffer
Police:We are concerned about you wanting a silencer?
Me: grant me authority or I'll sue you
Police: Ok you can have one.
Me: Thank you
Police: We are however concerned you don't have enough experience of firearm handling in a non range/target shooting environment.
Me: What did I used to do for a living?
Police: You were a Police Officer.
Me: Yes I was also an authorised firearms officer and my duties included armed VVIP protection.
Police: What has that got to do with anything?
Me: Well if I was trusted with a firearm in the presence of the President of the United States, Queen of England and Head of the UN why are you so worried about me being out on a hill in the Highlands with a bolt action rifle?
Police: Ok you can have one.

Six weeks later I get my authorised Firearm Certificate back with authority to purchase 'one(1) 6.5mm rifle' and permission to purchase 100 rounds of 6.5mm ammunition at a time and possess a total of 200 rounds at a time.

Now you can only legally shoot deer with expanding ammunition which is classed as prohibited- think Class 3 NFA Stateside- and this permission has to be on the certificate.

Guess what? They hadn't put expanding ammunition authority on it so my $2500 deer stalking trip was ruined.

I phone up the Police:
Me: hello. You have made a mistake and not put expanding ammunition on my certificate
Police: What do you want expanding ammunition for?
etc etc

Anyway three months later it's all sorted.

I still haven't found a left handed Sako 75 yet though!

 

[AndyC]

South Africa:

1. You can't open-carry - it has to be concealed.
2. You need to apply for a license for each individual firearm and have an interview at your local cop-shop to prove that you need it. If the cop doesn't like you, you're SOL, although you have 90 days to lodge an appeal. The whole process used to take about a month or two, but now people are reporting waits of up to a year.
3. You have to take an approved training-course if you're a first-time buyer.
4. You have to have a safe storage place - and the cops do random checks.
5. Licenses used to be for life - now they're only valid for 5 years.
6. I understand that there are now sportsman/hunter and collector categories, which makes it easier to own multiple firearms of the same type/caliber.
7. It's real hard to get a semi-auto rifle, almost impossible (unless you're a farmer) - easier to get a semi-auto shotgun if you're a member of a recognised clay-pigeon club.
8. You have to show your license each time you want to purchase ammunition, powder or primers.

 

[Mortech]

The closest I've come was buying guns at the AAFES run gun store in Wiesbaden . Hell we used to be out numbered 2 to 1 by the germans at our own military stores .

 

[answerguy]

So if I fly into South Africa/England/Germany tonight, how soon before I, a US citizen with a clean record can buy a gun?

 

[Mortech]

Note : This info is from the early 80's when I lived there for 8 years , In Germany you have to be there on military duty/business , it doesn't matter if your a civilian or military and a member of tha Rod N Gun club . Dpending on your rank (I think you had to be a GS-5 and above and a E-7 and above to sign off on your own permission form otherwise you needed a form from your immediate unit commander or civilian supervisor ) There are no restrictions on caliber or how much ammo you can buy , but using a weapon for selfdefense is a strict no-no ! and hollowpoint ammo is verboten as well . Oh as a side point , when PCSing back to U.S. you do NOT wanna fly back via Heathrow , even with proper forms and BATF form 6 papaerwork they would often confiscate your firearms , even when you didn't even leave the airport !