Belarus- no handguns
Monaco- have a referee bullshyt

Estonia-ammo limit- only permits civilians to store up to 100 cartridges for pistols, revolvers, gas weapons, and rifled barrel hunting guns; 300 cartridges for smoothbore-barrel hunting guns; up to 1,000 cartridges per sporting firearm; up to 1 kg of propellant per firearm, but not more than 5 kg in total; and up to 1,000 primers

Germany- gun limit- 2 hunting 4 sporting if i remember correctly
Latvia- gun limit- 10 firearms
Lithuania-ammo limit- only 500 cartridges of each type for the weapons they possess or an unlimited number of cartridges for sporting purposes
Luxembourg- no handguns-i am guessing they arent banned but just require licensing hopefully but then there is the UK
Macedonia-ammo limit- a max of 50 bullets once in the course of one calendar year and a maximum of 100 bullets for hunting arms
Moldova- no semi auto rifles- i am guessing they arent banned but just require licensing hopefully
Montenegro-ammo limit- a max of 50 'factory packages' of rifled ammunition per calendar year
Netherlands- no semi auto rifles- i am guessing they arent banned but just require licensing hopefully
Russia-no handguns- i hear there is some movement of some sort to allow civilian handgun ownership

Albania,Andorra,Austria,Belgium,Czech Republic,Denmark,France,Greece,Hungary,Italy,Kosovo,Liechtenstein i am not sure if these countries have an ammo limit or a gun limit I read Belgium and France have ammo limit and Italy having a handgun limit

then these countries whose laws I haven't read up on
Norway,Poland,Portugal,Romania,San Marino,Serbia,Slovakia,Slovenia,Spain,Sweden,Switzerland,Ukraine
info source gunpolicy.org seems legit info accurate on georgia gun law california gun law us gun law delaware gun law and uk gun law best I have encountered and better than wikiapedia

as for Italy, with a standard license I can own:

- 3x "common weapons" (mostly handguns)
- 6x "sporting weapons" (usually .22 guns, handguns with adjustable sights and some semiauto rifles)
- unlimited "hunting weapons" (usually bolt guns, shotguns & semiauto rifles chambered for calibers bigger that 5.6mm)

- 200 handgun rounds
- 1500 rifle rounds
- unlimited shotgun rounds

- no suppressor, grenade launchers or full auto weapons.
- we can't assemble our own weapons like you do in the US and we can't chop the barrel
- we dont have the SBR concept.. if the Govt say a guns is ok to be imported/sold it doesnt matter how long the barrel is
- machineguns can be legally converted into semiauto by importers/manufacturers.

- mag capacity limit for common weapons is 15rounds, 29rounds for sporting weapons and 5/10rounds for semiauto hunting weapons

- we can keep guns and ammo at home

- we going to the range all weapons must be unloaded and not ready to use.


in order to own more guns a Collector license is required.
a CCW license is very hard to get.

In Austrian law knows four categories of guns:
A: (forbidden weapons: most military style semi-auto rifles, .50 BMG rifles, supressors, pump-action shotguns, select-fire weapons et c.) - can only be owned with special dispensation which practically nobody gets anymore
B: (handguns, semi-auto shotguns, hunting semi-autos(i.e. Browning BAR Remington 750 et al.), the AUG-Z, some AR15 clones, a SIG550 clone, no restrictions on barrel length and stocks but no flash-suppressors and bayonet lug) - a licence is needed for ownership,
C: (non semi-rifles, minimum length 60 cm, handguns constructed before 1871, flash-suppressors & bayonet lugs are generally allowed in this category) no license needed but registered at sale
D: (non semi-shotguns, minimum barrel length 50 cm) no licence needed but but also registered at sale

A gun licence usually allows ownership of two guns of category B - psych eval and safety course needed but no gun-club membership.
Every five years afterwards the police will visit to control your safe-keeping the guns and will also demand evidence of your competence as gun owner.  
5 years after issue one can also apply for a new licence for 5 or more category B guns, though one would need membership in a gun-club in that case.
As a Collectors one can get licenses for a nearly unlimited number of guns but can only own guns for the collection with a certain focus on say a model, manufacturer or certain armed service.
In case of collectors the authorities will also send for some expert who will check if you are competent and serious.  
If you should keep more than 20 guns in one place the authorities have to be notified, which may demand extra safety precautions.
No limit for the number of rounds owned but if more than 5.000 rounds are kept in one place and you also have to notify the authorities.
Austrian law also considers the barrel & slide assembly or the upper as the gun, so a second or third upper can be registered as an accessory to an already owned gun.
No license or registration is needed to own extra lowers but the extra guns resulting of these accessories must be kept disassembled.

All Guns must be kept in a secure way but can be kept loaded for self defence.
For the transport the guns must be unloaded and in a closed case or bag.
A carry permit is very difficult to come by now.
It is possible to assemble your own cat. C gun or handgun, which has to be proofed afterwards, but to assemble say an AR would require a special dispensation by the defence ministry (good luck ).
In general there is also no limit on mag capacity.
Oh - only up to 10 kg powder can be kept at home.

From what I understand from talking with gun shop owners in Luxembourg, a permit is required for any kind of firearm (wasn't the case a few years back).

Firearms are either owned for sporting purposes or for collecting.

Once you get a licence up to 50 firearms can be registered for sporting purposes (handguns, semi-auto rifles and shotguns, ...).
Full auto firearms can be owned under the collector's system and are in a separate register. But any firearm owned for collecting cannot be shot.

When people want to get past the 50 firearms limit they get a collector's card and register semi-autos on it. They then shuffle them back and forth between their collector's card and their sporting card (to be able to shoot them). But it seems the Luxembourg DoJ tends to frown upon such "loophole" (anything anti-gunners don't like is a loophole !) and switching guns back and forth cost apparently 25 EUR ....

Anyway take this with a grain of salt. European firearms laws usually some byzantine subtleties only a local may master after a few years.





France is also kind of a mess. Most of the meat of firearms regs is by decree. Lots of democratic input ! Not.

On September 6th 2013 the new regs went into effect supposedly to make things easier. You bet.

There are four categories of weapons:

- A: forbidden weapons: firearms shaped as other objects (think cell-phone 22LR "pistol"), full auto, anything over 20mm caliber, handgun mags over 20 rounds, rifle mags over 30 rounds

- B: restricted firearms requiring a permit per gun
----- Any handgun
----- Any rifle or shotgun with an OAL < 80cm (32")
----- Any semi-auto rifle or shotgun with a detachable mag
----- Any semi-auto rifle or shotgun with a fixed magazine and an overall capacity of more than 3 rounds (2 + 1 in the chamber)
----- Any rifle with a barrel < 45cm (18")
----- Any repeating or semi-auto shotgun with a barrel < 60cm (24")
----- Pump action shotgun (extra eeeevil)
----- Anything that shoots .223/5.56, 7.62x39, 5.45x39, .50BMG, 14.7 Russian regardless of OAL, barrel length or mode of operation. Leftover from the previous lame "military caliber" BS.

- C : hunting firearms, must either have a hunting licence or a target shooting membership to purchase, must be registered:
----- Semi-auto shotguns with barrel > 60cm and OAL > 80cm, fixed magazine, max 3 shots
----- Semi-auto rifles with barrel > 45cm and OAL > 80cm, fixed magazine, max 3 shots
----- Repeating shotgun with barrel > 60cm, OAL > 80cm, fixed or detachable magazine, max 10+1 shots (but not pump action shotguns, which are eeeeevil and are in category B)
----- Repeating rifle with barrel > 45cm, OAL > 80cm, fixed or detachable magazine, max 10+1 shots

- D : hunting firearms that are "free to own" but actually also have to be registered
----- Single shot, side by side, O/U shotguns with OAL > 80cm. Barrel length somehow got lost in the rewrite so no one really knows and most people still follow the previous definition : barrel > 45cm
----- Muzzle loaders, black powder handguns (no metallic cases though) and some pre-1900 handguns (wouldn't be able to tell you exactly what) - BP guns don't have to be registered

I skipped over knives, tazers to keep it *cough* simple *cough*. C and D can for all purposes be considered a single category when it comes to guns.

Ammunition is also spread among those four categories:
- A : armor piercing, incendiary rounds, anything above 20mm
- B : handgun ammo (9mm, .45ACP, .357 Mag, ...) and "cursed rifle calibers": .223/5.56, 7.62x39, 5.45x39, .50BMG, 14.7 russian
- C : hunting and target shooting ammunition
----- C-6 : a small list (including 44Magnum) of calibers that are "half handgun, half rifle"
----- C-7 : a small list (including 7.62x51/.308W, 7.5x55 Swiss, .30-06, 7.62x54R, ...) of calibers that were previously "restricted" (because military !) and have be "downgraded" to hunting cartridges)
----- C-8 : anything else : 22LR, 7mm08, .222 Rem, ....
- D : 12Ga and some weird/obsolete "garden gun" ammo

What exactly can  you own as an individual (ie: not a licensed gunsmith) you may ask ?

As a hunter (with an up-to-date hunting licence) and a target shooter (with a range membership and in good standing with the French Target Shooting Federation) you can buy any gun in categories C and D.
No limit on the number of these guns you can own but everything has to be registered.

Ammo wise, you need to show your hunting licence or target shooting license to buy ammo from categories C and D. There's a catch regarding categories C6 and C7 : you also need to show proof of registration for a gun that chambers those calibers. For C6 and C7 there's also a limit on the amount of rounds you can own at a time: maximum 1000 rounds per gun. Say you have two Rem 700 shooting .308W you can buy 2000 rounds on monday morning, have a *very* nice day at the range and again by 2000 more on tuesday. If your Rem 700 were chambered for 7mm08 (C-8!) you'd be able to buy a truckload of ammo everyday of the year.

If you let your hunting license or target shooting affiliation expire you get to keep your guns but won't be able to buy extra ammo. Obviously these guns can be used for hunting and target shooting. You could shoot on your property provided there's a decent safety level (berms, ...) and it causes no nuisance to neighbors. Unless you're in the countryside forget about it.


Now if you want anything in category B (handgun, ARs, AKs ....) you have to be (or pose as) a target shooter. A permit is needed for each an every gun. Permit is valid for 5 years. Cat B firearms can only be shot in approved ranges (standards are not that high but red tape !). You must show proof you're practicing on a regular basis (3 times a year, 2 months apart). Need to show proof you own a safe as cat.B firearms must be stored in safes. There's a background check run by the local police or gendarmerie. They also supposedly check that you've never been involuntarily committed and are not under guardianship.
Applications are now sent and returned by mail. Takes anywhere from two weeks to .... months depending on where you live.

You can own up to 12 category B firearms. Any number of category firearms parts (each one requiring a permit). You could get an AR-15 (which would take one slot out of twelve) and then get extra uppers.
In terms of ammo:
- handgun rounds and "cursed calibers" : max 1000 rounds per year per firearm
- if it shoots ammo from categories C or D : same restrictions as categories C or D

There's no restriction on the amount of reloading components (except powder: no more than 2kg at a time) you can buy. Reloading is very common in France: saves you a few bucks and lets you circumvent those dumb-ass restrictions on ammo

You could theoretically get a (single) permit for a handgun for "self defense" (in your home or business, no CCW or OC). Up to ten years ago you could really get such permit. But the administration didn't renew permits over the last few years (you know the drill) and nowadays unless you're have a "high risk job" (jeweler, ...) you can go f*ck yourself or .... pose as a target shooter.

Simple, right ?

By the way gunpolicy.org is not up to date regarding French law: the still refer to the previous law and decrees. Things are essentially the same but well ...

I like how on gunpolicy.org everything looks banned in France. We of course have no 2nd amendment but with some paperwork (nothing complicated, people at your local range will help you) you can get stuff that would make gun-grabbers wet themselves. My AK47 and my FN SCAR 17S - among other things - would have them wring their hand and clutch their pearls. Suckers.

I would take gunpolicy.org with a grain of salt. I read the entry on Sweden, and it was littered with errors.

Indeed. I'm not sure an anti-gun web site is a good source for firearms law.

It's one of the only websites i have found that is accurate and if it isn't its because they passed more restriction on civilian gun ownership or not detailed enough. Like its info on Kenya you can own handguns and go through the hoops to own one by the site stating "permitted with a license." That license process can be like in the Czech Republic which allows ccw once obtained compared to the pain in the arse of the UK licensing process just to get a shotgun. Like I didnt know France and Italy technically have an ammo limit but can be sort of passed and in Luxembourg on the website its says you cant have handguns but turns out with a sporting license you can own handguns and I was going to not consider to go to Luxembourg because you cant own handguns. In Kenya you cant own semi auto rifles but that is the African continent and for another discussion on its gun laws by country.

Its also interresting what other weapons other than guns can be owned and carried in each EU country - hint I EDC a Spyderco Police
Auto knives and OTF-knives can be legally owned and carried by anyone older than 18 here and there is even a supreme court decision stating that the Glock field knife is a only a tool not a weapon.

Meh. Hunters can have two handguns and unlimited long guns.

Sporting, they start you out with 2 handguns and 2 semi-automatic rifles. There is basically no limit on bolt actions, and more handguns and semi-rifles when the need arises (you shoot in several clubs, shoot at competitions and so on).

It's not accurate at all. Some of the stuff they claim as facts are nothing more than outright lies.

good point,
here in Italy is not possible to EDC a knife.
If you go fishing or camping it's ok to carry a knife but walking around the city with one is a big no-go.


the same standard gun license is required to buy unlimited number of bayonets, daggers and swords with sharp edge.

Whow a licence to own a bladed weapon!
Doesn`t Swizerland also have some ban on autos ,daggers and an rather retarded one on expanding projectiles?

I believe pepper spray and mace is also a no go in many EU countries?

The problem is that firearms law is usually quite convoluted in Europe. It's not as easy as "This is banned, this is not".

So if the point here is to find a new country in Europe where to settle, you shouldn't rely on such "aggregate" views as gunpolicy.org.

Again if I look at the French entry on gunpolicy.org it says most of the fun stuff "is banned" with footnotes. And those footnotes are the process to get a freaking licence to own such guns. Not really a footnote !

I suggest you ask here. You could also ask local gun owners associations. Take a look here : http://iapcar.org/  . Not every country is listed here but it's a good start.

There is also the actual difficulty getting a licence compared to getting a licence on paper.
Our law states that anyone eligible who can demonstrate the need for a carry permit can get one.
30 years ago it was no problem to get one issued for practically anyone who might need it.
15 years ago our authorities started restricting these permits to cops, lawers, judges, hunters et.c
A few yers ago they stopped automatically issuing permit to cops for off-duty carry and for business-men too, but at least hunters can still get one.
All this happened without changing a word in the law itself, it was just unelected public servants choosing to apply the same law more restrictive every year.

I believe that in Greece, reloading of spend cartridges is forbidden

-other EU countries as well?

Reloading is legal for sport gunlicence holders (dont ask me why just sport shooters*), there is limit on how many primers (1000) and powder (3 kg) you can store at you home (while you can store hundreds of thousands of live ammo at the same time), enforcement is impossible and largely disregarded. Purchase of smokeless powder and primers requires gun licence. Bullets and cases are not regulated in any way.

*correction: since 2014 its legal for others (hunters, self-defence, etc..)

Pretty popular in Germany among target shooters. No limit on primers, powder depends (friend of mine can buy like 20lbs. a year). Just got a new Dillon XL650 for him.

Same story here, reloading is popular among hunters and target shooters,no license needed if you keep less than 10 kg powder at home.

Legal here as well, but there's a limit on the amount of powder you can store at home if I'm not mistaken.