Yeah, I know it supposed to be gun paradise over there, but does anyone have concrete and very specific info on exactly what is allowed, any permits/licenses, etc.  

Tuukka?  Bollocks?  Kuiper?  Anyone, Anyone...Bueller?

All I know for sure in Switzerland is that it is mandatory for each household to have a firearm.

I have also heard some other things about Switzerland.

There are also different "grades or levels" of citizenship--kind of like our Resident Alien, etc.  Only full citizens there have guns, the rest are locked out or much more restrictive, and I have heard that it is difficult to get full citizenship.

AFARR

You can check out this web site:

[url]www.protell.ch[/url]

ProTell is the Swiss equivalent of the NRA.

Unfortunately, it is not in English, you will have to use Alta Vista's translation software to try and understand it:
[url]world.altavista.com/tr[/url]

From what I was able to understand:
All males under 45 are militia members and are required to keep a government issued assault rifle at home.
After retirement, the assault rifle can be kept after it has been modified to semi-auto.
Private acquisition of fully automatic firearms (translated as "series weapons") is forbidden (I think some are grandfathered).
Non-discretionary permit to buy guns from a dealer.  Permitees are registered.
Discretionary permit to carry guns (with exceptions for target shooting, etc.)

Most of these restrictions were passed in the last ten years or so.  So Switzerland is no longer as liberal as it used to be.

I had a discussion with a Swiss LtCol about 6 months ago about this very subject.

The laws are Canton specific, he was from down by the French Boarder and less restricted, than say those by Bern.  You are issued your duty, automatic, weapon but there is a quick conversion kit, allowing auto fire, in the weapon that you must remove when not on "duty."  He was kind of vague on it, but he mentioned that in Bern there was really weird storage requirements.  If you wanted to buy a weapon, other than what you are issued, you could get it, but you were required to have a weapons permit, and I think he said it took a while to get one.

Guys,

Why not go directly to the source?  Voila.  The Swiss Embassy in Wash DC.

[url]http://www.swissemb.org/legal/html/gun_ownership.html[/url]

(Wish I knew how to make these things RED and clickable.)

James

from the website [url]switzerland.isyours.com[/url]

[b]Some of our clients settling in Switzerland ask us about their rights with respect to firearms. Can you import weapons to Switzerland? In what circumstances can they be transported? Where can they be fired? Are there limitations with respect to the type of weapon? We’ll try to answer these questions in this section.
We’d like to stress that in our mind, there is absolutely no credible reason for an average citizen to want to transport a loaded weapon, given the fact that violent crime is practically non-existent in Switzerland. Firearm ownership is widespread in Switzerland, however, and precision shooting is a highly regarded pastime. Young people can practice shooting military weapons by the age of 16, and keep their rifles at home. More information

It is worth noting that the high number of firearms per capita does not lead to a high rate of violent crime – on the contrary.

Purchasing, bearing and importing firearms in Switzerland are subject to federal law and consequently the same legislation is applied throughout Switzerland, regardless of your canton of residence. Variations in the application of these laws can nonetheless exist. Your canton of residence is the exclusive competent authority for issuing licenses for purchasing, bearing or importing arms. This means, for example, that someone who resides in Geneva cannot apply for a license in the canton of Bern.[/b]

This article and links to more details are on this page:
[url]http://switzerland.isyours.com/e/immigration/relocation/weapons/index.html[/url]

Begging your pardon Scarecrow, not mandatory unless you're in the militia. Been there three times for visits and was "impressed" with the contrasts of the country. i.e. ... modern FALs are issued yet old-fashioned schutzen (single shot) rifles are quite popular. Most young people are not interested in military or weapons and consider service to get in the way of commerce yet many feel it provides valuable contacts in business and society. MANY local-type pubs sponsor very active shooting clubs. FWIW.  go figure

well lets put it this way if anyone could walk down to a gun store and walk out with a real deal AW it wouldnt be such a cool thing to own like it is here in the states. hmmm i got some relates in switerland from my dads side (great grandfather is swiss) wonder if i can go visit em some day.