Long time lurker, first time posting!

[Oliver Official]

Hi all,

Been following the guidance provided on these forums for a few years now. Appreciate all the information. My first and only rifle so far is a Tikka Tac A1 in 308.

As you probably all know, shooting in western Europe is a bit different than in the US. You can't get gear, parts, and ammo at every corner in the street and everything's hugely regulated so it feels a bit limited at times but I'm trying to get by. Got basically unlimited access to an indoor 100m range and outdoor 400m range.

If there's anything else worth sharing, do let me know.

Thanks!

 

[Rodney65]

Welcome!

So how does it work buying gun parts and ammo there? Once you're licensed can you just order as much stuff as you want to your house?

 

[Oliver Official]

So, for starters, your firearm(s) are registered on your license. You may only buy ammo for the calibers your firearm(s) are chambered in.

Ammo and essential parts you can only buy in a brick and mortar gun store. Some ship you ammo if you mail them a photo/copy of your passport and license but technically that’s illegal.

Non-essential parts, optics, accessoires, etc. you can buy in webshops.

The problem is not so much the process, it’s the fact that shooting is a bit of a frowned upon niche market. It’s all very small scale and stuff’s not always easy to get. And for everything that’s imported from the US you’ve gotta pay shipping + European sales tax/VAT + import duties + customs handling fee (admin). So on average an imported product is easily 30-50% more expensive than the American sales price. Whether you import it yourself thru e.g. Amazon.com or whether shops import. They’re often way too small to get volume discounts.