Austrians buying all the guns [Archive] - Colorado AR-15 Shooters Club Discussion Forums

RblDiver

10-28-2015, 01:13

http://www.wnd.com/2015/10/islamic-invasion-pulls-trigger-europeans-scramble-for-guns/

A Czech TV report confirms that long guns – shotguns and rifles – have been flying off the shelves in Austria, and Austrians who haven’t already purchased a gun may not have a chance to get one for some time. They’re all sold out.

And those arming themselves are primarily women.

“If anyone wants to buy a long gun in Austria right now, too bad for them,” the Czech newscaster says. “All of them are currently sold out.”

Alan Gottlieb, executive vice president of the Second Amendment Foundation (http://www.saf.org/), said he recently returned from a gun rights event in Europe, where he sensed a change in attitude toward firearms.

“I just returned from a gun rights meeting in Belgium, and I can attest that all over Europe people now want the means to defend themselves,” Gottlieb told WND. “Self-defense is no longer a dirty word. In countries like Austria, where it is still legal to own a firearm, gun sales are at record levels. I can tell you first-hand that people in Europe now wish they had a Second Amendment.”

esizer

10-28-2015, 08:20

Interesting. I wonder what the restrictions for purchase are like? Mag limits, etc...

From Wikipedia...so grain of salt and all that:

Guns are currently divided into five categories:

Category A - Forbidden weapons and military weapons

Military weapons:

Automatic Weapons
Semi automatic rifles not approved for civilian use

Forbidden weapons:

firearms disguised as other objects,
fast collapsible, shortenable or demountable firearms,
shotguns with an overall length under 90 cm and/or a barrel length under 45 cm,
silencers
weaponlights for rifles
brass knuckles
Totschläger (translation missing) (a flexible baton with a metal ball at the end)
Stahlruten (translation missing) (a slightly flexible baton)

Licenses to own category A weapons are available but rare, for example pre-ban grandfathered pump action shotguns - these are then added like normal category B weapons to the Waffenpass/Waffenbesitzkarte. Carrying permits for these kind of weapons are extremely rare.

Category B - Weapons requiring permission: Semi automatic long weapons for sporting and hunting, repeating (non-pump action) and semi automatic shotguns and weapons shorter than 60 cm in overall length (for example pistols and revolvers, but also bolt/lever/pump action rifles under 60 cm overall length). Semi automatic long weapon models are required to be verified as civilian-legal before this category applies to them, otherwise they are considered category A. A permission can either be a hunting license, gun ownership license ("Waffenbesitzkarte", for sporting, collecting and self-defense at home or work) or a carry permit ("Waffenpass", for carrying a loaded weapon outside of the owner's home or workplace), with the ownership license being the most common way to category B gun ownership.

Category C - Weapons requiring registration: Break action rifles and all repeating rifles (i.e. bolt-, lever- or pump action). All Austrian citizens aged 18 or over can freely buy and own this type of weapon, but ownership has to be registered at a licensed dealer or gunsmith within 6 weeks of purchase (Typically, if bought in a store, the store registers them after doing the required background check). Now also includes break action shotguns (former category D).

Category D - other Weapons: Break action shotguns. All Austrian citizens aged 18 or over can freely buy and own this type of weapon, but ownership has to be registered at a licensed dealer or gunsmith within 6 weeks of purchase (Typically, if bought in a store, the store registers them after doing the required background check). This category was removed and all category D weapons are now category C weapons.

less effective weapons - Weapons with matchlock, wheellock, flintlock ignition, single shot percussion guns, guns made before 1871, air and co²-guns. All Austrian citizens aged 18 or over can freely buy and own this type of weapon without any registration.

Air guns and Air-soft guns are not restricted and carry in public is technically legal, though can have consequences for "public disturbance".
Ammo sales are not recorded and most ammo is available without a permit (Permit required for handgun ammo, i.e. 9mm, as well as some rifle ammo).