Hey guys, thanks for tuning in for another video on forgottenweapons.com, I'm Ian McCollum and I'm here today with my Swedish friend Kristoffer
And we're gonna do a quick brief on what are the gun laws in Sweden? - Yes.
So we've done a couple of these before, it's a popular series. I think it's a really cool way to -
Not a pro and con thing, just getting an understanding of what are the gun regulation systems in other countries in the world
So just as a caveat before we start I want to point out: If you are Swedish do not consider this legal advice
If you have detailed questions about what you need to do in Sweden to get various types of permits talk to the police or
you know, someone officially associated with the law
And I'm sure there are gonna be some little loopholes and details that we're not gonna cover
This is just an overview. So with that in mind, I guess first off: Are there guns in Sweden?
Oh, yes
Yeah, there's a lot of guns. Mostly I would say hunting guns
It's like the big bulk of the guns, but it's a it's a fairly gun populated country - Okay
I've seen numbers that it's, I don't know, per person in the world it's like #8th per person, per capita
among guns, per population. It's apparently a large amount of guns in Sweden.
Okay, so starting at the basic level if we're talking hunting.
What do you have to do to get say a bolt-action hunting rifle?
When it comes to hunting, that would be probably the quickest way to get a license in Sweden.
Depending on - you have to take a test
On theory like when and what are you allowed to shoot, on endangered or not endangered species and
Or, species with a low count in Sweden, for ducks or whatever the game might be and
the things like that and what what seasons are in and
And when you're allowed to shoot the ones if they - you're basically never allowed to shoot
A beast that has cubs or
some sort of kids.
Young ones.
Then you take that test and then you do a shooting test
with the shotgun and rifle.
And then you have the right to apply for a licence
And if you want to get heavier caliber guns over ...
Heavier caliber rifles you have to do another test, which is the moose test
To shoot a moose.
And that will qualify you to have a larger caliber
So once you apply for a license, is that a license for one gun or multiple guns
You apply for one gun with one serial number and you apply for that right
Is there a limit how many different rifles you can buy?
Yes, basically, you're allowed to have - it's a point system
I'm not 100% sure about the points but
If you have a rifle, it's one point
If it's a handgun that's two points, and one household is allowed to have 20 points
Okay, so you can also get handguns. - Yes - That'd be one of my next questions.
Is it the same sort of system you take a shooting test and a written test or is there something different
So leaving the hunter license; to get a handgun
There are circumstances where you can get a handgun for a hunting license, but they're rarer
But then you have to transition to target shooting
Some sort of either Olympic shooting or IPSC shooting.
I would say that the Olympic shooting and IPSC shooting are the largest forms of shooting in Sweden
There's another one as well, the name escapes me right now
So there's three three different branches of shooting out of the big ones in Sweden
Okay, so I assume you would have to join a shooting club as well?
Yes, so you apply to join a shooting club.
And usually there's a check that you don't have a criminal record, that's usually standard
You have to join the club and then depending on the club's rules
You stay in the club, but usually it's at least a year before you can apply for your first license
So you'd be borrowing a gun from the club?
Yes, you borrow and learn from the people at the club and then you would
You would apply for a license
If you want to apply for a semi-automatic rifle
For say IPSC shooting or target shooting that would usually take two years in a gun club before you're allowed to do that
And you also have to show that you are competing
So competing is generally mandatory if you want to have a license for target practice
Okay, so you have to be an active member of the club? -Yeah
Are there limitations to features on rifles; magazine size or things like folding stocks or barrel lengths?
When it comes to target shooting: No. When it comes to hunting
Generally for for repeaters or bullet rifles, rifles for bullets [non-shotgun]
"Kulgevär" is what we call it in Swedish, so it doesn't translate well.
Repeating rifles? - Yeah, repeating rifles or like hunting rifles
Let's say generally five for most game but if you hunt bear you're only allowed to have three bullets
Hm, okay. - For some reason
Give the bear a little bit of a chance. - Yes.
All right. Now what if I want a full auto rifle?
If I wanna go buy an Ak 5?
A full auto rifle is generally a no-go, for an average civilian.
It's really hard to get a license for that.
Then you would have to have a form of collector's license which is like a third version
And I can't speak to how you would go about to get a collector's license.
I would say it's rare and I don't have the knowledge of how to get that
Okay. Do you know what a collectors license allows you to have?
So my understanding is that the collectors license is usually for either this country
You have to get a collector's license for collecting, say, weapons from the UK.
Okay, so you're specifying what your collection is. This is what I want to collect. - Yes.
So in general the law is: Show us that you have a reason to need a gun
That's the gist of the law
And what that is in practice, it becomes a subjective thing
About what people are allowed to have and not to have
So that's a battle most people that like shooting have to face
Okay, and what if you want to have a concealed carry permit - is there such a thing?
There is, but very rare occasions. I know that there have been in the past
Like if you would have a threat on your life as a police officer and stuff like that
You would be allowed to carry a concealed weapon on your off time since you're alone
But that's also rare
But as a civilian, that's not possible.
All right, I think that's pretty decent overview - anything we missed?
Nothing I can think of right now. You'll probably see in in the comments later
I'm sure we will. If you want a jolly good time. Make sure to take a look at the comments. They're always ...
fantastic
Anyway, thank you very much. It's always cool to to get some insight into
how the shooting and collecting community works in other places outside of your own home country, so
Stick around tomorrow. We'll have another cool forgotten weapon. Thanks for tuning in