What are the most common pistols in the Western World?
- Thread starter ace_himself
- Start date
cybershooters said:And Canada doesn't allow people to freely own firearms, last time I checked.
OK, I give you that, but that word "free" is more lossely taken here, at least to me, because still we can, at will, get PAL and purchase firearm. Although small European countries does allow their citizens to own firam, but North America is and still will the largest consumtion market of firearms, whether civilian or LE/Military.
- Location
- Calgary, Alberta
Tried buying a new 4-inch barrelled revolver lately?
The main advantage of Canadian handgun laws from where I sit is that once you have a license you don't have to get every acquisition approved. Every European country has a law that requires some sort of approval when you want to buy a handgun, even if you already have a license. Some have licensing provisions so that you can get a license that allows you to buy more than one handgun, but you have to be pretty specific what you want when you get the license.
Even in Switzerland, you can only get authority to purchase up to three handguns at a time, and there is a legislative proposal that will in the next couple of years limit a purchase permit to one gun. This is because of the Swiss signing up to the Schengen agreement, which includes the European Firearms Directive.
Handguns are classed under Category B of the Directive, which requires individual approval of all acquisitions of Category B firearms. Finland, the Czech Republic, etc. all have that law. Finland actually has quite tough handgun laws in my experience, all handguns with a barrel of less than 7.5cm are prohibited, IIRC. Not a simple process to get a permit to acquire one either.
However, Canada has the ATT provisions, very few countries have an equivalent to that, and in places like Ontario and Quebec it is used quite punitively. Plus Canada bans everything with a barrel length of 105mm or less (100mm or 75mm barrel limits are somewhat common, but 105mm precludes a lot of common handguns) and also the magazine limit. Very few European countries have any sort of magazine size limit. Germany limits semi-auto rifles for target shooting to ten rounds, although higher-cap mags can be legally bought, you just can't have them both together. Spain limits mags for semi-auto rifles to five rounds (and common military calibres are banned for semi-autos).
Category C of the Directive limits semi-auto long guns to 2 round fixed mags, but you can get around that usually by getting a Category B long gun with "individual authorisation". For example here in the UK, if you get a shotgun certificate you can buy as many shotguns as you want, but if you want a semi or pump with more than a 2 round mag you have get it individually approved on a firearm certificate.
Where Switzerland scores at the moment is that private transfers of handguns between Swiss citizens don't require a permit, but that will change in the next couple of years.
The main advantage of Canadian handgun laws from where I sit is that once you have a license you don't have to get every acquisition approved. Every European country has a law that requires some sort of approval when you want to buy a handgun, even if you already have a license. Some have licensing provisions so that you can get a license that allows you to buy more than one handgun, but you have to be pretty specific what you want when you get the license.
Even in Switzerland, you can only get authority to purchase up to three handguns at a time, and there is a legislative proposal that will in the next couple of years limit a purchase permit to one gun. This is because of the Swiss signing up to the Schengen agreement, which includes the European Firearms Directive.
Handguns are classed under Category B of the Directive, which requires individual approval of all acquisitions of Category B firearms. Finland, the Czech Republic, etc. all have that law. Finland actually has quite tough handgun laws in my experience, all handguns with a barrel of less than 7.5cm are prohibited, IIRC. Not a simple process to get a permit to acquire one either.
However, Canada has the ATT provisions, very few countries have an equivalent to that, and in places like Ontario and Quebec it is used quite punitively. Plus Canada bans everything with a barrel length of 105mm or less (100mm or 75mm barrel limits are somewhat common, but 105mm precludes a lot of common handguns) and also the magazine limit. Very few European countries have any sort of magazine size limit. Germany limits semi-auto rifles for target shooting to ten rounds, although higher-cap mags can be legally bought, you just can't have them both together. Spain limits mags for semi-auto rifles to five rounds (and common military calibres are banned for semi-autos).
Category C of the Directive limits semi-auto long guns to 2 round fixed mags, but you can get around that usually by getting a Category B long gun with "individual authorisation". For example here in the UK, if you get a shotgun certificate you can buy as many shotguns as you want, but if you want a semi or pump with more than a 2 round mag you have get it individually approved on a firearm certificate.
Where Switzerland scores at the moment is that private transfers of handguns between Swiss citizens don't require a permit, but that will change in the next couple of years.
- Location
- Calgary, Alberta
John Sukey said:Some were. but it appears that the ones the govt' still has in stock are being overhauled and sent to the sandbox to fight another war.
when you are talking FMJ, bigger is better.
Yes John, but we all know that you in fact own a significant proportion of the western world's handguns.
