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Changes To French Gun Laws


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Hi Peter.

 

Illegally borrowed .22LR? You're a very naughty boy. Yes, night sights are illegal for hunting. All hunting is illegal after dark.

 

A 20-joule air rifle is, theoretically, more than enough to drop a coypu at those ranges. This would however be illegal, as you say.

 

If you get an air rifle, get a good one. If you prefer a spring rifle, then a Weihrauch HW80 can handle those power levels. They're expensive in France, much cheaper in Holland -- see here.

 

http://www.db-schietsport.nl/epages/61788981.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/61788981/Products/HW80/SubProducts/HW8045

 

Diana is another good brand, just avoid Gamo or Cometa, which are widely available in France, but crap. Whether you buy in France (retail or Internet) or outside, you will not be asked what the rifle is for, they'll just take your money and give or send you the rifle,

 

If you prefer a PCP, which are easier to shoot well, but need recharging from a scuba tank or with a pump, then get a good brand like Air Arms.

 

For target practice at those ranges, a 3-9X40 scope with Adjustable Objective (AO) will suffice. A reasonable brand like Hawke or Nikko Strirling won't break the bank, but will get the job done.

 

The other option is trapping. A live trap for fox/coypu costs around 65 Euros from your local agricultural supplier. Dangle a carrot over the rocker plate in the middle of the trap, and you'll catch a coypu every night! However, since you're not even allowed to despatch them in a trap with an air rifle, then use a big stick with some nails in the end -- MUCH more humane! :hmm:

 

Yup, the French hunting laws make no sense.

 

PM me if you need further information.

Edited by Coypu Hunter
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If anyone travels to or holidays in France regularly, this may be of interest.   The laws in France just changed, with effect from 6 September 2013. Prior to that, you could only buy an air rifle of

Illegal, mate. I use a .22 rimfire, and have done ever since I learned that pest control with air rifles is illegal in France.   Good excuse for getting a Rimmie, as I explained to Her Indoors!

15 ft/lb would be just sweet for hunting. Especially in .177. It's just about perfect.

  • 2 months later...

Hello CH, thank you for all the information you have given on this thread. I have a question for you. Supposedly, you moved to Brittany in 2004 and the vendor

left you a .22 rim fire behind included in the sale! The recipient thought that it would be fun to use as a target rifle on the 2 acres of land he had just purchased,and used solely on that land for safe plinking. As the recipient is not actually buying a new weapon from a dealer then obviously in this scenario no opportunity to purchase a licence would be offered.Similarly if a person had owned a .22 LR for the last thirty years before laws and firearm bands were altered. What happens then. Would a licence be required (I feel sure, after reading your blog it probably would) and who would you approach? I thought I read some where that a basic category 3 weapon licence was for life?

Thanks CH, I look forward to receiving your comments.

kind regards

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Woohoo! I'm off to Brittany next week to look at a house we hope to buy. My first priority is to get a TAC pistol from Germany, but once the novelty wears off it'll be club and rimfire time! Does the 20 joules rule apply to air pistols too? I reckon a falcon/brocock pcp running at that would be a hoot, albeit short lived between charges!

Fortunately my rifle is adjustable so I can make the most of it when in France.

 

I may be a little overexcited!

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think after reading all that thread the news is yes get a permit tir after joining a gun club then you can target shoot on your own land if its big enough, sit the chasse exam if you want to hunt anything if thats whats needed ie pest control feeding yer face and finally no night hunting silencers or hunting lights on you or the gun anything else i should know? thanks in advance

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  • 5 months later...

It's probably bad form to resurrect an old thread, but this thread provided me with much info and sobering tales. I'm living in Brittany, and have a small plot of land with chickens and other animals. We've recently had a population of brown rats move in under the chicken coop, so many they were running around in the open in the early dusk. We've been removing all foodstuff and water, and trapping them, and they appear to have mostly gone away, except the occasional droppings are confirming that there are still some around. I don't like to have to drown them after they are trapped, and in any case they seem to have worked out the traps and can empty them without getting caught, so I investigated getting a rifle to shoot them instead.

 

I was told by the armurerie that I can do so with an air rifle, category D-2-h (sub 20J power), without a permit de chasse or a gun license, but after finding this thread I decided to investigate further. After much searching through the Legifrance site I couldn't find any reference to a ban on hunting with air rifles, so I contacted the local Mairie, the Prefecture, and finally the ONCFS (Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage). I was put through to my local Environmental Officer, who confirmed that rats fall into a category of pests ("nuisible") which are outside of the regulations for hunting, and they can be hunted with any method at any time, though he asked me not to use poison outside to avoid secondary poisoning (not clear if this is the actual law, or his personal policy). If you choose to hunt them with a category C or D-1 weapon, then obviously you must hold the appropriate licenses for the possession of these weapons, but he specifically confirmed that I can use a category D-2-h rifle, with a silencer, and with a night sight, at any time of the day or night, as long as I only shoot rats and similar pests (brown rats, black rats, field mice, house mice). If I shoot anything else that is not in this category of pest, even by accident, then I will have broken the law. I can't, for example, use the rifle to despatch a chicken or goose.

 

I'm still hunting through the Legifrance site to find the actual laws pertaining to this, but in the meantime thought I would share the above, and order a Benjamin Discovery.......

  • Like 3
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It's probably bad form to resurrect an old thread, but this thread provided me with much info and sobering tales. I'm living in Brittany, and have a small plot of land with chickens and other animals. We've recently had a population of brown rats move in under the chicken coop, so many they were running around in the open in the early dusk. We've been removing all foodstuff and water, and trapping them, and they appear to have mostly gone away, except the occasional droppings are confirming that there are still some around. I don't like to have to drown them after they are trapped, and in any case they seem to have worked out the traps and can empty them without getting caught, so I investigated getting a rifle to shoot them instead.

 

I was told by the armurerie that I can do so with an air rifle, category D-2-h (sub 20J power), without a permit de chasse or a gun license, but after finding this thread I decided to investigate further. After much searching through the Legifrance site I couldn't find any reference to a ban on hunting with air rifles, so I contacted the local Mairie, the Prefecture, and finally the ONCFS (Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage). I was put through to my local Environmental Officer, who confirmed that rats fall into a category of pests ("nuisible") which are outside of the regulations for hunting, and they can be hunted with any method at any time, though he asked me not to use poison outside to avoid secondary poisoning (not clear if this is the actual law, or his personal policy). If you choose to hunt them with a category C or D-1 weapon, then obviously you must hold the appropriate licenses for the possession of these weapons, but he specifically confirmed that I can use a category D-2-h rifle, with a silencer, and with a night sight, at any time of the day or night, as long as I only shoot rats and similar pests (brown rats, black rats, field mice, house mice). If I shoot anything else that is not in this category of pest, even by accident, then I will have broken the law. I can't, for example, use the rifle to despatch a chicken or goose.

 

I'm still hunting through the Legifrance site to find the actual laws pertaining to this, but in the meantime thought I would share the above, and order a Benjamin Discovery.......

 

That is brilliant information - Many thanks :thumbs:

 

I too was under the impression that you could not shoot any live animal using an air rifle. So much so that I have hardly used it in almost four years except to ahem, accidentally 'deter' a coypu :whistling: on the farm pond where we used to rent a cottage. Contrary to mapletree's advice above, I found that the 14 ft/lb (19joule) .177 wasn't man enough to 'deter' the coypu no matter how many times it strayed into my line of fire. Shame that coypu aren't classed as nuisibles or I might have invested in a .22 rimfire. The Pros Sport won't really go much further than 19 Joules as far as I know.

 

A couple of weeks ago a Dutch neighbour of mine came round to borrow some more rat traps. I had lent him one a few months back and he thought that he had sorted the problem until his wife counted 18 brown rats in the hen hut just after she'd put the food down. He went back home with four more boxed traps and my air rifle. I'd explained how he could only shoot paper targets with the rifle and he will be really pleased to know that the 6 that accidentally strolled in front of his targets are now legitimate kills and not accidental casualties :laugh:

 

Going back to the traps; I've found that for brown rats the smaller E-Snap mouse traps are sometimes better than the larger rat traps. But put them up on a box or something similar to stop the voles getting in as they will often empty a trap on the ground without setting it off. You can usually tell what has been in the trap box as they leave tell tale droppings.

 

Thanks again for sharing your research.

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Hello CH, thank you for all the information you have given on this thread. I have a question for you. Supposedly, you moved to Brittany in 2004 and the vendor

left you a .22 rim fire behind included in the sale! The recipient thought that it would be fun to use as a target rifle on the 2 acres of land he had just purchased,and used solely on that land for safe plinking. As the recipient is not actually buying a new weapon from a dealer then obviously in this scenario no opportunity to purchase a licence would be offered.Similarly if a person had owned a .22 LR for the last thirty years before laws and firearm bands were altered. What happens then. Would a licence be required (I feel sure, after reading your blog it probably would) and who would you approach? I thought I read some where that a basic category 3 weapon licence was for life?

Thanks CH, I look forward to receiving your comments.

kind regards

 

Sorry for the late reply, for some reason the site stopped sending me emails about posts on this thread.

 

If you are given or find any firearm or air rifle over 20 joules, then technically you should obtain either a licence de tir (easily done by joining a local pistol club, and some gunshops will even issue you with one) or a permis de chasse (more expensive and requires an exam), then you can fill out a declaration of ownership and send it off the the local Préfecture, who will rubber-stamp it. The Déclaration is for life, unless your licence lapses, in which case you should surrender the weapon or renew your licence.

 

If you buy a new firearm, the gunshop will do the déclaration for you, but you'll still need a gun licence.

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Woohoo! I'm off to Brittany next week to look at a house we hope to buy. My first priority is to get a TAC pistol from Germany, but once the novelty wears off it'll be club and rimfire time! Does the 20 joules rule apply to air pistols too? I reckon a falcon/brocock pcp running at that would be a hoot, albeit short lived between charges!

Fortunately my rifle is adjustable so I can make the most of it when in France.

 

I may be a little overexcited!

 

The limit for air pistols without a gun licence is also 20 joules, although you don't see many for sale at that power rating. They (and air rifles) are classified as Category D firearms, so you just need to be over 18 to buy one like this:

 

http://www.arprotech.com/shop/zoraki-hp-01-ultra-5-5mm-15-30-joules.html

 

Category D covers various firearms, plus air weapons between 2 and 20 joules. h) Armes et lanceurs dont le projectile est propulsé de manière non pyrotechnique avec une énergie à la bouche comprise entre 2 et 20 joules

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think after reading all that thread the news is yes get a permit tir after joining a gun club then you can target shoot on your own land if its big enough, sit the chasse exam if you want to hunt anything if thats whats needed ie pest control feeding yer face and finally no night hunting silencers or hunting lights on you or the gun anything else i should know? thanks in advance

 

You got it. Don't be nervous about joining your local club, most pistol clubs I've been to have plenty of British ex-pats enjoying the freedom to own and shoot pistols. The French members also tend to welcome anyone who shoots, no matter where they're from.

Link to post

It's probably bad form to resurrect an old thread, but this thread provided me with much info and sobering tales. I'm living in Brittany, and have a small plot of land with chickens and other animals. We've recently had a population of brown rats move in under the chicken coop, so many they were running around in the open in the early dusk. We've been removing all foodstuff and water, and trapping them, and they appear to have mostly gone away, except the occasional droppings are confirming that there are still some around. I don't like to have to drown them after they are trapped, and in any case they seem to have worked out the traps and can empty them without getting caught, so I investigated getting a rifle to shoot them instead.

 

I was told by the armurerie that I can do so with an air rifle, category D-2-h (sub 20J power), without a permit de chasse or a gun license, but after finding this thread I decided to investigate further. After much searching through the Legifrance site I couldn't find any reference to a ban on hunting with air rifles, so I contacted the local Mairie, the Prefecture, and finally the ONCFS (Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage). I was put through to my local Environmental Officer, who confirmed that rats fall into a category of pests ("nuisible") which are outside of the regulations for hunting, and they can be hunted with any method at any time, though he asked me not to use poison outside to avoid secondary poisoning (not clear if this is the actual law, or his personal policy). If you choose to hunt them with a category C or D-1 weapon, then obviously you must hold the appropriate licenses for the possession of these weapons, but he specifically confirmed that I can use a category D-2-h rifle, with a silencer, and with a night sight, at any time of the day or night, as long as I only shoot rats and similar pests (brown rats, black rats, field mice, house mice). If I shoot anything else that is not in this category of pest, even by accident, then I will have broken the law. I can't, for example, use the rifle to despatch a chicken or goose.

 

I'm still hunting through the Legifrance site to find the actual laws pertaining to this, but in the meantime thought I would share the above, and order a Benjamin Discovery.......

 

Interesting. The French airgunning forum I belong to is absolutely adamant that air rifles may not be used on any live quarry, even though I also have never found any reference to this in the published hunting legislation. My local gunsmith, however, will happily sell you a Weihrauch springer while saying "this one's brilliant for shooting rats!" :laugh:

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I too was under the impression that you could not shoot any live animal using an air rifle. So much so that I have hardly used it in almost four years except to ahem, accidentally 'deter' a coypu :whistling: on the farm pond where we used to rent a cottage. Contrary to mapletree's advice above, I found that the 14 ft/lb (19joule) .177 wasn't man enough to 'deter' the coypu no matter how many times it strayed into my line of fire. Shame that coypu aren't classed as nuisibles or I might have invested in a .22 rimfire. The Pros Sport won't really go much further than 19 Joules as far as I know.

 

 

Coypu is most definitely classified as nuisible, and as far as I'm aware that applies to the entire country. Also classified in my department are magpies, starlings, rabbits (in some communes only), muskrat, fox, American Mink and Raccoon (I shît you not). Stone martens may also be destroyed within 200 metres of human habitation or aviaries/chicken coops. If you search on the website of your local Préfecture for "nuisible", you should find a list of pest species, and/or a timetable detailing what can be shot when (rabbits etc. have a season). I have downloaded a PDF file showing pest species for this department, but I can't find a way to attach it to this post. PM me with your email address if you're interested in seeing the file.

 

A 13 fpe .177 air rifle will drop medium-sized coypus if you get your shot placement spot-on, out to about 25 yards, in my experience. Beyond that, I use a 16 fpe .22 air rifle or a silenced 22LR. Just behind the eye does the trick. ;)

 

Oh yes, I also shoot sick chickens with an air pistol, since the "humane" alternative proposed by the French neighbours is to hang 'em upside down and slit their throats... :icon_eek:

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