Changes To French Gun Laws

[Murphydog 30]

 

 

 

How are you settling in CharlesC? We are moving over to Brittany in 3 weeks time and I'm looking forward to getting settled and joining a local club.

We've been in France since last July and loving every second. I'm not sure what type of shooting I want to do, don't think it will be airguns as my speciality was HFT and that became too much physically for me, and anyway there doesn't seem to be any of that locally. Joining a 'chasse' might be a problem with my limited French, so it looks like target shooting with .22lr rifle, something I've done in the past, or pistol speed shooting, quite fancy that.

Hope your move goes well and you enjoy your time here as much as we do.

The club at Vire has rotating targets for speed-shooting. Take advantage of the laws over here, and get yourself a .22 for pests, and a handgun for fun!

Sounds like a plan. ☺

A very good plan.

[BigB 7]

CoypuHunter

 

Thanks for posting this info, I looked in to it all about 9 years ago as I wanted an air rifle but gave up as the limits were so low. The owner of the local gun shop even stated it was easier to buy a .22 rim fire or shot gun and I could walk out of the shop that day with one.

 

I dealt with my mini Coypu invasion by trapping them, the owner of the traps and 2 neighbours had them for the pot! Yes it is true the French will eat anything

 

As a side note for those comming to France I found it is easy to get .177 pelllets but .22 are a bit sparcer, when I bought my gun non of the shops had anything but .177 but a 7.5ft/lbs it makes a bit of sense.

 

I have 14 hectares of farm land and woodland for my projects, one of which is a 40m indoor range being able to get something with some more power will reduce the need for a lot of holdover!

 

If your ever over this way stop by for a cupper, I am located on the junction of departments 36,37 and 41 or centrally between Tours, Blois and Chateauroux.

 

Again Big thanks for the post.

 

 

[BigB 7]

CharlesC

 

I was timid about joining a club but found that the "comman interest" knocked down so many barriers, just be very polite a and it'll go far. It will help to improve your French and you'll find people will help you which isn't what happens in day to day life when you can't speak great French.

[rms3205 4]

Hello.....newbie here.

 

Having read this forum, and wishing to take an air rifle down to the Vendée, I contacted Brittany Ferries to inform them of this.

 

I just had an email from the operations manager.......

 

'Thank you for advising us of your intention to take an air rifle with

you on your crossing on 15th June 2015 from Portsmouth to St Malo.

We will complete the relevant declaration for the UK & French

authorities.

Please note that the authorities in St Malo insist that you have either

an invitation to an organised shooting event or a letter from the local

Mayor of where you will be staying, giving you permission to bring your

air rifle with you.

If you can please forward us a copy of an invitation or letter from the

Mayor, we will forward it to the St Malo Authorities.

Without one of the above you will not be allowed to take your air rifle

with you.

For information, it is only St Malo that insists on this extra

documentation, our other French ports would not require anything extra'.

I only wanted to take it to sort out the local Coypus, which are an absolute pest where we live.....

Submitted for the information of other users....

[Coypu Hunter 486]

CoypuHunter

 

Thanks for posting this info, I looked in to it all about 9 years ago as I wanted an air rifle but gave up as the limits were so low. The owner of the local gun shop even stated it was easier to buy a .22 rim fire or shot gun and I could walk out of the shop that day with one.

 

If your ever over this way stop by for a cupper, I am located on the junction of departments 36,37 and 41 or centrally between Tours, Blois and Chateauroux.

 

Again Big thanks for the post.

 

 

 

Put the kettle on...

 

Hello.....newbie here.

 

Having read this forum, and wishing to take an air rifle down to the Vendée, I contacted Brittany Ferries to inform them of this.

 

I just had an email from the operations manager.......

 

'Thank you for advising us of your intention to take an air rifle with

you on your crossing on 15th June 2015 from Portsmouth to St Malo.

 

We will complete the relevant declaration for the UK & French

authorities.

 

Please note that the authorities in St Malo insist that you have either

an invitation to an organised shooting event or a letter from the local

Mayor of where you will be staying, giving you permission to bring your

air rifle with you.

 

If you can please forward us a copy of an invitation or letter from the

Mayor, we will forward it to the St Malo Authorities.

Without one of the above you will not be allowed to take your air rifle

with you.

 

For information, it is only St Malo that insists on this extra

documentation, our other French ports would not require anything extra'.

 

I only wanted to take it to sort out the local Coypus, which are an absolute pest where we live.....

 

Submitted for the information of other users....

 

 

 

That's the first time I've ever heard that! I'm not even sure it's legal, under EU law...

 

I'd take the ferry to Caen, and take the A84 motorway south -- it'll only add an hour and a bit to you journey.

 

Or just buy a 16 fpe air rifle locally, and keep it there -- the missus will understand!

Edited May 6, 2015 by Coypu Hunter

[rms3205 4]

The net is such a wonderful place for information..... copy of my email to Portsmouth Operations managers.....watch this space...

 

'I have discussed the stance taken by the St Malo authorities regarding restrictions placed on the free movement of air weapons with members of a gun club here in the UK.

I have been advised that the restrictions St Malo port authorities have in place appear to contravene European Law, specifically, DIRECTIVE 2004/38/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 29 April 2004 on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States.

As such, I will be contacting my MEP, Andrew Bons in relation to this matter.

I would therefore be grateful if you would please forward me any documentation you have been provided by the St Malo authorities, which include the restrictions they have in place regarding air weapons.

Kind regards'...........lets see if anything happens!

[Adrian Kenny 64]

Interesting!

[BigB 7]

rms3205

 

Seems very strange at St Malo, very French!

 

Please remember that hunt anything with an air powered weapon in France is illegal, but you can use a bow or cross bow as that isn't

[BigB 7]

Coypuhunter

 

The kettle is boiling, bring a rifle I may have an HFT course soon!

[Coypu Hunter 486]

rms3205

 

Seems very strange at St Malo, very French!

 

Please remember that hunt anything with an air powered weapon in France is illegal, but you can use a bow or cross bow as that isn't

 

My neighbours shoot anything and everything with air rifles. Also very French... Just don't get caught!

 

Coypuhunter

 

The kettle is boiling, bring a rifle I may have an HFT course soon!

 

Cool! What's first prize?

[BigB 7]

Coypu Hunter

Score more than 50 points and I won't charge you for the cuppa

[Coypu Hunter 486]

Coypu Hunter

Score more than 50 points and I won't charge you for the cuppa

 

Right, I'll pack the shotgun...

[charkazulu 0]

Hi Coypu Hunter,
The info I going to give you now might just save you a small fortune in fines and believe me a lot of grief. To hunt any and I mean any animal in France you need a permis de chasse, a licence de tir will not suffice, even if the pest is on your own land. You also need chasse insurance. As I have found out today even foxes have a closed season, believe it or not. No shooting at night, no torches of any kind, electronic calls of any kind. No silencers to be used when hunting. Also please tell all your readers not to have these items on them, if they are out hunting, just having them on you is enough to convict you. Trust me it is going to cost me very dear. I have no idea how you stand shooting any animal with an airgun, but as I showed your advice which I printed off to the Chasse Police in my own defence. And I assure you, if the law has changed. They don’t know it.
. On my land is a few very well used game trails, used by just about every animal in the area. I live in the middle of a wooded area, which is part of a forest on one side there is a meadow. Which is where I built the high seat, right on game trail. As I like to observe wildlife now days rather then shoot it. I installed 2 game cameras to film what wildlife frequents that area. I also installed a small game feeder to feed the birds and red squirrels that I have abundance of. On purpose, I do not put a lot of food down, As what is left by the birds is then eaten by the wild boar, a lot of them sometimes. I was up a high seat on my own land and my intended target was a fox that had just a few days previous had taken the last of my chickens. I was armed with my .243 win Remington with a silencer attached. In my shooting bag was Knives, electronic call, binos, and red and green torches for night use, so not allowed. All these I had before I came to France for deer stalking and a hell of a lot of fox control. Most of which you can buy from any French shooting mags or web sites, but cant use. The chasse police arrested me, just after 9pm before dark and my gun, scope and the contents of my bag seized. I have been to a formal interview today and have be charged with I believe 4 or 5 charges, as of yet till I get the charges and a court date. But permis de chasse and no insurance are defiantly on the list. Trust me on this, if you do not have these documents you are nicked. Ignorance is no excuse in the eyes of the law. I have a licence de tir which covers me for target use even in my own garden for all my rifles except the autos and pistols, but then I am very remote. So please lads before you do any hunting or what we would call pest control. Go to the chase police and ask them. As I found out today they do have interpreters to help and are helpful as long as its before the act and not after. My shooting club is very friendly although no one really speaks any English and it doesn’t really help, I am deaf as a post. But I am sure they will make you very welcome, no mater what part of France you are in, after all we all share a common interest, and for the most part really good people.

[Coypu Hunter 486]

Hi charkazulu.

 

Sorry to hear about your experience. I've heard many stories from different people about how hunting is policed in France, some good, some bad. It does seem to vary a lot from area to area.

 

The general rules, as have been stated on here several times by me and others, are straightforward. Hunting with air rifles is not permitted in France, even for pest control. The use of silencers is not permitted for hunting in most areas, although I do know of one or two areas where it has been allowed recently to control the local coypu population. Hunting at night is not permitted.

 

As mentioned previously, if you want to hunt, you need a permis de chasse, which costs around 150 Euros per year and involves a written and practical exam (gun handling, etc.). To simply own a gun, you just need a licence de tir, which costs 65 Euros this year, if memory serves, plus membership fees of an accredited shooting club.

 

Given the number of unlicensed firearms in rural France, you'd think they'd have better things to do than persecute responsible shooters who are trying to control the fox population...

[peter the eater 0]

Thanks for the incredibly useful info on the legality of the ownership & use of air rifles in France. I along with my wife have lived in the Limousin for nearly 9 years in an old mill set in 17 acres of land of which 6 acres are a lake. We have not surprisingly always had a problem with ragondin (coypu) which until recently I was able to control with the use of a loaned (illegally) .22 hunting rifle from a French friend. Unfortunately I have had to return the gun as his son has a cormorant problem on his lake - yes the black plague is as big a problem for fishery owners in France as in the U.K.

If I understand you correctly I can purchase from a French gunshop an air rifle up to 20 joules but as pest control (ie coypu) is still banned I would, if asked, have to state that it's intended use was for target practice.

I assume from your alias that you are a keen hunter of coypu and as such could you give me some guidance with regard to a suitable air rifle/ammo for shooting such animals. I am also assuming that a gun of 20 joules would be powerful enough particularly as I am normally able to get within 20 - 40 yards of them. I would also require a suitable telescopic sight as even though the distances are not great I am not exactly a professional sniper. I was told that night sights on guns in France were illegal - is this so? Cost is no particular object as I would prefer to pay a little more rather than get a pile of crap.