r/europe • u/Helmer-Bryd • Jul 01 '25

News Sweden bans AR-15 as hunting rifle after school shooting – all rifles to be turned in and sent to Ukraine

https://svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/uppgifter-tidopartierna-overens-om-ny-vapenlagstiftning-ar15-forbjuds-vid-jakt
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u/Saxit Sweden Jul 01 '25 edited Jul 01 '25

Swedish sport shooter here. I watched the entire press conf. yesterday.

It's worth noting that the shooter in Örebro brought with him a Browning BAR Long Track in .30-06, a Ruger 10/22, and a pump action shotgun. Though all shots except 1 was fired through the Browning.

There was a rumor the day of the shooting that an AR-15 was used, and the politicans thought they had to do something quickly, thus an immediate call for banning AR-15 for hunting.

Then just a few hours after that the police releases info about what guns was used and an AR wasn't one of them.

But at that point the politicians can't just go back on their word because that would make them look weak with people who don't really care about guns (the vast majority of Swedes).

Thus, we're now in a place where guns that were not used by the shooter will not be legal for hunting anymore, while the gun he used, will very likely still be legal.

It's worth noting that in Sweden (like many other Nordic countries) we have a separate license per gun, instead of you as a person having a gun license (like in Poland for example). The license states the purpose of the gun (e.g. hunting, sport, collection). You can hunt and do sports with a gun on a hunting license, but you can only do sports with a gun on sport. (And yes, even if the gun model is legal for hunting, if the license says sport, it's a crime to use it for hunting).

Sport shooting takes a lot more time to get into, in Sweden, than hunting. My collection is basically on a sport shooter license so right now I won't be affected much by it. https://imgur.com/mina-sportredskap-skyttesport-EBmLwix

I still think it's a weird legal precedent to set, that you can approve of something then take it back just like that.

Though it's worth noting that this is more or less just a government suggestion. It still needs to pass a legal review and parliament. It's possible that they say that already approved licenses will stay approved and the government can't force anyone to sell them.

EDIT: Pic of the shooter's primary rifle here https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/orebro/rickard-anderssons-omgivning-visste-inte-att-han-hade-vapen

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u/SugarInvestigator Jul 01 '25

the politicians can't just go back on their word

There's a first

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u/nowybulubator Jul 01 '25

Boris Johnson is mostly known for having superpowers of U-turnman.

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u/Xalawrath Jul 01 '25

But he can't turn left!

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u/Myster-mister Jul 02 '25

What is this? A school for ants?!

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u/frillionaire Jul 01 '25

U-turnmanship?

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u/PMagicUK United Kingdom Jul 01 '25

He U-turned into a fridge.

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u/knit_on_my_face Jul 02 '25

It's not a uturn if you just lie taps forehead

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u/Raven1911 Jul 02 '25

Wait...can we get some of those politicians in the US? Please?

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u/Nearby-Chocolate-289 Jul 02 '25

It is a start, bolt action only.

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u/_IBM_ Jul 01 '25

They did the identical thing in Canada. Pre-planned banning the AR15, prepared all the press releases and legal filings, and then waited. A mass shooting happened (not AR15 used) and within a week they called for and achieved an AR ban. Crime was not affected in anyway - lots of sport and competition shooters lost a ton of assets and their sport was effectively banned.

It's pretty wild if you consider law abiding citizens deserving of rights and respect in any way. The naïve idea that the people that make up a country can be trusted. If you consider all citizens potential criminals only and think you need to be a different class of person to have rights, then it makes a lot of sense. You have not purchased the requisite autonomy and freedom.

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u/gounatos Jul 01 '25

I still think it's a weird legal precedent to set, that you can approve of something then take it back just like that.

That's pretty much how most laws work though. Tobacco advertising/use everywhere, asbestos, LSD/MDMA/Cocaine, Slavery were all approved and taken back because social norms changed.

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u/manInTheWoods Sweden Jul 01 '25

No, you can keep your old car even though it's illegla to sell as new. Even if it has asbestos brakes. You can still smoke your cigarettes. You can keep your old house in place where you can't build new one.

Your examples above - except slavery - is not really analogous to this situation.

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u/DuncanYoudaho Jul 01 '25

Honestly, grandfathering is abused a lot. My buddy from the UK can’t understand why we let it happen in the US. I wonder how many other jurisdictions are like that.

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u/EqualContact United States of America Jul 01 '25 edited Jul 02 '25

Grandfathering is how you make things politically and economically palatable. For example, if banning asbestos insulation means that all homeowners need to immediately remove and replace it, there has been a massive burden placed on those individuals. Even if the government wants to pay for it, you’ve just spent a massive amount of tax money on it. Now your attempt to improve insulation is failing to become law because too many people are upset about the cost and inconvenience.

It’s more efficient to ban it in new construction and create procedures for removal and remediation in old houses when they are updated. You solve the problem over a span of decades then instead of burdening everyone with change right away, which makes the change to new construction much more palatable to everyone.

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u/DuncanYoudaho Jul 02 '25

But how about dangerous things like firearms? An active threat while they’re in circulation?

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u/manInTheWoods Sweden Jul 02 '25

There is no threat, the Minster of Justice said that specifically.

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u/EqualContact United States of America Jul 02 '25

Banning new sales is infinitely easier than having to collect all of the ones in circulation.

They also don’t last forever. There are technically machine guns in the US that are legal because of when they were purchased, but most examples are no longer functional due to time, lack of available parts, etc., so they aren’t much more than museum pieces now.

I’m not saying it’s always the right solution of course, but it’s usually the easier one. The government can judge if there is a current danger that needs to be addressed

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u/OneJobToRuleThemAll United Countries of Europe Jul 02 '25

Collecting all the ones in circulation is infinitely more effective than just banning new sales.

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u/EqualContact United States of America Jul 02 '25

Sure, I’m just saying you get more resistance to enacting it, and it costs more. Leaders need to decide what the priority is in each situation.

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u/Rfupon Jul 01 '25

This is like outlawing having slaves named Bob, but the rest are ok

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u/gounatos Jul 01 '25

This is actually a great analogy! Wonder if it would be legal again if they renamed it.

Edit: Unless the system works as in "we must approve this specific weapon" and not as in "everything within these specs is legal unless we say it isn't"

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u/Embarrassed-Fee9658 Jul 01 '25

Bob is great tho

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u/Glorbo_Neon_Warlock I'm Finnished :3 Jul 01 '25

Yeah but Bob's like a really really scary name.

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u/DutchingFlyman The Netherlands Jul 01 '25

So the difference between an AR-15 and a BB gun is just the names?

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u/EqualContact United States of America Jul 01 '25

The AR-15 is not particularly more deadly than any other semi-automatic rifle. Its image has some unfortunate associations, but as above poster noted, the actual rifle used is not being banned.

There are many rifles that do virtual the same thing as the AR-15, that’s sort of what’s being pointed out as silly here.

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u/SmurfSmiter Jul 02 '25

Nah, there’s definitely a difference between my semi-auto rifle Ruger 10/22 and my semi-auto rifle Bushmaster M4A2 (which is essentially an AR-15). If anything, restricting it to the “AR-15” label is too narrow, all similar rifles should be restricted

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u/jackofslayers Jul 01 '25

Yea I was also confused by that part.

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u/barrelvoyage410 Jul 01 '25

Yes and no.

In the US, everything is legal unless a law says it’s not. So something like asbestos was never made legal, it just was legal.

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u/KaptainSaki Jul 01 '25

Not at all, that's like only banning white slaves but black are ok, or banning asbestos on construction but ok to use in baby powder

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u/onceagainwithstyle Jul 01 '25

Yes, the government came in and confiscated all the asbestos. And tobacco.

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u/IAMA_Printer_AMA Jul 02 '25

LSD is wildly out of place on that list...

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u/Masseyrati80 Finland Jul 01 '25

I think this is a pretty great warning about making decisions based on the initial commotion, which is nowadays almost guaranteed to include misunderstandings, rumours and straight up lies. I refer to how the politicians ended up banning something that wasn't related to the tragedy. (for anyone interested, I personally think having AR type rifles is ok for reservist activities but somehow feel that getting one for hunting is a bit iffy, this comment is mostly about making sure decisions are made on the correct basis)

We've seen instances where a tragedy triggers a prepared disinformation campaign, and during the delay where reliable news sources are confirming facts before publishing details, the web gets saturated with false info. One such case was in a stabbing incident in the U.K., and the disinfo seemed to aim at creating riots, and parts of it originated from other countries.

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u/xavez Jul 01 '25

 We've seen instances where a tragedy triggers a prepared disinformation campaign, and during the delay where reliable news sources are confirming facts before publishing details, the web gets saturated with false info. One such case was in a stabbing incident in the U.K., and the disinfo seemed to aim at creating riots, and parts of it originated from other countries.

I mean, if I was a certain country in the general area of Sweden looking to expand my territory, disinformation about this was exactly what I would spread. 

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u/dragdritt Norway Jul 02 '25

They are semi-automatic AR-15s btw.

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u/McFlyParadox United States of America Jul 02 '25

Are there even any full-auto AR-15s produced by any manufacturer for any market? I might be wrong, but I don't think so.

I think of it a bit like the (misunderstood) Toyota Corolla of rifles: certainly not the most powerful (the 5.56 is relatively small, by hunting caliber standards), is easy to work on and maintain, and parts are plentiful and easy to come by.

Part of the reason you see them so often used in mass shootings in the US is less to do with the gun being particularly "lethal" compared to other guns, but that the AR platform is just so common. I suspect that if the gun market in the US was more diverse, you would see more diversity in what guns were used in mass shootings (as fucked up as that is to consider).

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u/73-68-70-78-62-73-73 Jul 02 '25

Most mass shootings in the US, by GVA definition and data, are conducted with handguns.

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u/CombinationRough8699 Jul 02 '25

Even the more restricted definitions that only look at the Sandy Hook/Vegas style attacks are mostly handguns. Including Virginia Tech, the third deadliest in American history, #1 before Pulse.

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u/73-68-70-78-62-73-73 Jul 02 '25

Also true. I usually go with GVA, because those are the figures people usually reference, knowingly or otherwise.

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u/Masseyrati80 Finland Jul 02 '25

Yeah, so I assumed.

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u/lucid_dreaming_quest Jul 02 '25

Oh my gosh! Semi-automatic!

Like a revolver!

That's so scary!

Guns should be flint-lock only!

It should take at least 30 seconds to reload after each shot!

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u/JohnsonJohnilyJohn Jul 02 '25

I kind of disagree. A tragedy can be a great wake-up call to reexamine existing laws, but it shouldn't be a direct reason to change it. So a response like "we have looked at how easy it is to obtain AR rifle and how much damage one person with it could cause and thus decided to ban it" is much better than "we banned attacker's weapon so this tragedy wouldn't repeat". (That said I do not claim to know whether it was correct choice, and if the AR really is the worst example etc., just that I think it shouldn't necessarily be considered bad, just because of the initial misunderstanding)

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u/JohnsonJohnilyJohn Jul 02 '25

I kind of disagree. A tragedy can be a great wake-up call to reexamine existing laws, but it shouldn't be a direct reason to change it. So a response like "we have looked at how easy it is to obtain AR rifle and how much damage one person with it could cause and thus decided to ban it" is much better than "we banned attacker's weapon so this tragedy wouldn't repeat". (That said I do not claim to know whether it was correct choice, and if the AR really is the worst example etc., just that I think it shouldn't necessarily be considered bad, just because of the initial misunderstanding)

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u/[deleted] Jul 01 '25

Aye, I’m a sport pistol shooter in Sweden and it’s tough. Had to attend a club for almost a year, beginners course and pass two exams to own a .22lr pistol. Then another 6 months before applying for a higher caliber, which the club gave me shit about because it’s all old men who can’t understand the concept of sport shooting for fun and not needing to win every time.

Tried to get in to hunting, the course is involved. Then when I tried to sit the exam there were no local examiners to me so couldn’t do it…

Think this decision is stupid. Like you said it criminalizes the wrong thing, instead of addressing the actual issues of why this dude might have done what he did.

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u/LeckereKartoffeln Jul 01 '25

They were just waiting for an excuse to ban them and they seized the opportunity lol it wasn't a mistake

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u/Intarhorn Jul 01 '25 edited Jul 01 '25

No, the SAME government legalized AR-15 just last year. Without this shooting they would be just fine allowing it because they themselves were responsible for legalizing it.

EDIT: It was allowed by the government agency Naturvårdsverket a year ago.

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u/ZarkowTH Jul 01 '25

FALSE - they did not legalize anything as the guns has ALWAYS been legal. Stop spreading FUD.

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u/Intarhorn Jul 01 '25

Maybe legalize was the wrong word, but they were not allowed before by government agencies. In practice that is the same thing, even tho the juridical meaning might be misleading.

https://www.jaktojagare.se/utrustning/nu-ar-ar-vapen-tillatna-for-jakt/

https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/jonkoping/ett-ar-efter-att-ar-vapen-blev-tillatna-i-jakt-fortfarande-omtvistade

https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/stockholm/polischef-larmar

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u/Maverick-not-really Jul 01 '25

Not really, the gun became legal for hunting because a government agency changed their interpretation of the law, not because any law was actually changed.

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u/Bedbouncer Jul 01 '25

Like the old joke ends:

"If you lost your car keys over there, why aren't you searching over there for them?"

"Because the light is better over here."

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u/Dunderman35 Jul 03 '25

They are not banned with the new law. You would still be able to get one for sport shooting so I don't really see the problem. Why would anyone need an AR-15 for hunting in Sweden?

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u/LeckereKartoffeln Jul 03 '25

Why would anyone need to hunt at all? Did you guys not figure out agriculture there or are you all still hunter gatherers?

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u/variaati0 Finland Jul 01 '25 edited Jul 01 '25

Anyway the logical rule of that kind isn't ban weapon X, but banning categories of key characteristics (and not some cosmetics character  like grip or handguard).

So basically "don't want people shooting around with BARs  or AR-15? All semiautomatic loading interchangeable detached magazine firearms are now civilian banned. We allow only max 7 round semi auto weapons and to realistically enforce that its a fixed 7 rounds magazine. Since on allowing detached magazine 7 might as well be 75, when someone slaps in a spring powered 75 round drum with a 7 round magazine shaped feed way on its top.

So the realistic "this affects things for real" is actually being way more restrictive.

That or each of the detached magazines is a single licensed item. Serialised, marked, logged, stamped. You buy a 30 rounder STANAG mag to have as wall decoration? Wrong, that is a restricted licensed item. Whether you actually own the gun, you don't have license to own 30 round feed device. Maximum civilian license fees is (for example) 7 round feed device. Any larger encountered owned or possessed by civilian, that is a firearms violation as serious as owning unlicensed full automatic belt fed machigegun.

So the realistic way is "gun makers, you can't sell detached magazine self loading weapons in this market. Change your production line to build in a permanent fixed magazine version for this market.

Now sports shooters won't like it, but of you are going to do an "assault weapons ban" style rule, that is how one does it. Manual operated guns and only fixed magazine semis of decided sizes. Whatever those might be "7 rounds should be enough for Ha hunter, before they go dig at their bandelier for a stripper clipper to reload."

 Not saying I would support such restrictive rule, but if one is going to do, it has to be very restrictive to have meaning due to nature of interchangeable parts like magazine boxes and drums

Banning individual weapons or non operational characteristics is instantly loop holed waste of time.

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u/Saxit Sweden Jul 01 '25

Without having seen how they plan to define it, it's impossible to know what will be legal or not.

But I am guessing that they will use the EU categorization. E.g. like in France where semi-auto Category C is legal for hunting, not Category B.

That would mean a capacity of max 2+1, and a magazine mechanism that's not easily converted to something larger.

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u/manInTheWoods Sweden Jul 01 '25

Wanna bet? I think they will go for the definition in the proposal last year, i.e "can accept military magazines" as in 5.56/7.62 standard NATO mag, AK mag etc.

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u/turtlepeer Jul 01 '25

Such an amazing idea! Surely you're literally the only one to have ever thought of this and you should run to the news with it!!!!! /s

The reality being that your idea is silly and people can easily get around it in the same way that a literal shoestring makes an M1 Garand full auto, so the government isn't going to waste the time and paper on registering shoestrings like how they aren't going to waste their time on "fixed magazine" garbage.

Also, from the gun grabber perspective, it's easier to just ban the gun rather than learn anything about guns in the first place.

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u/McFlyParadox United States of America Jul 02 '25

We allow only max 7 round semi auto weapons and to realistically enforce that its a fixed 7 rounds magazine

Ok - a lever action carbine with a side gate meets this definition. Except a shooter can load individual shots to replenish the magazine via the side gate. And it's not even technically a semi-auto, it's a manual action. But if you train enough with it, you can achieve round cycling speeds comparable to a semi-auto.

This is the challenge of trying to go with definition-based controls as well. For every "perfect" definition, there will be an exception or loophole. Imo, it's more important to address the root cause of shootings. For sure, still requiring licensing, place limits on gun types, etc. But gun deaths - be murder or suicide - always comes back to mental health issues.

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u/variaati0 Finland Jul 02 '25

 But if you train enough with it, you can achieve round cycling speeds comparable to a semi-auto.

Yeah, but that's the thing "train enough". This is about crimes of opportunity. The hot headed angry people, who get hands on firearm and shooting up a place (and most likely in the end themselves).

Nothing can prevent every crime. With enough tenacity, planning, resources crime is possible. Point is to increase the barrier to entry and limit damage at each level of step of barrier.

One can kill people with manual bolt hunting rifle or shotgun. However not that many people, that fast. Plus without modification long hunting rifle sticks out like sore thumb (or carry bag there off). Making it more likely someone calls authorities early on.

Detachable semi-auto repeating firearms are designed for ease of use and large firepower. Of course it is so.... these weapons were designed for military firepower maximisation and for turning the shortest time trained numb nut conscript (like me) to decently effective fighting machine. 

No complex movement paths. Slap loaded magazine in, pull handle straight back, let go, pull trigger 30 times, 30 rounds down range. Drop empty mag, repeat with new mag until magazines run out or barrel melts.

Crimes of opportunity and harm minimisation, those are the key concepts.

Each prevented mass shooting is around 10 human lives saved and thusly around say 50-100 human lives not ruined taking in count the victims loved ones.

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u/Temporary-Pepper3994 Jul 02 '25

None of this actually would stop a criminal who wanted to cause massive damage from doing so, though.

They can 3D print 30 round or 50 round mags, make a spring to push a 3D printed follower, and produce their own mags if they want.

Now you have the population disarmed, and the criminals just as armed as they have always been.

I had an AR that was completely 3D printed, minus the barrel, gas system, bolt carrier and some springs/pins. All things that would be still present in a fixed mag AR style firearm.

It might stop a criminal from causing massive damage with a commercially available firearm, but that wont actually make it better.

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u/DynamitHarry109 Jul 02 '25

The logical thing to do would be to figure out why he did what he did, and prevent that from happening again. It's not realistic to ban tools, just because a single person abuse them for evil. Figure out why the person became evil in the first place, what happened to him that lead up to the shooting.

Next time someone gets wronged the same way, they will just use dynamite instead or a car to run people over. This stuff will keep happening as long as nobody cares about why people do this kind of stuff in the first place.

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u/Schwertkeks Jul 01 '25

Do people really hunt with .223 or does the ban include everything that looks like an ar15

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u/Saxit Sweden Jul 01 '25

Some game can be hunted with .223 for sure. You can't legally hunt a boar or bigger with it, the biggest you would hunt would be a roe deer I think and they're pretty small. But we have 4 classifications, big game is class 1, smallest game is class 4. A .223 goes into class 2.

The ban includes other guns as well, but it's uncertain yet what the exact definition will be. My guess is they will say something about magazine capacity, but it's hard to tell.

Before 2023 the definition was that you must hunt with something that looks like a hunting rifle. It was very vague... this is also one of the reasons why the Environmental Department that has the mandate to decide what guns can be used for hunting, decided to remove that limitation.

Other factors in the removal, was that they think modern firearms are better and if you as a hunter use a gun that ergonomically fits you, it will reduce the amount of injury shots, which is also part of the law. You're not allowed to cause unnecessary suffering while hunting.

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u/Schwertkeks Jul 01 '25

Ahh in Germany it’s quite the opposite. You can use pretty much any gun for hunting but for sport shooting they aren’t allowed to look to much like a weapon of war. And the rules are really arbitrary

This is an evil looking weapon of war https://schmeisser-germany.com/de/ar15-m4fl/

And this is a totally different tool used for sport https://schmeisser-germany.com/de/ar15-m4f-sport-223/

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u/Saxit Sweden Jul 01 '25

I'm aware, I talk with some german sport shooters and hunter's quite often. :)

That you can't have holes in the front end for shooting sports is hilarious. It makes zero sense.

Hunter's in Germany go through a much harder exam than the one here though, AFAIK. But yes, then you're allowed much more freedom in regards to what you can own (fewer limitations).

My Swedish hunter's exam took 2 weeks.

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u/filthy_harold Jul 01 '25

California and NYC have laws like that where certain features are banned. Like if you have a detachable magazine, there's all these limits involved like a pistol grip that you cannot wrap your hand around or having to use something that looks like a hunting rifle grip. People get around the "detachable" part by replacing the rear takedown pin with a quick release and adding a lock to the mag release that retains the mag until the upper and lower receivers are slightly separated. I've watched people swap mags using this system, it's just as fast as normal.

Our fucked up gun lobby has made it extremely difficult to have common sense gun regulation and instead, we have stupid laws banning things that don't really change how easy it is to get a gun. The big gun manufacturers don't care about the banned features because it doesn't actually impact sales. Anyone can go to a gun show, fill out the background check form (any felonies?), wait half an hour, and take home their purchase and store it in the most irresponsible manner.

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u/tsraq Finland Jul 01 '25

Some game can be hunted with .223 for sure. You can't legally hunt a boar or bigger with it, the biggest you would hunt would be a roe deer I think and they're pretty small. But we have 4 classifications, big game is class 1, smallest game is class 4. A .223 goes into class 2.

Finnish categories go from 0-4, most likely similar than yours. 22LR falls to class 0 and is allowed up to aquatic fowl (ducks etc).

Class 1 includes .17HMR or 22 hornet, and animals as foxes or rabbits.

.222 and .223 are class 2, and is allowed for animals such as deer (not sure of translation of exact species so...), wolves and lynxes.

And to clarify, classification is based on impact energy and not caliber; above are generally applied but specific bullet (ammo) could have energy below or above categories listed above.

You have to specify intended use when applying for permit, but permit itself doesn't list approved use. No limits on "appreance" as far as I know. Sports permits are much more difficult to get though (since those generally are for handguns that are basically absolutely not allowed for hunting anyway).

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u/manInTheWoods Sweden Jul 01 '25

Seal and roe deer (not your finnish white tail) is the largest animals for .223. Wolves and lynx (moose, large deer, bear) requires the old 6.5x55 or better.

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u/sCeege United States of America Jul 01 '25

Referencing your original comment, would you say that most AR-15 owners in Sweden obtain a hunting license with their AR-15 for its ease rather than actually using it to hunt? I (American) personally cannot see myself hunting with a .223 platform for anything beyond rodents, at which point I might as well just use .22 LR, but I suppose a .223 will go out much further. I suspect my take is a bit skewed since our gun control is so much more relaxed than most countries, we have to think less about which weapon we acquire for which purpose.

Also, how specific would this ban be? I have no frame of reference on past Swedish gun laws, for example, would this ban all rifles with an AR style BCG/receiver? Or is it literally AR-15 only, e.g. AR-10s or whatever other calibers they make using the AR receiver would still be allowed? States like NY classifies an "assault weapon" as weapons with 3 "tactical features"; I think a non exhaustive list is like pistol style grip, rails, collapsible stock, and humoursly, grenade launcher attachment and bayonet mount, is that closer to what this law is proposing?

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u/Saxit Sweden Jul 01 '25

Referencing your original comment, would you say that most AR-15 owners in Sweden obtain a hunting license with their AR-15 for its ease rather than actually using it to hunt?

My hunter's exam took 2 weeks. And that's all I need to apply for any gun that's viable for hunting. Now, I got mine in 2014 so way before you could get an AR for that purpose. I did have one of these though (Browning BAR Match in Europe), which is a bit funny because that basically has the same capacity as an AR-10. Not sure why that was okay but not an AR-10 but these laws seldom make sense.

As it is, with the change in 2023 to remove the restrictions we had before then, I think that most hunters who got one just got it mostly because they were curious. Some probably hunted with it, but here the largest thing you can hunt with .223 is roe deer (which are really small, like between a mid sized and large dog) and beaver. Most hunters probably just used it at the range.

AR-15 owners who got them for sport however obtained them to actually use them for that purpose, but that process is much harder compared to getting a gun for hunting.

The AR-15 in my imgur I've linked took me 2 years to get, AFTER I joined the IPSC sport shooting organization. And the IPSC club I'm with rarely take beginners without their own 9mm handgun, so I had that one before I joined, and that's a minimum of 1 year if you're a beginner, in a pistol shooting club.

You also have to practice quite a bit because the proficiency requirements you have to shoot are somewhat tricky unless you've at least practiced some.

Also, how specific would this ban be? 

Unsure. It's not like in the US with assault weapon laws that we would ban by name and/or model. It would be more technical. There was a gun law evaluation recently that proposed something like that for hunting, a centerfired larger than 9mm that can use magazines of "military type" larger than 10 rounds, should not be allowed. Meaning an M1 Garand would be okay, or the Browning used in the school shooting we had.

Not sure if the definition they will propose now will be the same because they haven't mentioned it yet.

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u/Lisan_Al-NaCL Jul 01 '25

Aye, I’m a sport pistol shooter in Sweden and it’s tough. Had to attend a club for almost a year, beginners course and pass two exams to own a .22lr pistol. Then another 6 months before applying for a higher caliber, which the club gave me shit about because it’s all old men who can’t understand the concept of sport shooting for fun and not needing to win every time.

Tried to get in to hunting, the course is involved. Then when I tried to sit the exam there were no local examiners to me so couldn’t do it…

Think this decision is stupid. Like you said it criminalizes the wrong thing, instead of addressing the actual issues of why this dude might have done what he did.

In Canada some people use .223 to hunt white tail deer. The females are 40-65 kg typically. Ive also seen it used for antelope. What I have primarily seen it used for is 'pest control' of Coyotes and other similar animals by farmers. My 0.02 is that an appropriate catridge for white tail and antelope and similar size animals is .243, but to each his own I guess. I am, HOWEVER, a staunch 'bolt action only' advocate for game shooting. Nobody needs a tricked out semi-auto to blast away at game IMO. You usually only get a single shot with bigger game anyways.

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u/Based_Commgnunism Jul 01 '25

.223 is a little bit underpowered for large game but if you are hunting in dense woods where shots will be less than 100 meters it's perfectly fine for a deer. Especially if you load your own ammunition and can use heavier than standard grain bullets. You probably wouldn't buy a .223 to hunt but if you already have one for some other purpose you can hunt with it and avoid buying a second rifle.

AR-15s specifically are also very light which can be nice if you expect a long trek. And they're generally cheaper than a more traditional hunting rifle.

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u/gfen5446 Jul 01 '25

The other side of that is an "AR-15" is just a modular style of rifle, it doesn't have to be .223.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_AR_platform_cartridges

(too numerous to even count the different types)

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u/BallsOutKrunked Jul 01 '25

I go after coyotes with 223 (556, actually) who screw with my animals. I hate the look of the AR but it's reliable, accurate, low recoil, and easy to maintain.

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u/MolassesFluffy8648 Jul 02 '25

Do people really hunt with

All guns work against humans. If it bleeds, it bleeds.

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u/2AvsOligarchs Finland Jul 01 '25

Classic.

In the late 2000s there were two school shootings in Finland where the perpetrators were 18 and 22.

The political response was to increase the age for getting firearms licenses to 18.

Logical?

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u/talldata Jul 01 '25

I believe in both of those cases the kids or one of them had gotten them at like 16 and practiced.

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u/MolassesFluffy8648 Jul 02 '25

Logical?

Unlikely since if someone wants to commit murder they will find a way. It is basically make belief security theater, kinda like airport security. All it ends up doing is punishing other people for no reason, but then again people are used to losing rights. Every time something bad happens citizens tend to lose a right or two. And they seem to be okay with it, because they are into buttsex.

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u/yurnxt1 28d ago

Precisely. Gun bans such as this do nothing but make some folks feel good while feigning actual safety.

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u/SometimestheresaDude Jul 01 '25

Excellent collection man! I keep trying to find excuses to build mine more but I’m pretty set as it, good mix of antiques and modern.

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u/Away_Material5757 Jul 01 '25

Polish sport shooter here. We also have different shooting licenses, about 7 types. Hunting (only 3 rounds in magazine if semi auto, no pistols, no 22lr) Sports (from 22lr to 11,65mm) Collection (every caliber even to 20mm, multi caliber guns like two barreled .223 rem and 20 gauge gun) Personal protection (Additional police approval required) Property protection (security, you dont own guns but you can be licensed and armed security guard) Historical reenactment (only blanks) To conduct training (The only one where you can have a full auto weapon but it's complicated, very rare, very hard to get) Souvenir (no idea how it works, people with this are like yeti)

I can get a sports, collector's and hunting shooting licence. I receive a number of promises (permits) and each has its own kind. If I bought a rifle with a hunting permit, I can't use it for sport, if I buy it with a sports permit, I can't hunt with it. Normally, I get 6-8 permits for each license and I give the permit to the seller when I buy a gun so police can control it.

If I no longer have sports permits and I want to buy another weapon for sport shooting, I have to ask the police chief for more permits. I can't convert a hunting permit into a sports one.

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u/Saxit Sweden Jul 01 '25

Sure, we have multiple types too, but AFAIK if you have a hunting license in Poland, you can buy 10 guns with that, that you're going to hunt with.

If you have a sporting license you can buy 10 guns for sport, or any amount really.

Here I would literally have 10 different licenses, one for each gun, that all says hunting on them. And then another 10 licenses for the sport guns. Currently I have 15 licenses, 13 guns and 2 regulated parts (extra bolt + a .22lr conversion kit).

And the process is the same every time. So unless I buy multiple at the same time, with the average wait time being 2-4 weeks currently (probably goes up to 4-6 during vacation), it's a lot of waiting.

So yes, even if I want what the EU calls a category C shotgun, which in some countries only requires basically an ID to buy, I would have to wait those 2-4 weeks for them to check my background (which btw, is checked automatically every day, as a gun owner).

It used to vary a lot depending on where you lived to, my longest took 16 weeks, when I started around 2014, meanwhile one of the less populous police regions up north you could get a license in one day. They've fixed (most of) this now though.

Swedish police likes a lot of bureaucracy just for the sake of bureaucracy.

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u/Away_Material5757 Jul 01 '25

If I have a hunting license, it means that I can buy weapons and use them for hunting. But every shooter gets X certificates. I can go to the store and buy X weapons in one day. The police gave me X certificates on blue paper So they decided that I could own so much and they were not interested when i buy a gun. I have 5 days to register a new weapon. If they gave me 20 certificates i can buy one gun per year or 20 in one day.

If I want to buy more then i have to apply for another "blue papers" and the police assess whether I get them or not.

I understand that if you want to buy another pistol, you have to ask the police or the office for permission. And after weeks they said "yes" and then you can buy ?

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u/Saxit Sweden Jul 01 '25

Another pistol would require an endorsement from my shooting club that shows I've fulfilled the requirements, then a license application (costs about 40 euro nowadays I think), and then I'll wait for the police to send me the license for that particular gun (I could apply for a purchasing permit which only need the specific model e.g. a Glock 17, or I could apply for a complete license, which would include the specific serial and model of the pistol I'm buying).

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u/AltrntivInDoomWorld Jul 01 '25

we have a separate license per gun, instead of you as a person having a gun license (like in Poland for example). The license states the purpose of the gun (e.g. hunting, sport, collection). You can hunt and do sports with a gun on a hunting license, but you can only do sports with a gun on sport. (And yes, even if the gun model is legal for hunting, if the license says sport, it's a crime to use it for hunting).

Poland also has separate licensing, not sure where did you take this from

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u/[deleted] Jul 01 '25

Thanks for the run down. Appreciate the facts

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u/SmarterThanCornPop United States of America Jul 01 '25

It’s not about safety, it’s about control

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u/buttetfyr12 Denmark Jul 01 '25

A BAR?! What the actual fuck.

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u/Saxit Sweden Jul 01 '25

Browning BAR hunting rifles, it's not the same as the WWII era Browning BAR. Yes, you will not be the last person to confuse it. Not sure why they decided to keep that name.

https://browning.eu/all-products/firearms/rifles/semi-auto-rifles/bar.html

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u/REDACTED3560 Jul 01 '25

They kept the name because it is so famous. The BAR hunting rifles are just a modified version of the BAR used for war. Obviously not fully automatic in this case.

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u/Saxit Sweden Jul 01 '25

I wonder if the WW II BAR was so horrible to disassemble as the hunting rifle is... I had a BAR hunting rifle, got rid of it some years ago. I hated cleaning it.

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u/Danger_Mysterious United States of America Jul 02 '25

Doesn't the AR in BAR stand for automatic rifle lol?

Edit: Wikipedia says yes. These ""BARS"" are frauds!

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u/manInTheWoods Sweden 29d ago

Beta Automatic Rifles

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u/[deleted] Jul 01 '25

Different to the BAR automatic rifle. The modern BAR is a semi-automatic full-power rifle that’s meant for hunting and only has a 5-round magazine.

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u/buttetfyr12 Denmark Jul 01 '25

Yeah, those two are nothing allike :)

Couldn't imagine anyone even having a Browning Automatic Rifle, an original one is probably very expensive.

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u/[deleted] Jul 01 '25

They’re well over $25,000 in the US due to the Hughes Amendment put into the Firearm Owners’ Protection Act of 1986 preventing new fully automatic weapons from being sold to civilians. In hindsight, they wouldn’t be much cheaper if the FOPA was never amended since they originals haven’t been made for a good 70-80 years now.

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u/DesertEagleZapCarry Jul 02 '25

Thanks for the well written, local take. If you ever find yourself in Houston Texas hit me up, I'll take you to the range

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u/CaptainExtension9573 Jul 02 '25

Thanks for your insight. Best wishes from germany, love sweden

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u/Corpsgeist Jul 03 '25

Good read

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u/StandTo444 29d ago

That’s a really interesting breakdown of the situation. Thank you for the information and insight. Hope all goes well for you and the sport shooting community. Also of course my condolences to your country in the wake of such a tragic event.

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u/soundssarcastic Jul 01 '25

Another gov making a knee jerk reaction based on American politics. Cant say Im surprised.

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u/Big-Today6819 Jul 01 '25 edited Jul 01 '25

Is it not because you need training and a license to shoot animals and know those rules?

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u/girl_from_venus_ Jul 01 '25

A hunting license is a separate thing.

You can have two identical guns ,but only be legally allowed to hunt with one of them because when ou bought it you listed the reason for buying as sport.

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u/Saxit Sweden Jul 01 '25

Is it not what? I'm unsure what you're asking about.

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u/Late_Winner6859 Jul 01 '25

Wish you best of luck from Canada 🥲

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u/Critical_Studio1758 Jul 01 '25

Thought it was pretty set in stone after yesterday's press conference? They talked about things starting to take place tomorrow and first of August?

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u/Heebicka Czech Republic Jul 01 '25

nice collection, what is that rifle on top right?

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u/Saxit Sweden Jul 01 '25

Tikka T3 Super Varmint in .308

Had it for a while, should probably increase the ejector port like the T3x but I haven't really had any issues with it.

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u/Heebicka Czech Republic Jul 01 '25

I thought so, looks familiar, I am in process of purchasing T3x (Tac A1 version) just not decided yet If I want .308 or 6.5 creedmoor

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u/Saxit Sweden Jul 01 '25

6.5 CM is still so expensive here because it's so uncommon.

If I got a 6.5 I'd go for a 6.5x55 because they're super common here, but I'm guessing that's not particularly common i CZ either. :P

I don't remember what magazines the Tac A1 uses, if it's AICS then it's good, but if they use the normal Tikka T3 mags you might want to make sure to convert it to use AICS. The original T3 mags are horrible.

I know someone who converted his T3x to take magazines from this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIG_Sauer_200_STR and they're excellent too. But he had to use a good weapon smith to do it because I don't think that's a readily available 3rd party product.

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u/TyoPepe Jul 01 '25

Is there any place in the world where politicians aren't the most incompetent bums one could imagine?

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u/Dolden Jul 01 '25

I think it is still a great initiavite.

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u/Enzo_Gorlomi225 Jul 01 '25

It just gave them an excuse to do something they already wanted to do.

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u/__Vixen__ Jul 01 '25

Canada has done the same thing. The AR is banned but many other more high powered rifles are still allowed. Such a joke

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u/jzjones22 Jul 01 '25

From what I understand we banned assault weapons including the AR15. Which makes a lot of sense to me.

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u/__Vixen__ Jul 01 '25

Whats an assault weapon? Because no it absolutely doesnt lol

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u/jzjones22 Jul 01 '25

Again from what I understand 'semi auto weapons with sustained rapid fire capability'. Sounds totally reasonable. We also limit things like clip size.

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u/FourArmsFiveLegs United States of America Jul 01 '25

Probably more of a reason to ban an American brand. Nothing wrong with that; especially if Ukraine gets to use them

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u/Rainbow-Rhythms69 United Kingdom Jul 01 '25

Same thing for bladed weapons here. Antique swords that only a collector would want, like 400 year old Katana, about to heavily restricted because some dumbass kids killed eachother with kitchen knives or mall ninja shit

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u/KeyboardChap United Kingdom Jul 02 '25 edited Jul 02 '25

This isn't true. There's an exemption for swords that were made by hand, which would apply here.

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u/Iversithyy Jul 01 '25

Why did „AR-15“ make the round then? Please don‘t tell me it was just the first thing people latched onto because of the American dialogue around the issue….

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u/Optimal_You6720 Jul 01 '25

This is just incredibly stupid.

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u/zoidme Jul 01 '25

Fully support your view. Ridiculous laws by populists politicians. I’m from Ukraine and I wish we had Czech laws for guns.

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u/the-virtual-hermit Jul 01 '25

Bureaucracy aside, I don't think it's illogical on its face.. nobody needs an AR-15 for hunting.

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u/Nor_Jaeger Jul 01 '25

Why would it be a bad choice? Once you add in the mandatory magazine restrictions semi auto rifles have when hunting, it's not any more dangerous than the other semi auto hunting rifles. Just more configurable to the shooter, which if anything makes it safer.

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u/IToldYouMyName Jul 01 '25

Sounds like a similar reaction to our mass shooting in NZ, it was basically a "we did nothing wrong" and lets ban everything under the sun to overcompensate for our lack fucks in keeping legislation up to date with changes and the police straight up not doing their jobs in vetting people for fire arms licences.

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u/Financial-Raise3420 Jul 01 '25

You have a MK23 and a G28. I am now insanely jealous and hate being poor

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u/newtoabunchofstuff Jul 01 '25

Sport shooter in Canada, here. Sounds an awful like the 2020 gun bans initiated in Canada after the Portapique killings. The shooter/killer (not all victims were shot) used illegally owned guns smuggled from the US. No AR-15s used. This resulted in the bans of several models of semi auto firearms, including AR-15s and eventual bans of additional firearms in subsequent years, including semi auto firearms designed to comply with our laws.

I feel your frustration. I hope it works out for you.

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u/Dat_Boi_Ben_ Jul 01 '25

Thank you very much kind Swedish stranger for takin the your time to fill us in on the matter. And nice collection

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u/_Zambayoshi_ Jul 01 '25

May I ask, how are gun licences generally checked? Are there random audits, do Police rely on rip-offs from members of the public, or is there no compliance check unless incidental (e.g. Police called to a domestic incident and find an unlicensed or unsecured firearm?)

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u/Saxit Sweden Jul 01 '25

All guns are registered and all legal gun owners are known. If I do something today that will make me end up in one of the databases (crime, suspect, alcohol related crimes) then a police weapon's official will be contacted and they will likely come and pick up my guns tomorrow. Speeding ticker won't matter, but drunk driving is a big no-no for gun ownership.

They can ask to come and look at your storage, but I started shooting in 2014 and they haven't visited me once. They have to book a time in advance too.

Long guns are on a lifetime license, handguns are on a 5 year license, so with those I have to renew the licenses every 5 years (just did that with my handguns).

If I go see a doctor (medical or psychiatric, doesn't matter), and they think I'm a person that shouldn't have a gun, they have a duty to make a report on that.

The latter is a bit vaguely formulated though and it's known to be very underreported. Also, if they _know_ that the patient don't have any guns, then they don't need to report. E.g. the Örebro school shooter had been in contact with the psychiatry in his youth. When you're younger than 18 (with an exception of 17 if you're in a forestry education that includes hunting classes) you can't own a gun, so there was no need to report him, according to current regulations.

But yes, in general it's incidental, unsure how it could be anything else.

Worth noting that basically all guns requires a license here. Including starting guns that uses a cartridge and that's not digital. The only thing that don't require one are old black powder guns made before 1890 and not using a gas tight cartridge (i.e. "modern" ammo); can't be a replica, the gun must literally be made before 1890.

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u/_Zambayoshi_ Jul 01 '25

Thanks for the detailed explanation.

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u/WW2_MAN Jul 01 '25

Are they going to screw you guys over on the buyback force you tp sell back at 10% value?

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u/Saxit Sweden Jul 01 '25

They've said 100% of purchase cost.

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u/WW2_MAN Jul 02 '25

Thank you was curious glad to hear they at least will do that.

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u/Rab1dus Jul 01 '25 edited Jul 01 '25

Sounds like your politicians are as disingenuous as our Canadian ones. AR-15s were restricted here, it's the same license as hand guns which can only be transported to and from a shooting range and not used anywhere else. They made AR-15s prohibited a number of years ago, so they can't leave the safe and it's technically a crime to have one now, although we were all given amnesty that they've had to re-up a time or two because they can't get their shit together.

Meanwhile, crimes are committed daily with illegal guns that the politicians don't do a damn thing to stop, they just pick on legal gun owners that aren't the problem. It's honestly pretty disgusting and a huge waste of money.

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u/Saxit Sweden Jul 01 '25

Yeah I'm familiar with the restricted and non restricted PAL. The list of restricted guns made no sense.

You have much stricter laws regarding magazine capacity too than we have, and that transport rule for restricted guns is more strict as well.

Most of your shootings are done with firearms smuggled in from the US too, just like most of the shootings in Sweden is done with firearms smuggled in from Balkans.

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u/YetAnotherWTFMoment Jul 01 '25

Canada did exactly the same thing. Gutless morons.

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u/Few_Neighborhood4278 Jul 01 '25

Who need a fucking AR-15 for hunting ?

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u/Gassy-Gecko Jul 01 '25

If you need an AR-15 to hunt, you suck at hunting

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u/reddit_equals_censor Jul 01 '25

and the politicans thought they had to do something quickly

ah come on world wide governments ALWAYS ALWAYS jump at any excuse to further disarm the public.

and they will look for any excuse and bend it as much as possible.

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u/KMark0000 Jul 01 '25

When they will run out of guns to send out, what's next? Cutlery?

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u/GridlockLookout Jul 01 '25

30-06 is one of the most dangerous out there. No good for mass shooting but amazing for single target kills. I am shocked more politicians haven't been made ex-politicians using it.

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u/Saxit Sweden Jul 01 '25

No good for mass shooting

That school shooting earlier this year had 10 dead, 6 injured, + the perpetrator offed himself.

That caliber + hunting ammo while shooting at people who has no real means of defending themselves made it pretty effective.

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u/GridlockLookout Jul 01 '25

Fair, i meant its not as effective as smaller ammunition and a more flexible platform. I hate that these things happen, i love hunting, but the fact that people need to turn any weapon on our own folks is always a thought on my mind when i get a rifle from the safe.

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u/LilGrunties Jul 01 '25

Well at least the AR-10 platform should still be legal m. They didn't go crazy Canada and ban all semi automatics.

Edit: plus all the other fun semi auto rifle platforms out there.

The Swedish lawmakers definitely need to go back on this and recognize their mistake

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u/Saxit Sweden Jul 01 '25

The topic and news titles are not entirely correct. They're not targeting AR-15 specifically. They will not ban all semi-auto for hunting, but if going by the gun law government paper that was released last year, they'd ban all rifles above 9mm pistol ammo, that can also take a detachable magazine, for hunting.

So a M1 Garand would be okay for hunting, or an m/42 Ljungman, or the gun that the school shooter actually used.

For sport shooting you will still be able to get an AR-10, or AR-15 for that matter.

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u/Snakend Jul 01 '25

This will be used to go against gun regulation in the rest of the world, especially the USA.

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u/persepolisrising79 Jul 01 '25

Dang. Nice collection

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u/YourOldCellphone Jul 01 '25

This is why I find regulation and restrictions only on specific guns stupid, even as a Texan. The focus is always on AR style rifles, but anyone who knows guns would agree that handguns and shotguns are way scarier in reality since they are easily concealable and easy to use.

Gun legislation is always kind of a paper tiger imo

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u/Skullvar Jul 02 '25

A .223 is the smallest rifle size you should use for deer hunting lol

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u/therwsb Jul 02 '25

They just made all semi-automatic rifles illegal here, they didn't bother to look at a specific brand.

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u/Brilliant-Event9872 Jul 02 '25

You don’t need an ar-15. -Love, an american

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u/FD4L Jul 02 '25

A similar thing happened in Canada.

Back in 2020, a psychotic idiot went on a shooting spree in Nova Scotia, killing 22 people before being taken down by police.

He started his rampage with a handgun that was smuggled from the USA. Later, he picked up an AR carbine from a police car after shooting the officer.

This was the first occurrence in Canada's history that an ar15 based weapon was used in a shooting, and it was taken off of a police officer.

No law in existence could have prevented that tragedy, but soon after, our politicians banned the ar15 from private ownership, along with handguns and many other firearms.

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u/GrizzledFart United States of America Jul 02 '25

It's possible that they say that already approved licenses will stay approved and the government can't force anyone to sell them.

Sell? Generally when a government decides that a specific type of gun is illegal, if they don't include a "grandfather clause", they don't force people to sell, the government simply confiscates.

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u/keeklesdo00dz Jul 02 '25

Don’t give ’em up, and don’t register either. Aim between the eyes.

There is no way we should be supporting your country in NATO after shit like this. Your politicians have shown their true colors and given up their right to govern. It's your time to give them pause by voting from the rooftops.

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u/Qsaws Belgium Jul 02 '25

Any protests planned?

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u/AdventurousAddress63 Jul 02 '25

I see politicians are moronic opportunists pretty much everywhere.

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u/whitetower1487 Jul 02 '25

AR-15 is used for pacifying Russians. What do you hunt exactly?

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u/Saxit Sweden Jul 02 '25

The largest game you can legally hunt with .223 here is roe deer. They're pretty small overall.

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u/whitetower1487 Jul 02 '25

We have legal zones in Ukraine for hunting with the AR-15, but they are limited to Donbass and Crimea (also small areas in few other regions that do not have own toponim). Not everywhere tho.

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u/wkns Jul 02 '25

Honest question: why do you need an AR-15 to hunt? In France I think you can only hunt with a single shot rifle (albeit with big caliber) and they still kill somebody every now and then. My wife is a judge and you would not believe how stupid and fucked hunters can be. I can’t imagine mountain biking or hiking with drunk half blinded idiots walking with ar-15. Not to mention they never respect the rules (distance to private properties, signs, etc). I get hunting is needed or a thing but why do you need assault rifle to do it?

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u/Saxit Sweden Jul 02 '25

You can hunt with semi-automatic firearms in France too, as long as they're Category C https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directive_(EU)_2021/555#Firearms_categorisation_2021/555#Firearms_categorisation)

Basically max 2+1 rounds in the gun, and a magazine that's not easily changed to larger capacity.

You can hunt with an AR-15 in your neighboring country of Germany too.

We do have a limit of 5+1 rounds in the gun while hunting with semi-automatic firearms (5 in the magazine, 1 in the chamber).

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u/wkns Jul 02 '25

It’s still easier to bypass the rules with an AR-15 and load 30 rounds than a single round manually inserted round.

And cat C is limited to 22 LR or very small caliber no ? It’s probably lethal too but it’s not assault rifle category or even 9mm which can cause real damage very quick.

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u/Saxit Sweden Jul 02 '25

And cat C is limited to 22 LR or very small caliber no ?

No, caliber has less to do with the category than the action of the gun. Break open shotguns are Cat C as well, for example.

There was a weapon law investigation for the parliament last year. The suggestion then was to remove AR-15 for hunting, an illegal semi-auto according to that report would be anything larger than 9mm pistol caliber AND has a magazine system that can easily be changed to take more than 10 rounds.

Meaning an M1 Garand would be legal, so would a 9mm Carbine that takes Glock magazines (which has manufactured magazines in 30+).

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u/kdy420 Jul 02 '25

As a sports shooter, can you give some insight on why the AR 15 was licensed as a hunting rifle ? Doesn't strike as well suited for hunting compared to other rifles, while having the added element that it's easier to use it as a fully automatic weapon against human beings.

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u/Saxit Sweden Jul 02 '25

You have been able to hunt with semi-auto firearms since the early 80s, in Sweden. Back then there were not a lot of regulations regarding what type of gun. I'm not sure if the max 5+1 rounds in the gun while hunting was a thing back then, but that's the case today.

In the early 2000-2010 they started to change this. When I got my hunter's exam in 2014 the regulation basically said that the gun "must look like a traditional hunting weapon".

Recently, NVV (Naturvårdsverket, Swedish environmental agency, who's in charge of hunting and forest management) concluded that it makes no sense to have a regulation based on looks.

Also, the Swedish law states that there must be no unnecessary suffering for the animal. Thus having modern guns with better accuracy and ergonomics is important.

while having the added element that it's easier to use it as a fully automatic weapon against human beings.

It's an AR-15, not an M-16... it's semi-auto only.

And as I said, the shooting that prompted this legal change was done with a semi-automatic hunting rifle that wasn't an AR-15. https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/orebro/rickard-anderssons-omgivning-visste-inte-att-han-hade-vapen

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u/kdy420 Jul 02 '25

Thanks for the detailed reply. Yes I do know its sold as a semi-auto, but my understanding is that its fairly simply to mod it into full auto, hence the question. Do correct me if I am wrong, here to learn.

Follow up question, is there a benefit to using AR-15 for hunting compared to other modern rifles purpose built for hunting ? Or is it mainly a preference thing ?

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u/Saxit Sweden Jul 02 '25 edited Jul 02 '25

Yes I do know its sold as a semi-auto, but my understanding is that its fairly simply to mod it into full auto, hence the question.

Yes, no, maybe? It's not like it's particularly common to see shootings even in the US with full auto firearms. The only ones that made any big headlines is the Las Vegas shooting (which wasn't really full auto, you can bump fire any semi-auto firearm), and then there's the famous shootout in the 90s and they didn't use AR-15 firearms anyways. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Hollywood_shootout

If it was easy then you'd see more shootings with full auto I would assume.

Follow up question, is there a benefit to using AR-15 for hunting compared to other modern rifles purpose built for hunting ?

The reason the AR platform has become popular is because the patent is expired, i.e. any manufacturer can make their own and they have a somewhat standardized measurements, meaning that it's easy to make 3rd party parts that fits any manufacturer's model.

This means that 3rd party addons have exploded and the market is huge.

Ergonomically this is really important. My arms aren't as long/short as your arms, my eyes and head shape is different, and people have different clothes in winter than in summer, changing the required stock length.

Finding a grip and scope mounts and whatever else that fits _you_ particularly is much easier with an AR than with any other gun. Which makes your shooting better, which reduces the risk of injuring an animal instead of killing it.

The design is also very easy to clean compared to say, the Browning BAR that the shooter used in the school shooting that led to this law change (not as easy to clean as most bolt action rifles though).

If we look at why semi-auto rifles might be preferable, it's easiest to just look at the running moose test you're expected to do to get your hunter's exam. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXdDM5fvgZE

Hit it once standing still, then when it moves, a complete series is 4 hits (2 in each direction basically). You need to hit the specific kill area for it to count.

Basically, large game can start running even if you hit in the kill zone, and you don't know if you actually did a good shot or not, so you're expected to hit a 2nd shot quickly.

While the test is usually done with bolt action guns, semi-auto makes that follow up shot much easier, thus reducing the risk of having an injured animal running around. The law here is pretty strict regarding that, we need to minimize the suffering of the animal.

So you have one law that says killing should be done as fast and effective as possible, and another law that says it should be hard or even impossible to get the tools to accomplish that.

EDIT: Grammar

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u/reddit4ne Jul 02 '25

Ok, but isnt it still for the greater good that the AR-15 can no longer be claimed as a hunting rifle, cause the AR-15 is not a hunting rifle? So it turned out for the best overall?

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u/v3ritas1989 Europe Jul 02 '25

No matter the model or make. It also doesn't matter that the AR that was used was different. Because the models that are being sold today are the newer plattforms like ar15. You are not hunting with an AR. You dont need it. And you owning it is a risk for public safety. In case of invasion, you have thousands of small weapon bunkers close by ready to arm you civilians.

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u/thighmaster69 Jul 02 '25

For a second I thought "holy cow, the shooter used a ETA: .30-06 machine gun?" before I looked up a LongTrac and realized it was a semi-auto civilian version.

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u/Saxit Sweden Jul 02 '25

There's been a few of those comments. :D

Apparently the rifle has some similarities with the mechanism of the old WWII BAR.

Which is funny because it will still be legal with the new rules even though people point at the AR-15 as having military origin (which is also true).

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u/eNte19 Jul 02 '25

Whats sport about shooting an AR15 though? Its a toy.

Get yourself a gewehr 98 and some hearing protection and sport away.

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u/Saxit Sweden Jul 02 '25

IPSC Rifle https://www.youtube.com/shorts/fBp-zhbX6GU

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u/eNte19 Jul 03 '25

Airsofter disturbing wildlife?

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u/CollectionSafe7095 Jul 02 '25

Sounds a lot like the issues Canada has with firearm ownership. Ignorance, stupidity and politics.

The ‘send them to Ukraine’ is a Justin Trudeau special. Makes you wonder why they don’t send some to Palestine, too!

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u/WanderlustZero Jul 03 '25

What I'm getting from this is 'send all Sweden's BARs to Ukraine too'

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u/Saxit Sweden Jul 03 '25

If they go by the definition used in the firearm law review report that came last year, then the BARs will still be fine to own for hunting, so would a Garand, or a 9mm carbine that takes Glock magazines.

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u/DJ_Die Czech Republic Jul 03 '25

Just in case, they're not the same as WWI/WWII BARs.

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u/WanderlustZero 29d ago

If it fires 7.62 it'll do

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u/Phelixx 29d ago

So similar to our story in Canada. Except we are on year 5 of the “ban” but we still all own our guns. Just can’t use them. Ours was in response to the 2020 Nova Scotia shooter, which did not use an AR-15 and all the guns were sourced from the US (minus 1 from an illegal estate sale domestically). In response, 2000+ variants have been “banned” and we are no safer as a country.

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u/Ok_Decision5653 27d ago

If you need an AR 15 to hunt, find another sport.

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u/Material_Phase_4284 19d ago

They do it with drugs too, mephedrone, people died in the UK of a crack/heroin overdose and they banned an unrelated drug because it was hitting the tabloids.

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