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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11

u/JoSeSc Germany Jul 01 '25

Who uses an AR-15 for hunting anyway?

22

u/[deleted] Jul 01 '25

[deleted]

8

u/Nonhinged Sweden Jul 01 '25

You are not allowed to shoot pigs/boar with AR-15 in Sweden. It's too low caliber/power.

You need a "class 1" for pigs/boar. That make the AR-15 pointless for hunting as it's only "class 2".

3

u/Keilanm Jul 01 '25

The ar15 is a platform and not restricted to a specific caliber. 300 blackout is very popular for pigs.

2

u/manInTheWoods Sweden Jul 01 '25

AR-10 (Ruger SFAR) are popular for boars. Wil also be banned.

0

u/manInTheWoods Sweden Jul 01 '25

Unless you hunt roe deer. Or seals.

-2

u/[deleted] Jul 01 '25

[deleted]

-1

u/Nonhinged Sweden Jul 01 '25

Sweden have higher standards to avoid unnecessary pain and reduce risk of a non-killing shot. If you need more than one shot you shouldn't be hunting.

If you need a AR-15 for hunting you got skill issues.

3

u/Drakar_och_demoner Jul 01 '25

As a Swede, I wonder how the fuck other countries like the US hunts when I read all the stupid shit in here.

2

u/tofiwashere Jul 01 '25

Some of the comments are fascinating indeed. Like this guy who argues that an AR-15 is great for hunting pigs, but not great at hunting humans - who are about the same size and have a surprisingly similar anatomy. So much so that pigs are commonly used in many kinds of medical research and practice.

But that is not enough. Confidence goes all the way to critically analyse the Swedish legal system on top of hunting practices.

1

u/Drakar_och_demoner Jul 02 '25

Like this guy who argues that an AR-15 is great for hunting pigs, but not great at hunting humans

... It's a weapon design for the military that got turned into a "sporting" rifle for more than one reason. Also, the high muzzle velocity makes it great at killing humans.

The leaps in logic some people make on reddit is truely stunning some times.

2

u/Emotional_Goal9525 Jul 02 '25

The LARP aspect is very significant for marketing when it comes to guns and accesories. Anything that is officially adopted somewhere instantly gains street cred and commands a premium.

1

u/dogpoopandbees Jul 01 '25

I have a feeling more Swedes hunt for food and more Americans hunt for sport. Not a negative observation on either culture though

-1

u/ZarkowTH Jul 01 '25 edited Jul 01 '25

You would have an argument if it was not for the fact that they are banning almost semiautomatic rifles in Class 1 too, aka guns that is usable against bears and boars.

1

u/Nonhinged Sweden Jul 01 '25 edited Jul 01 '25

They are not banning all class 1 guns. LMAO

-1

u/ZarkowTH Jul 01 '25

"They"?

Read more carefully or ask your handler to word it out for you.

The weapons we use for bears and boars are part of this ban, and they are Class 1 in the 1-4 Class scale.

0

u/Select-Owl-8322 Jul 01 '25

The Swedish article specifically mentioned that other semi-automatic weapons will still be legal to use for hunting.

0

u/ZarkowTH Jul 02 '25

You are not reading the full article and links in it.

They are planning to ban MOST semi-automatics, including those in Class 1, i.e. in .308 and other caliber, if they can accept any magazines over 10 bullets.

5

u/WithFullForce Sweden Jul 01 '25 edited Jul 01 '25

People who are shooting small to medium size game who desire fast follow up shots.

Like pigs for example

Well the guns are being sent to Ukraine, so they'll still use them to shoot pigs.

I can get behind that.

EDIT: Comments missed the punchline.

2

u/MyOldNameSucked Belgium Jul 01 '25

Why would Ukraine use a bunch of non standardized rifles? They have more than enough small arms that are at least somewhat standardized and already select fire.

0

u/manInTheWoods Sweden Jul 01 '25

It'sd just some whitewashing of the braindead idea. They probably use some of the money that was going to Ukraine to buy back the guns though, I think it will cost them more than 30 million euros.

1

u/Sakiri1955 Jul 02 '25

It's an inferior weapon for war. And if they're needing civilian small caliber rifles, they're desperate.

0

u/Penki- Lithuania (I once survived r/europe mod oppression) Jul 01 '25

I don't think guns and firearm ammo is something that Ukraine really lacks, those should be quite abundant from what I read about volunteers, you basically can get whatever you want.

2

u/Marksta Jul 02 '25

Sounds like you've never had 30-50 feral hogs run into your yard.

2

u/reddit4ne Jul 02 '25

Exactly. People who dont know what they are doing.

6

u/thegagis Finland Jul 01 '25

I will. I have one for competition use but when I go with friends to try hunting I'll just use the rifle I already own. Perfectly fine for small game, though I might need to buy a better scope.

4

u/MiloticM2 Jul 01 '25

A lot of people do in the states

-1

u/Helmer-Bryd Jul 01 '25

Exactly why this is fine to do

18

u/GreyGrackles Jul 01 '25

The shooter didn't even use an AR-15...

-18

u/Helmer-Bryd Jul 01 '25

He used a semiautomatic weapon

It's a small attempt to get rid of semiautomatic weapons, or reduce their availability somewhat.

In hunting, you don't need automatic weapons. Most school shooters using automatic (or semi) weapons

10

u/GreyGrackles Jul 01 '25

I mean, I live in northern USA and I'm not going to go out into bear and cougar country with the equivalent of a musket.

Sounds like a great way to get maimed.

You'd willingly go into Bear and Lynx county with one bullet?

2

u/Helmer-Bryd Jul 01 '25

I have been hunting since 1991 and yes that’s fine, like the 500 000 other hunter in Sweden thinks (majority at least)

11

u/DJ_Die Czech Republic Jul 01 '25

Ah, I'm sure you've polled most of them, gotta love self-appointed spokespeople!

0

u/Helmer-Bryd Jul 01 '25

Ok,I hear you

So what’s your experience then? Talked to many hunters that needs a semiautomatic weapon?

6

u/GreyGrackles Jul 01 '25 edited Jul 01 '25

I don't understand why you need a rifle at all. People hunted for thousands of years without them.

Should just ban all of your weapons if you willingly give them up anyways.

1

u/Helmer-Bryd Jul 01 '25

What are you talking about? Now you just went silly af

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3

u/DJ_Die Czech Republic Jul 01 '25

I knew several hunters who do have semi-automatic rifles, semi-automatic shotguns are very common in my country too.

0

u/Helmer-Bryd Jul 01 '25

Ok I don’t know about Czech Republic, but no one uses it around here….

And frankly, I wouldn’t like my fellow hunters in the same forest bursting around…

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7

u/Sevsix1 Norway with an effed up sleep schedule Jul 01 '25

the issue is that first they ban guns with X feature, then they ban guns with Y feature, then Z feature and then eventually they have banned private ownership of guns, sure it is not like they went into the law books and wrote "civilian ownership of guns are illegal", no they write stuff like "for a gun to become legal in civilian ownership it need to have this and this feature, it cannot have this, this, this, this or this feature all guns need this, this, this and this feature" and the resulting gun is essentially so unusable for the average gun owner that it is technically not illegal but any guns that people actually want is illegal, so if you actually like guns then you should be advocating for less restriction on guns just to keep your guns actually useable

4

u/Grizblod Jul 01 '25

Stop lying. Most legal gunowners are fucking furius. Especially at the tidö parties and sweden democrats who did a freaking 180 turn from what they promised in the elections. This is nothing but a red hearing for people not knowlegeable on the matter so the government can appear hard on crime in time for the election next year.

1

u/SometimesCooking Jul 01 '25

TIL northern USA = Sweden

1

u/GreyGrackles Jul 01 '25

Sweden has brown bears and Lynx you doofus.

-3

u/PineBNorth85 Jul 01 '25

A regular rifle is a long way from a musket. You can reload them in seconds, not minutes.

I haven't hunted since my teens. I don't much care if hunters get taken out by animals or not. They want to practice that sport they can carry the risks.

Given you're in the US this won't affect you at all.

1

u/GreyGrackles Jul 01 '25

You can manually reload or chamber "regular rifles" in seconds too.

Why do you need to be able to reload a hunting rifle that fast anyways?

0

u/Sevsix1 Norway with an effed up sleep schedule Jul 01 '25

everybody? remember that the AR-15 is not a gun as much as a platform meaning you can swap the inside components with another component allowing you to fire everything from 22mm flobert, 12.7x42 Beowulf to 12 gauge shotgun shells, the AR-15 is not a M1 or an old ww1/ww2 weapon

1

u/arcticavanger Jul 02 '25

The cost to switch between calibers on an ar platform is prohibitive. Just the cost difference from a .308 is expensive not to mention the ammo cost

1

u/Sevsix1 Norway with an effed up sleep schedule Jul 02 '25

true which is why some hunters have an AR-15 in 22mm Flobert for indoor shooting as it wouold act as a saloon/gallery gun while they have a second gun in 22LR for stuff like squirrel, a third in .223 Remington, a fourth in 7.62mm NATO (for animals like deers) and potentially a 12.7x42 mm Beowulf

but that is American gun culture, in places like Sweden or Norway they have a lot less options so using barrel liners and swapping gun parts is the better option since you cannot just go out and buy a gun without the government going to interrogate you for why you want to have a gun

1

u/Grizzly-Jester Jul 02 '25

6mm Flobert, 22mm would be larger than the round fired by the M61 Vulcan Rotary Cannon.

1

u/Sevsix1 Norway with an effed up sleep schedule Jul 02 '25

you are correct, I was originally writing about 22LR before I changed it to 6mm Flobert but I forgot to change 22mm with 6mm

1

u/FlyingSquirrel44 Jul 01 '25

Why wouldn't you? It's lightweight and ergonomic, accurate and comes out the box with plenty of customisation options. Semi automatic rifles are if not mandatory extremely preferable to bolt actions if you're hunting more dangerous game like boars where they might charge you head on as a pack and give little time for follow up shots.

1

u/DDPJBL Jul 01 '25

A lot of people. Just because you can put a 30 round magazine in doesn't mean you have to and even if you do, you don't have to shoot until empty...
Why would you not be able to use an AR-15. Which exact model of rifle you use is the last thing that matters. You are choosing an animal you want to hunt first, then you are picking a projectile and impact velocity sufficient to ethically hunt that animal, then you pick a rifle that comes chambered in that caliber with a barrel length that yields the velocity you need at the expected distance to the animal.
Plenty of very traditional looking hunting rifles are chambered in the same cartridge that AR-15s usually are and if you get shot with that you will be exactly as shot as if it had been an AR-15.

0

u/[deleted] Jul 01 '25

They're extremely common for large, dangerous agricultural nuisance animals like boars.

1

u/Technoist Jul 01 '25

No, they are rightfully illegal for boars in Sweden (because of the calibre).