Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Europe Reloading in Europe and UK

Several of the posters on here reload their own ammunition, but others do not. Looking on the web, I see gun stores advertising reloading tools and components, and Midway and Brownells have online stores for all the countries with hunting.

Is there a big problem with government regulations stopping more people from reloading?

No real difficulties reloading in the UK; and anybody who owns a shotgun or rifle can reload for it...

IMO legal situation in Belgium isn't clear but I would say it's not so difficult.

We have laws concerning risky business activities needing special authorizations (activities and infrastructures exploitation licenses). Nothing specific to guns but you need authorizations and are subject to technical rules if you have a big fuel tank, if you breed pigs, if you manage a power plant, pump water form the ground or operate a garbage incinerator, ... In the government act listing the concerned activities for the Walloon region you find some description of ammunition loading. My belief is that the main target is commercial reloading activity but the law makes no clear distinction.

Those authorizations are not easy to obtain (your installations have to comply with exploitation rules and opinion of the neighborood have to be asked) and not costless but I don't know a relaoder that requested that authorization and authorities don't seem to care about.

It seems the new gun control laws, concerning ammunition, simply forgot to set something specific about reloading ... You have to check that you don't keep components concerning calibers not matching your licensed guns.

Explosive laws allow to own a certain amount of explosive powder without authorization (2 kilos, including the powder in loaded cartridges). If you have more powder, you need authorization form the Governor.

Anyway, reloading is not very common among hunters. Most of us live quite separated from sport shooters. The great majority of hunters simply use factory loads and have more taste for hunting than for shooting / training / working Sub MOA groups as long as they can find factory load allowing them to kill their games at any reasonable range (ranges are some short too, for example a French study showed that avering shooting ranges were around 35 yards for battues and 90 yards for stalking and high seat hunting).

So you can only own 2 kg (5 lb.) of powder w/out special authorization? Boy, I think there is more than that in the carpet of my truck.

In my region we use to fire ... LOTS of blackpowder ... due to folkloric events. Every year there are many powder storage widely exceeding the limit without authorization. Most of the people ignore anything about that law, just like most of the authorities ...

You need an authorization for owning more than 2 kilos but as long as you buy less than 2 kilos at a time, nobody knows about what amount of powder you own, so nobody cares.

Re: Germany

Reloading and propellant powder handling is governed by the German Explosives Law and licensed by the Industrial Inspection Board. This means reloading adds a 3d set of laws/offices to the agencies in addition to the Hunting Law and Weapons Law that affect all hunters.

You must take a course and then pass a test to get an examination certificate (zeugnis)signed by the teacher (probably a gunmaker/dealer) and an Industrial Inspection Board test proctor. Then you apply to the local state office for the license. Fees are required throughout.

Prerequisites: Reliability (FBI check for US Forces), expertise (the training), and need (licensed hunter or sportshooter).

Repsonsibility/Duty: Restrict access to only personnel authorized to purchased and use. Take precautions against theft and properly store, and use in a competent manner.

General: Maximum size of package is 2Kg. Reloading may only be conducted in enclosed room with no unauthorized personnel, open lights, flame, or smoking allowed. 1 Kg blackpowder or 3 Kg smokeless may be stored in an unoccupied room of a private residence, 1 Kg if mixed BP and nitro. 3 Kg blackpowder or 5 Kg smokeless in a separate detached building (not a garage used for vehicles storage though), 3 Kg if mixed BP and nitro.

Storage must be secure from theft and not allow access to unauthorized personnel. Like guns, this means only the license holder can have a key.

The law is punitive. For instance: persons will be sentenced to up to 3 years or monetary fine for whatever purchasing, using, or transporting propellant powder without proper license.

I took the training and got the examination certificate but did not worry with the actual license as I don't have a good place to reload. Besides, shotguns are my major reloading requirement in the US and I don't know anyone who bothers reloading shotgun locally (Stuttgart).

Edit note: The license is like the German weapons card. Powder (and probably primers) are annotated by the dealer when you purchase them. This provides an audit trail and allows your powder on hand to be checked against your purchases. If lost or stolen it must be reported since it is "authorization" to purchase a controlled item.

Norway:
you must show your "weapon card" when you buy powder or primers.
(which means you'd have to be a gun owner)

other than that i don't think there are any other regulations(and i reload my own ammo) any idiot can do it.
you can't sell handloaded ammo without authorization,

as to how much powder you can have, i think it is 10kg in a normal home.

France: You do not need a special license other than the Firearms certificate.
I believe the limit is 2kg of smokeless/BP per shooter. Though most people dont really adhere to the law. You can not buy more than 2kg of powder at a time.
Reloading is very popular amongst the sport shooters, though not the hunters. Rifles and handgun primarily.
Major limitation is the availability of powders. Only Vithavouri or Tubal are available. Bullets are generally limited to privi, sierra or lapua for serious shooters.
People reload every concievable caliber. Personally I load for 9mm Para, 7.62x39, .260 Rem, 6mm BR, .222 Rem Mag, 8x60S amongst others. I have not personally come across anyone loading for shotguns yet.

Are there firms building 6mmBR rifles in France, or in Europe?

Can you obtain the EA Brown 97D single shot there?
How about Thompson?

There are firms that will build you a 6mm BR or any caliber you want like FMR or Salva, plus target gun companies like Keppler.
But the costs are high.

Or like me you get a Savage and swap the barrel.

Am not familliar with the EA Brown 97D, and Thompson. If the latter is is .45 Sub Machine Gun, yes you can get them in semi auto.

Just a thought having a more accurate look at the title of the thread ...

"Reloading in Europe AND UK" ...

Funny ...

Grand Veneur, does that really surprise you?
Different Isles, different worlds.
Hubert.

No it doesn't

Well some hunters reload Bit of circumstance (Germany) to get permit etc but worth it, I get low on ammo just roll some more. I have a few rifles I've never bought any factory ammo for. Very, very glad I don't have to buy factory ammo as much as I shoot in a year, expecially at Euro prices, Waidmannsheil, Dom.

Why does reloading in the UK surprise you?

I'm guessing it was the distinction between the Europe and the UK, rather than the European view of the UK being part of Europe...OK, technically we are part of Europe, but only in a screaming and kicking sort of way!

I never was and still ain't exackly certain about any of you guys from "Old Blighty"!!

Were ok.Its those behind us that you have to watch!!

OKdave - I thought with the restrictive gun laws in the UK, and the history of terrorists attacks in Northern Ireland that reloading would be a no-no. Of course, you can have a silencer on your weapons, something the authorities in CA would have kittens over!!