AR15

[umberto]

Hi,

I live in Finland and I own a .308 caliber rifle for hunting (4 years now), however I would like to purchase an AR15 (semiautomatic rifle) for target shooting. What are the conditions/rules/requirements to purchase an AR15 in Finland? Do I need to be member of a shooting club first? Are there some restrictions, etc? Thanks.

[Beep_Boop]

Since you already went through the process with your .308 (bolt action?) rifle, you probably already know the deal. Same thing with the AR-15. You just need to show why you need the gun, and where you'll be shooting it. In Finland, it's on the potential gun owner to convince the processing officer to grant them the licence. The fact that you've been a responsible gun owner for 4 years will help you as well.

You don't need membership in a shooting club, but it'll make it significantly more likely for your application to be approved. You'll need to show where you'll be shooting it, so a shooting club's gun range is the perfect location to write down. Plus, memberships are usually 8-9 euros/month, and you get cheaper access to shooting locations. Honestly, there's no good reason to not be a member of a shooting club.

Other than that, there's really nothing special. This is what I did for both of my AR-15. Got the first one in .22 a while ago, and the other one in 5.56 NATO a bit more recently.

[umberto]

Hi,

Thanks for you quick reply. Yep I know the drill acquiring a purchase permit for hunting purposes as it is quite straight forward process. I was wondering if for AR-15 there are some more tight rules. I am already a member of an indoor shooting club but for shooting handgun only. Of course I could join a club because as you mention the price will be lower as a member. What about your AR-15 caliber 5.56 NATO, any special reason you chose this over .223 Rem? I know that with a 5.56 NATO AR-15 you can shoot .223 Rem but not the other way around? What was your purpose of purchase hobby or are you in the military etc?

[umberto]

One more question when you made your application what kind of AR-15 shooting mode (toimintatapa) you mentioned in your application? For my .308 Win bolt action rifle the toimintatapa is: Lippaallinen kertatuli and from the firearms act bellow Section 7 Modes of operation of firearms is point 1 single-shot. I believe for the AR-15 application it should be number 2 (single-shot with magazine) or 3 (self-loading single-shot), more likely 3? What is that in Finnish or what is your AR-15 toimintatapa?

The modes of operation of firearms referred to in this Act are single-shot, single-shot with
magazine, self-loading single-shot and automatic shot.
For the purposes of this Act:
1) single-shot means a mode of operation in which each barrel of a firearm without a magazine
is reloaded with a new cartridge after each shot and in which the firing mechanism for each
barrel is cocked using outside force after each shot;
2) single-shot with magazine means a mode of operation in which each barrel of a firearm with
a magazine is reloaded with a new cartridge and in which the firing mechanism for each barrel
is cocked using outside force after each shot;
3) self-loading single-shot means a mode of operation in which a firearm reloads and winds up
automatically after each shot using the energy generated in the weapon or with the help of an
energy source attached to the weapon and in which only one round from each chamber can be
fired by one pull on the trigger;
4) automatic shot means a mode of operation in which a firearm reloads and winds up
automatically after each shot using the energy generated in the weapon or with the help of an
energy source attached to the weapon and in which several rounds can be fired by one pull on
the trigger.

[Beep_Boop]

The legal toimintatapa for AR-15 is #3, itselataavalla kertatulella toimintatapaa. The purpose in my case was hobby.

This is probably not the most suitable forum to discuss the specifics of the guns as the internet is full of them. But in short, it was a bad decision to go with the 5.56. At the time, a friend of mine was an importer of surplus ammo, including 5.56, and he gave me very good deals, so I thought I'd have a long-term supply of cheap ammo. He stopped importing, and I ended up always trying to find 5.56 which is much less common in gun stores in Finland. It can shoot .223, but I never got good groups with it. For target shooting, it was a dumb decision on my part to get the 5.56.

[FinnGuyHelsinki]

For a civilian, usually there are two accepted grounds for a firearm permit; hunting and sport shooting (i.e. practicing a shooting sport discipline which has a defined set of rules and for which there are competitions held). "Hobby" on its own is not enough, even though of course one can consider hunting and sport shooting as hobbies. The firearm in question must be suitable for the intended type of hunting/sport shooting, and you will have to show that you fulfill the requirements for hunting/sport shooting discipline in question and have access to hunting grounds/a shooting range. For an AR for sport shooting, in practice that means IPSC, SRA or some of the reservist shooting disciplines (palvelusammunta). IPSC and SRA both require passing a course for firearm safety and basic firearm handling, including a shooting test done mostly if not exclusively with a pistol (with which you will have to be somewhat proficient in order to pass), and practically require one to be a member of a sport shooting club for IPSC or a reservist organization for SRA.

Recently, the police have been reluctant in granting licenses for semiautomatic rifles for hunting purposes (supposedly as instructed by poliisihallitus), especially AR/AK types of rifles. If going that route, I'd suggest asking before submitting an application, in order to save your money if the application would not be approved anyway.

For further information, go to www.toiminta-ampujat.fi forum (predominantly in Finnish, but asking in English is not frowned upon).

[Oombongo]

The legal toimintatapa for AR-15 is #3, itselataavalla kertatulella toimintatapaa. The purpose in my case was hobby.

This is probably not the most suitable forum to discuss the specifics of the guns as the internet is full of them. But in short, it was a bad decision to go with the 5.56. At the time, a friend of mine was an importer of surplus ammo, including 5.56, and he gave me very good deals, so I thought I'd have a long-term supply of cheap ammo. He stopped importing, and I ended up always trying to find 5.56 which is much less common in gun stores in Finland. It can shoot .223, but I never got good groups with it. For target shooting, it was a dumb decision on my part to get the 5.56.

How much AR costed here in Finland?

[FinnGuyHelsinki]

How much AR costed here in Finland?

From around 1000 euros upwards.

[Beep_Boop]

How much AR costed here in Finland?

Got the Colt for 1300