International?

A friend of mine and myself are going to be backpacking across Europe in two years.

I'm wondering what the carry laws are? Will we be able to take any weapons over with us, like in the luggage that goes in the belly of the plane, or will we have to purchase our weapons over there?

We both plan on carrying on us a 9mm. I would love to bring my .38 Special Snubnose with me or my .380.

Also, we each want a rifle for hunting, since we're backpacking and all. I'm thinking a .22. I would to bring my .22 with my 4x scope.

What do you guys think? As far as how we should get the weapons over there and what we should carry.

I have several years shooting experience and my buddy is the marksman of his squad. We're leaving after his contract is up.

I think if you do this with Europe's gun laws, even if you're discrete you will end up spending much more than two years in Europe.

I lived in Europe for a few years, so I have three words:

FOR-GET-IT! Seriously, put those ideas to rest. Although I can't speak for all of Europe, here is how Germany works:

First, to own a gun you have to belong to a formal, organized gun club.
Then, you have to take expensive gun training classes.
Then (this could have changed) you have to take difficult, expensive hunting classes (even if you have no intention of actually hunting).

Gun ownership there is a regulated, expensive, exclusive privelidge.
There is no "gun culture" among the common people.

In other words, it's the complete opposite of Arizona, Georgia, or any other pro-gun state here in America.

That if you try what you're thinking, you'll be spending the next 20-50 years in an European prison.

I'm no expert on European laws, not by a long shot, but I have met several cops from the continent. Cops from continental Europe make the BATFE look like Barney Fife.

Which is a crying shame.

Before I die, I shall dine on red deer from Chernobyl.

But the red deer from Chernobyl are 16 feet tall, bipedal, clawed and shoot nuclear particle beams from their nostrils.

Imagine that over your fireplace!

Get a credit card, put it in a little baggie, and carry it in your ass. You don't want to spend a fortnight in the local constable's office after defending yourself from highwaymen and zombie soccer hooligans.

Contrasted with most of America.....put down the cash, buy a hunting license, they give you a copy of the hunting regulations and send you on your way. At the most you might have to take a cheap "Hunter's Safety Course" which is not very difficult.

HOWEVER - when I was in Eastern Europe (Poland, maybe Czech Republic too) I saw hunting geared toward German tourists. Basically it was "American style" where they cut all the red tape that the Germans have to go through to hunt in their own country.

The Germans show up, put down the cash, and start hunting with freedom from micro-management.

Actually, they're not. I just watched a show last night, and wildlife at chernobyl are thriving and healthy. It appears that, outside the immediate (read: very close) disaster radius, the environment is doing better than thought possible... the absence of man, or some such crap.

I seriously want to hunt there one day.

The laughable ignorance shown by Kamelreds (assuming he's not trolling) of the fact that carrying a small arsenal aroud major European cities for no reason might just cause a problem or two is evidence of why Europeans have developed a sometimes justified superiority complex over Americans IMO.

Jeez....I'm beginning to sound like Cass....

Or maybe Kamel Red's assuming he can carry guns attests to the ample freedoms he grew up with living in America!

I suspect he is trolling meself.

Who said anything about a small arsenal?

All this shows is that Europeans are scared.

Europeans (most anyway) never grew up in a time when guns were necessary. Take England....the last bear was killed in the Middle Ages!
We still have bears in over half our states, some even with Grizzleys.

And I'm guessing they didn't face digruntled natives in the 1800's either.

Not to mention almost all of Europe is private land anyway, so you can't just go out shooting or hunting pretty much anywhere.

Sad, really.

Well, if you read his original post you'll see that his hunting guns only form part of what he intends to take with him....so what's he gonna use the rest for?

Target practice, self defense? Who knows - guns are guns anyway to most Europeans, who have zero gun experience of any kind.

Some moslems say the mere presence of scantily clad women forces men to rape them.

Are you saying Europeans are such scum that the mere presence of guns would cause them to go on a mass societal killing spree?

No, this is was not a troll. This was ignorance. I wasn't positive on the gun laws over there.

A friend and I are going to Europe and he asked me to find out that info on guns. We would like to have a 9mm for our own protection, especially since we will be backpacking, but if we can't then it's no big deal.

We don't have to either. Many of us don't. (I don't.) Some choose to. At least we've got the option....

Geez Dan, you sound more paranoid about life in America than some of the Camp Wordforge regulars who can't sleep or even take a crap w/o their trusty sidearm....

I own one gun. Hardly armed to the teeth. Self-defense is not the primary reason I bought it. I bought it because I like to shoot, I like to strip and clean weapons, and of course, because it makes my penis bigger. Get a clue, ignorant European. The fact that KR assumes that citizens the world over actually get to retain their basic rights as their societies progress is a beautiful kind of ignorance.

We can't expect you to understand. Your country was formed at a time when subjects lived at the pleasure of the king or queen.

The ignorant comment was really more for El Chup's post. And yeah, I'd say history has a lot to do with it. You may not see it as a basic human right, but it is undeniably a basic American right.

Can we take this topic back to what it was originally? I would really like to know what you guys think would be a good idea.

What should my friend and I do for our own protection while backpacking through Europe? Are we just limited to knives?

Maybe some pepper spray or an asp? Anybody know the legality of those?

Or better yet, don't go into a region full of weak-minded fools who fear weapons.