"Talking" to a guy in Switzerland...

[280plus]

On FB. The govt issues every able bodied male a Sig 550. Fully automatic in 5.56 Web page I found says there are only about 450 in the US

Now I'm jealous and want to move to Switzerland!

[Boomhauer]

I hear that it's not *that* great of a rifle. We lust over it because it's rare for us.

[Jim147]

On FB. The govt issues every able bodied male a Sig 550. Fully automatic in 5.56 Web page I found says there are only about 450 in the US

Now I'm jealous and want to move to Switzerland!

But they only give them one round.

[280plus]

Review said it was the smoothest full auto .223 they ever shot but yes, I lust over it. Think of the cans you could kill with it. He says it's good for hunting boars. lol

[Perd Hapley]

A 5.56 rifle? Yeah, those are oh so exciting and rare. 

[T.O.M.]

On FB. The govt issues every able bodied male a Sig 550. Fully automatic in 5.56 Web page I found says there are only about 450 in the US

Now I'm jealous and want to move to Switzerland!

450 able bodied males in the US?  I might believe that.   

[drewtam]

http://www.reddit.com/r/guns/comments/u5fzh/ima_request_a_citizen_of_switzerland_willing_to/c4sjzez

Since the last reform of the LARM (Loi sur les ARMes - Weapon's law) of 2010, you have to ask your cantonal (think "State") police weapon's bureau a Weapon licence to buy a firearm. If you're a Swiss citizen, you have to provide a clean criminal record, and pay a 50.- fee (in Freiburg, it may vary Canton from Canton) for the examination of your file.
If you're a Swiss citizen, you don't need the authorization to buy several types of guns, like Mq/K 31 : you can still buy it through a contract with the seller. You can buy as many ammunition as you want, but only in the calibers you have an authorization for and only FMJ projectile (except for policemen, security agents and hunters, I think).
If you're a legal alien, with the exception of several countries (former-Yugoslavia, Algeria, etc.), you have to provide also a clean criminal record of your country and an official document indicating that you have the right to buy a firearm in your country. You don't have to explain why you need the gun. If your authorisation is granted, you can buy up to three guns, but to only one seller. Police have to provide an explaination if they refuse the authorization. You can ask as many authorization as you want.
It's still possible to buy special/forbidden guns (full-auto, silenced...) but the process is arbitrary and you have to get a special police authorization to use them (available only one day, for the owner of the gun). The rule is "once a full-auto, always a full-auto" - no conversion allowed, except for former military rifle privatized (so only FASS/StG 57 & 90).
You can transport you gun to the shooting area, but it have to be empty of cartridges, and can't be used quickly, ammunitions have to be transported separatly from the gun (the law is a bit vague on this subject, so to be on the safe side, it's advised to carry ammos in a different bag than the gun, and all magazines empty).
For a law-abiding citizen, it's almost impossible to obtain a CCW, since you have to prove that you have a special need (i.e. : a jeweller which have been already attacked in plain day three times, got a training, got his request denied on the basis that he just had to rent a security agent, the same for a gay which was lynched while cruising in a public park by some homophobes, on the basis he didn't have to indulge this lifestyle). I think today only some very well connected people, policemen and security agents have the right to carry a pistol (up to 10 mm). So if you feel your life is threatened, you can't carry your gun, but you can rent a Securitas with a Glock 19 (I think the rate is about CHF 100/hour, so it's not for the common citizen).
The last administrative reform (not in the law, for the moment) concern mostly army recruits, which are now screened for mental/violence problems and their rifles confiscated if they're deemed a risk. If a soldier ask for his rifle at the end of his term, he have to obtain a police authorization (I think the fee for the neutralization of the full-auto selector is about CHF 100, if you buy the SIG 550 in armory, it costs about CHF 2000-2500).
Apart from the Army service guns (FASS/StG 90 and pistols) which are provided by the State, they're still hundred of thousands of guns unregistered in the hands of citizen. They're still no sanction for the possession of an unregistered gun in the law if you're not a felon.
Before '99, Switzerland guns' law was probably the most liberal in the world. In several Cantons, you could possess and carry a gun without restriction. Now, the legislation converge with the European norm.
It's a fact that now Switzerland is seen as a soft target/piñata by criminal gangs from France and other former sovietic countries.
Rules of self-defense are rather neat and not undermined by jurisprudence like in France. Rules are simple : you can ripost against an illegal attack (you can't use it against a policeman arresting you...), in progress or imminent (if you agressor flee, you're safe), and you can provoke the same hurt that you're risking (i.e. : you can kill if you're risking death). You can also claim the protection of legitime defense in the case of an injustified homicide if you thank you were under the threat of death (i.e. : dumb guy threaten to shoot you with a realistic air soft gun).
Everyone can carry (except in private areas explicitely forbiding it) knives (except balisong and "automatic" - including assisted opening blade) and OC/PAVA sprays (but no CS).

http://www.swissinfo.ch/ger/multimedia/fotogalerie/Schweizer_und_ihre_Waffen.html?cid=29120918

[Scout26]

So, do you shoot over the cows or through them?

[brimic]

So, do you shoot over the cows or through them?

They moove when the shooting starts.

[AZRedhawk44]

They moove when the shooting starts.

[Hawkmoon]

Now I'm jealous and want to move to Switzerland!

Don't be. It's not quite as simple and as rosy as we think.

http://ezine.m1911.org/showthread.php?t=159

[280plus]

But they have chocolate too! Swiss chocolate!

[Tallpine]

But they have chocolate too! Swiss chocolate!

Is that from Europe?  Near France...?

 

[Ben]

Don't be. It's not quite as simple and as rosy as we think.

http://ezine.m1911.org/showthread.php?t=159

Yeah, you also have to factor in other stuff besides guns -- taxes for instance. Maybe if you weren't really into guns and lived in one of our large coastal cities, Switzerland would be a significant improvement, but otherwise there's a lot of other stuff you have to figure in for Switzerland, or any other country for that matter, being superior to the US overall freedom-wise.

On a thread veer, it was interesting reading in Hawkmoon's link that the Swiss will forbid citizens of specific countries from buying weapons. Right or wrong, looking at the list, you can get some idea of why those nationalities are proscribed. It would be fun to sit back with a bag of popcorn and watch the show if the US were to ever do such a thing, for instance forbidding Mexican citizens while allowing Canadian citizens to purchase firearms. Of course with our current PC administration, we would probably do the opposite.

[Tallpine]

Yeah, you also have to factor in other stuff besides guns -- taxes for instance. Maybe if you weren't really into guns and lived in one of our large coastal cities, Switzerland would be a significant improvement, but otherwise there's a lot of other stuff you have to figure in for Switzerland, or any other country for that matter, being superior to the US overall freedom-wise.

...

I've heard that the entire country is like one super anal HOA with the force of law.

[Hawkmoon]

I've heard that the entire country is like one super anal HOA with the force of law.

Heck, my (nanny) state is headed in that direction. More and more towns around me are adopting "blight" ordinances. In most of them, they even control how long your grass can grow without mowing.