HITC discusses firearms laws and regulations in Norway and explains the legality of citizens and police officers carrying firearms in the country. In principle, ammunition is only sold to persons with a valid firearms licence. However, if you are in possession of an unregistered shotgun purchased before April 1, 1990 and registered in the Hunters Register, you can purchase shotgun ammunition by presenting a firearms licence or hunting licence at the place of purchase. Without a special permit, only 10,000 cartridges can be stored by a single person, or 15,000 cartridges if 5,000 of them are .22 LR caliber or less. Norway`s firearms laws take into account the political and regulatory aspects of the use of firearms in the country. Citizens are allowed to keep firearms (most often for hunting, sport shooting). The acquisition and stockpiling of weapons is regulated by the State. In 2017, there were 1,329,000 (or 25 per 100 people) of registered firearms in the possession of 486,028 people (or 9% of the population) in Norway. [7] As a hunter, you may need multiple firearms for different types of hunting. In total, as a hunter, you can own a total of 8 firearms. Norway has one of the highest per capita gun rates in the world. However, there are still strict requirements for firearms, including the licenses and applications required to purchase firearms.

 Karp, Aaron.2007.` Completion of Count: Civilian Firearms – Online Appendix. Small Arms Survey 2007: Guns and the City.Cambridge:Cambridge University Press, 27 August. (Q5) The qualification process for the sport is theoretically easier, but requires more time and practice. The applicant must register for a firearms safety course of at least 9 hours. The course includes a written test, but is shorter than the hunting exam because it only deals with gun safety. Two-thirds of the course is completed as an exercise on the shooting range. Successful completion of the test leads to admission to the licensed shooting club and a license for the competition. However, while hunters can get their gun almost immediately, sport shooters must prove their intention to compete by actively training or competing in the gun club. This means regular participation (at least 15 times) in the Formation of the Gun Club over a period of six months. The applicant must use firearms belonging to the club or borrowed from the shooting range for this period. After six months, the applicant may request possession of weapons.

The starting license and a written recommendation from the President of the Gun Club will be brought to the police station and the competition class will be completed upon request. If approved, it will be returned to the applicant as with the hunting licence. In Norway, citizens are allowed to keep firearms, which are often used for hunting and sport shooting. However, the acquisition and stockpiling of weapons is regulated by the state through strict gun control laws. As a rule, the number of people killed by firearms is low in Norway. Between 2012 and 2020, 24 people were killed by firearms, with the country generally having a low murder rate. In accordance with the EU Weapons Directive, Norway has implemented the ban on all military weapons, grenade launchers, fully automatic rifles and firearms disguised as other objects. During transport, the weapon should be empty and hidden, but should not be carried on the body and under the constant supervision of the owner. This also applies to replicas, air rifles and disused firearms. Handguns have certain caliber restrictions.

A Smith & Wesson Model 500, for example, is illegal because of its high performance, but other less powerful weapons are legal because they are used in sport shooting. Norway has a long tradition of high-end sport shooting competitions, especially rifle shooting. Each caliber must be used in some kind of competition to be approved. In addition, there is a limit to the number of weapons an owner can have for each caliber. For recreational shooters, only one weapon is allowed in each caliber. For professional and semi-professional shooters, a replacement weapon is allowed. A recreational shooter can only own four different handguns. To learn more, it is necessary to document the extensive involvement in sport shooting. Later this year, Norway plans to ban all semi-automatic firearms from the Scandinavian country. In particular, the owners of these weapons would be required by law to hand them over to the government, and the sale of this particular type of firearm would continue to be prohibited in the future.

Norway has a large population of hunters. [4] Semi-automatic and repeating rifles, as well as shotguns, make up the majority of weapons in civilian homes.