Quote:
Originally Posted by Giligan
Not living in Finland, I wouldn't know, but it seems that traditonally, guns would be a staple. In the northern reaches of the country, there isn't much but pine forest and snow, and hunting has I belive been the first and foremost method of survival. Only rifles would be good there, not smuggled PPSH-41s and Makorovs. 
Also, as I recall, wolves have been known to attack humans in Siberia, so self-protection and protection of livestock is I'm sure on the minds of a lot of farmers, if the situation is the same in northern Scandinavia. |
The north of Finland, Sweden and Norway is called
Nordkalotten and is indeed mostly wilderness. Up there hunting is a part of life and I'm sure every family owns shotguns
for hunting. I'm not sure about wolves being a big threat, but I know that bears are becoming a problem in some parts of northen Sweden as they have increased in numbers these last 5-10 years.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SSH
That and Finnish national service and reservists have to keep their guns...
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_Finland:
"Guns and other weapons are tightly regulated. One must separately apply for a gun license, which cannot be given for "security reasons". Membership of a shooting or hunting club, or owning hunting lands is required. Even other weapons, such as pepper sprays, are regulated. Carrying weapons, including guns and knives, in public is not allowed."
Maybe that counts as "lax"? |
From:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics_in_Finland
And reading the section Regulations I find this:
Quote:
|
To obtain a firearms license, an individual must declare a valid reason to own a gun. Acceptable reasons include: hunting, sports or hobby, profession related, show or promotion or exhibition, collection or museum, souvenir, and signalling.
|
It's the same as in Sweden with perhaps exception for that part: souvenir.
Anyway, keeping guns of different sorts for personal protection isn't common at all over here and I
sincerely hope it stays that way.
