Hello from the Netherlands

[Dutch Mosin]

Hello all.
I just thought I'd post in here to say hello.
I love to shoot my Mosin Nagants, but just have to take my Swiss Vetterli or Dutch Beaumont to the range every now and then(just for the smell of it )
I reload for all my rifles, but only cast my own for the Vetterli and the Beaumont.
I buy the cast bullets for the Mosin Nagants from a member of our gunclub.
I want to start casting these bullets myself real soon.
Just gotta learn some more about the equipment I have to buy.
Hope to find some info in here.

Great being in here.

Met vriendelijke groet,

Martin

[versifier]

Welcome to Gunloads, Martin.

Our greatest strength is our diversity. I am sure you will find and share a lot of interesting info and opinions here.

I am curious about gun laws and hunting opportunities there, especially changes brought about by the EU. If you could take a minute or two to tell us about what you have to go through to own handguns, rifles, shotguns, obtain a hunting license, and what kinds of game are available, I'd be grateful.

Moisins are very popular here, and a lot of us cast for them. Bore sizes can vary a lot, so you have to slug yours to determine the optimum diameter to size your cast bullets for it. You likely have already been through that with your Vetterli and Beaumont, if not, we'll get you up and going on it. I don't know much about Beaumonts, they are not very common here, and have only seen some poor quality photos. Any chance of posting some pictures of it (and possibly the countryside, too)?

[kodiak1]

Welcome from Western Canada, Central Alberta the biggest Dutch Province in the World!!!!!!
Ken.

[jlb300]

Great to meet you. Looking foreward to conversing with you in the future.

[k-g]

Oh-my-God! Aren't all these guns prohibited in Europe?

You must be the King's cousin or something?

That's not funny I know, but I'm pretty sure the Mosin is restricted in some countries...

kg

[Dutch Mosin]

Thanks for the warm welcome.
First to answer some of your questions.

Oh-my-God! Aren't all these guns prohibited in Europe? 

No, they are not.
You need a license for the Mosins, but both the Swiss Vetterli and the Dutch Beaumont are free, meaning you don't need a license to own them.
When you want to shoot these BP rifles you will need a so called "shooters license".
I will get back on that "shooters license" a bit later.

You must be the King's cousin or something? 

Sorry, last time I checked we still had a queen..
Our last KING, was William III and he ruled from March 17th 1849 until November 23rd 1890.
That means he gave the order to issue our Army with the Beaumont rifle.

I don't know much about Beaumonts, they are not very common here, and have only seen some poor quality photos. Any chance of posting some pictures of it (and possibly the countryside, too)? 

Sure, no problem, I will look up some nice ones from both the Beaumont and the country side.

First something about our licenses.
I will be very brief in this and not go into details.
The Germans always say: "We invented bureaucracy, but the Dutch improved it".
They are right about that, but when you know our system, anything is possible.
It just takes a lot of time and paper work.

I will start with the so called "shooters license".
First you have to know that the only people that carry guns here are the police and the army.
When a civilian wants to own a weapon it is considered highly irregular.
It is possible however.

When you want to own a weapon for shooting matches, you have to be a member of a gunclub.
That shouldn't be a problem, we have plenty of them.
Before you become a member you have to have a form from the justice dept stating that you "behaved well" during the last 8 years.
For example when you have been arrested for drinking and driving(at the same time of course) you will not get such a form from the justice dept.
No form, no membership, no weapons.
When you do get the form you can apply for membership.
In the first year you will be a junior member.
You won't get permission to buy your own weapons.
After one year of membership you can apply for your first weapon.
Both the gunclub and the police have to give their OK.
After the second year you can buy your second weapon.
After three years you can buy up to five weapons.
That is the max amount of weapons on the "shooters license".

Well, that is not entirely true.
I mentioned before that original(not replica's) BP weapons were "free", meaning that everybody can buy them without a license.
When you want to shoot these weapons you will need a "shooters license".
However, only the BP ammo will appear on the license.
Ammo is not the same as weapons so theoretically you can own as much BP weapons as you want(and shoot them) as long as the ammo appears on the license.

These are the rules to get a "shooters license" in a nut shell.

I will get back with the rules on the collectors license and some pictures tomorrow or the day after tomorrow if you don't mind.

It's almost 10.00 PM over here and my wife has the coffee ready.
I can't spend the entire evening behind the computer....well....I can but

See you all tomorrow.

Met vriendelijke groet,

Martin