Hello,
I never thought I would be starting a thread like this… But looking at what’s going on, I would like to ask if anybody knows about an official way of getting the gun as a foreigner living in Switzerland (Permit B)? Eg. are there any trainings to be followed etc.?
What about getting the other protective equipment, eg. bulletproof vest or helmet. Are getting those is somehow regulated? Do you have any recommendations?
First, be sure you are not from this list of countries, because that would be very difficult according to art.12 OArm/WV :
Serbie;
Bosnie et Herzégovine;
Kosovo;
Macédoine du Nord;
Turquie;
Sri Lanka;
Algérie;
Albanie.
Thank you, I’m from Poland (and yes, it may ring a bell why I feel it may be important thing to do…), so should not be a problem in my case.
I’d say “thank you common sense” rather… 
Don’t think countries should be looking up to the USA for guns’n’ammo regulations.
Switzerland used to have gun laws like the US. It’s still very easy to get all kind of guns and I like it that way.
Thank you for very informative answer.
OK, good to know that there is no requirement, but in case I would like to, can anybody recommend anything? What about joining the local shooting club etc.?
Didn’t we have a vote on this? Thank you Swiss people
Also based on what I heard such clubs might not be super welcoming towards foreigners (just a heads up).
It’s based on precise criteria (and countries get removed from the list if they no longer fulfill them)
It serves two purpose, lower the risk of internal violence between groups, and reduce weapon trafficking towards countries with ongoing conflicts.
It’s outdated. Why isn’t Ukraine or Russia on it?
Interesting. I’m Polish too and I would call myself a pacifist in my own sense of the word (don’t attack first, only defend). For years I’ve been strictly anti-gun, mostly because I didn’t want to have school shootings and all that drama that you have in USA. I always thought the state should have a monopoly on violence and that I would not trust the average Joe to be responsible enough to keep a gun safe. Now I don’t know anymore.
Ironically, the only party that is pro-gun in Poland (Konfederacja) has been labeled pro-Russian by the public. In his recent interview, Mentzen said: “Ask yourself, what does Putin want, more guns in Poland or less guns? Obviously he wants Poles to remain unarmed. So whoever publicly goes against gun ownership, is doing Putin a favor. In Ukraine, they have allowed gun ownership only 1 week before the war, much too late.”
Basically everyone can buy a gun in Switzerland. Not so long ago even semi-automatic assault rifles. And we didn’t have any school shootings yet.
Gun laws aren’t the problem in the US, society is.
I don’t think you can separate it that well.
If noone had guns, noone would be afraid of the other guy shooting onself. noone would call for “arm the teachers!”. Noone nedds to “mistrust as a precaution”.
People are mistrustful (mix in abit of xenophobia/ racism/ white pride/ …). If there were no guns, a mistrustful encounter would typically result in a brawl and some bruises. The moment you add guns, mistrustful encounters escalate much more quickly into deadly violence.
Once everyone mistrusts everyone ("he might have a gun!!), gun “accidents” become so frequent.
I’d rather rely on force monopole by the state and trust everyone else won’t shoot me on sight. There may be quite some examples in the world where this is a bad idea because of fucked up / nonexistent / irresponsible governments. But in Switzerland I believe we are as far away from that as possible.
[edit]
I did enjoy going to the “Feldschiessen” recently and I even got that basic medal 
I was very fascinated by this perculiar impression of power when wielding the Sturmgewehr. Very intersting.
What about the bullets?
Are there stricter controls for that?
I thought that even the military recruits take the (empty) guns home, but are handed the bullets only when needed.
This is exactly my case too!
Hey guys, this topic is quite interesting to me.
I had a gun license in Portugal and was part of a shooting club (my license was only for .22lr and then “evolved” to allow .38).
I didn’t know it was as easy as requesting a permit to buy here in Switzerland… I had to be a part of a club, take training classes, apply for a license and have continuous trainings.
Are there any “international” gun clubs, around the Zurich area?
I know that from my experience being a part of a gun club in Portugal, they tend to lean a certain way and only portuguese was spoken. So I would imagine that it would be very similar in Switzerland (not critizing, just trying to fit in as someone still learning german)
Probably better education too…
I also used to be in two gun clubs, before military in the “Jungschuetzen” where they let 16 year olds shoot with the army rifles. And later in a regular gun club shooting air/gas pistol, small & large caliber pistols. Had a gun club license for participating in tournaments but never needed an official gun license (well technically the only gun I’ve owned was the air pistol, the others were from my dad).
There’s pretty strict laws around carrying weapons in public compared to the US.
as a foreigner living in Switzerland (Permit B)
Without Permit C you need to proof that you have the permission to own firearms in your home country. I had a friend with B who had to show his german hunting license to be allowed to buy; even then he needed to get a Waffenerwerbsschein for every purchase.
I recommend to have a look at this booklet by Fedpol:
For ammunition, same requirements as for purchasing the firearms: