A gun owning Canadian in India; Hello Indian gun owners

[lebel]

Hi all
I’m so glad to find that firearms aren’t banned here in India. I just flew in last week and plan to marry and perhaps call India home but that depends if I can continue to own guns here. So, I’m sorry to ask these questions which might be asked a lot but any help would be just wonderfully appreciated. In Canada I have handguns and rifles, full automatic are banned and on semi-auto can hold more than five rounds in the magazine. So, that’s a bit of my back ground; I’d like to know the Indian one. So, what types of guns can be owned here, is there an official list, and do you have special exempt status for antique firearms? How do I go about it the acquisition? I haven’t found anything that has given my any clear idea just the official arms acts.
Thanks All
J.M.Bolt
P.S. keep up the good work and I hope to join your side soon

http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/

[MoA]

Lebel,

Welcome on board. India is a lovely country and I am sure you will enjoy yourself.

Guns can be owned in India though you are limited to 3. 1 handgun, 1 12 gauge and one rifle seems to be the most common combination. Getting a license requires a lot of jumping through the hoops and prices are insane.
Automatics, Semi automatics and a number of calibers are prohibited. The laws are insane.
The most common calibers are .32 ACP, .22 LR, .315 (unique to India), .30-06 and .375 HH. There are a number of more esoteric calibers available though finding ammunition might be an issue. On the subject of ammunition, the amount you can own is also regulated and in some cases can be as low as five rounds per gun per year. Like I said the laws are a little insane.

[Prabhath]

Welcome aboard Lebel.

[shooter]

Welcome aboard.
MoA's answer sums up your enquiry.
I dont think you'll find what you are looking for in India in terms of gun ownership and shooting.

on semi-auto can hold more than five rounds in the magazine

Can you please elaborate.
do you mean "cant" hold?
If you can hold more than 5 why mention it?
or did you mean have to hold more than 5 rounds?

[ckkalyan]

Hello Lebel,

Welcome to India and IFG. Here's to hoping you have a great time!

To put it mildly, India is not as gun friendly as Canada; gun ownership, use and enjoyment has always been an uphill task. We Indians live in hope that ONE DAY we will have crystal clear laws that encourage gun ownership.

As an Indian in the UAE - I have been enjoying access to all sorts of air weapons; I am eagerly looking forward to graduating to the real thing in BC soon.

@shooter: What Lebel means is that there is a mag capacity restriction to 5 rounds by Canadian law for semi-auto weapons.

[Anand]

Welcome to IFG & India. !
Unfortunately, foreigners resident in India will have an even greater difficulty in acquiring a firearms license. This is usually because most licenses are issued to very wealthy businessmen and/or to people who have political connections. While shooting sportsmen get more arms and ammunition quotas and import is easier for them, getting licenses to get to that competitive level will still require an extraordinary effort.

I am not trying to dissuade you from trying, just letting you know it wont be easy. Caliber restrictions, ammo limits, arms limits, area restrictions and plain old bureaucratic red tape are some of the things that you will face.

Regards,
Anand

[Sakobav]

Lebel

Welcome aboard incase you are planning to make India home..then there is one way using TR Transfer of residence which allows folks to bring one weapon along provided its been in your name for atleast one year prior to transfer..so lets have an imaginary discussion out of your set of rifles/shotguns/handguns

Cheers

[lebel]

Welcome aboard.
MoA's answer sums up your enquiry.
I dont think you'll find what you are looking for in India in terms of gun ownership and shooting.

on semi-auto can hold more than five rounds in the magazine

Can you please elaborate.
do you mean "cant" hold?
If you can hold more than 5 why mention it?
or did you mean have to hold more than 5 rounds?

Oh! sorry; bad spelling. Semi-autos can hold to a max of five rounds in the mag. + one in the chamber. In Canada we have gun shows. This would be like a bazaar with guns for sale. You can buy/sell and haggle on the prices on everything from ammo, guns to bayonets.

-- Tue Jan 25, 2011 10:05 am --

Thanks guys for the info, this is a great starting point for me. May be I shouldn’t mention this but last week my wife and I were walking around old Delhi just off the metro from Kashmere Gate stop? We spotted a shop, “Delhi Gun House”, on 110 006 but it was evening and it was closed. In the morning I went there in person and I think I gave the poor guys there a bit of a start. I asked if I could see the guns for sale and they said that they only export; no domestic sales. Anyway, I felt it necessary to explain where I was from and my back ground with firearms, I felt a little embarrassed. See, in Canada when you open the door on a shop the says guns you expect to see display counters with rifles, shotguns, handguns and ammo; all stacked neatly with price tags attached. I guess I shouldn’t be so naive because I don’t want to get people in to trouble or me for that matter. If anyone knows the guys @ Delhi Gun House personally please tell them I very sorry. I was in last Friday, big white guy with red goatee; I’m sure they haven’t forgotten.

[Subal das]

you can also learn how to shoot airguns in India. forget of owning firearms, but your wife can get license and you will have some guns in a house. but unless you will have Indian license bringing your guns to Indian will be lose and nice gift for Indian bureaucrats. seems like there is no law prohibiting foreigners, living permanently in India and having residential permit from obtaining an arm license, but I still have to see one really obtained it.

many guns houses been on constant watch by police informants, visit of foreigner for them ... shorter is better.

[mundaire]

The Arms Act is quite clear on this, it is not concerned with citizenship - merely place of "normal residence". So even if you are not a citizen, but are normally (and legally) resident in India, you are eligible to apply for an Arms License.

Before I forget, welcome aboard Lebel, hope you have a pleasant stay on IFG. If you care to join some of the Delhi based IFG members for a beer & gun talk, drop me a line and will keep you in the loop for whenever we are meeting next.

Cheers!
Abhijeet