hunting overseas

Hey guys. I hope this topic hasn't been beeten to death, but I ran a search and didn't find anything.

What are the traveling handgun hunter's opportunities for hunting overseas these days? USPS just delivered a couple of hh books, including Hampton's. Mark talks about hunting in Europe, South America, Australia, etc, but I was always under the impression that we had Alaska and the lower 48, and South Africa.

Can anyone Smarten me on the subject?

Matt C, Where are you wanting to hunt?? There are a lot of opportunities out there and a few I wish would open up. If I told you that a particular country was open to handgun hunting now, tomorrow it could very likely change. So, where do you want to go and what would you like to hunt?

Wow, straight to the source! Thanks Mark.

I don't think I have any specific location yet, other than all of them. I'm new to the sport, and am just trying to absorb as much information as I can.

I guess if I was forced to narrow it down, I might say Europe, or perhaps Scandinavia.

Well Matt, the two choices you listed are not exactly the most handgun friendly. Several countries in Europe do not allow handguns. I have hunted in several with a permit for the particular firearm. Spain, for example, is a wonderful hunting destination with several unique trophies that can be hunted with a handgun. The Scandinavian region of northern Europe; Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland, to the best of my knowledge, are probably off limits to handgun hunting. I know of a couple of guys that got a permit to hunt Iceland a few years ago but am unsure if this is possible today. I tried to get in Greenland this year for reindeer and musk ox to no avail.

Best of luck in your endeavor.

Spain, huh? Guess i'll need to brush up on my spanish.

Thanks again, Mark. I always appreciate learning from the experts.

Mark is right things are constantly changing. Africa is always undergoing some sort of change... Zambia, formerly a handgun friendly country, has closed all sport hunting. Botswana, not handgun friendly, had closed all sport hunting after 2013. Zimbabwe seems to be on a similar track. Australia is possible if you have a local with a handgun, let me know if you're interested. I can give you a contact. Argentina is now possible again with a handgun. It's an ebb and flow but my suggestion is, if you want to hunt Africa with a handgun you'd better do it soon, as in 2013.

Matt,
The only places I have been able to handgun hunt in Europe are Spain and Hungary. I was not able to use handguns in France (2000) or Slovenia (1999). As others have pointed out, this is a very fluid situation and will require you checking with a respected knowledgeable outfitter and perhaps even officials in the game department of the country you want to hunt in.
Argentina is the best destination in South America, and is handgun friendly.
Australia banned the import of handguns for hunting in the Northern Territory in 2000, and in other states before that. As Gary points out, you could use an outfitters gun, already in the country, if you choose, to hunt in the N.T.
Africa is a classic hornet's nest of change.
Mark has more Asian handgun hunting experience than anyone. My only asian hunting experience is in Turkey and eastern Russia, and I had to use rifles at that time.

Matt,

despite my best efforts - and I have been writing quite a few pieces on the joys and virtues of handgun hunting in the Swedish hunting magazines, which are also read in Norway, Denmark and the Swedish-speaking minority of Finland - handgun hunting in Scandinavia is still illegal for regular hunting. You're normally allowed to finish off trapped animals with a handgun but that's it.

This goes, unfortunately, for most of Europe. Spain might be the exception - I believe there is a rule of a minimum barrel of 12" but that's hardly a problem for people like Mark Hampton...

The situation in Australia is highly restricted.

In 2009 I asked the Northern Territory police what the NT situation was. They stated they will issue a permit for a client to use a handgun registered against a safari operator's corporate licence. However they stressed that "it does not extend to recreational hunting or the use of privately owned firearms." I think this comes down to them acknowledging the economic benefits of the safari industry, while complying with legislation that specifically doesn't allow handguns to be used for hunting.

You won't be able to legally engage in handgun hunting in any of the other States.

For a while, under former Prime Minister Rudd, we had a Federal Government that was relatively shooter friendly. The current Government seems to be moving into the anti-gun camp while the Opposition was the party who instituted the gun bans when they were last in Government.

Unfortunately, hunting with handgun is not allowed in all ex-Yugoslavia contries