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My boss offered me an opportunity for a few month's work in Germany for a computer upgrade project.

I have to wonder that, if I have the time for sight seeing, what kind of goodies I might stumble across at a gun shop. Does Germany even have gun shops? All these "sweet deals" you see have to come from somewhere and I'm just drooling at the thought that I could walk into a German surplus store to pick up a mount, scope, etc. at cost!

It is probably a pipe dream but does anyone have any insight as to whether "surplus" shops even exist in Germany?

Dont know about surplus shops, but there has to be flea markets and such. A friend was in Russia for awhile and picked up some WWII items at afffordable prices. Good luck happy hunting

There are gunshops, but flea markets are where you'll find the deals on the militaria. Ask some of the local people where such things are, and shop there on the weekends. Take lots of money for postage. German postage is a killer. You could always send home a twin mount AA pedestal mount. You can buy them for $30, because shippingis so expensive, nobody will but it.

Get yourself a metal detector and hit some battle sites. Youd be suprised what you can find
Glenn

Me thinks that that is not legal in some protected spots. Also, you never know what you will uncover. ( as in go boom......)

Not saying that I wouldnt try it.........

I do it here in Okinawa as often as I can. Find some pretty cool stuff. That having been said you end up with a TON of shrapnel
Glenn

flemgunner wrote:Get yourself a metal detector and hit some battle sites. Youd be suprised what you can find
Glenn

You will also find that some of things you find still work such as artillery shells and mines. When I visited with friends in Vossenack this past April they laughed at the idea a friend of mine had of relic hunting with a metal detector because of the unexploded ordnance in the area.

Hi,
I lived in Germany for a while and collected a lot of stuff there from flea markets and also surplus stores etc, yes they do have these surplus stores full of Ex-Bundeswehr kit and equipment. I have seen some useful parts such as tripods, 50 rnd basket drums etc. There are some large military shows also where you can find stuff, however the prices are often the same at the shows as you buy online but the odd bargain does turn up. I found lots of WW2 medals etc on flea markets all with hidden "forbidden" markings, usually face down in the display case or with a bit of tape over them, real stuff can still be found as well as the repro, you just need to know the differences with pins, materials used and clasp etc etc etc. Best do as I did, get up at 5am on a cold Saturday or Sunday mornings and head out to the local flea markets when they are setting up. Takes time and dedication but good stuff can turn up, just remember there are a lot of other guys up early too hunting for stuff and a lot of German collectors out doing the same

I am headed off to Germany myself in October for a week, and want to do the same thing. I will plan on asking my local friends about area flea markets and shops for sure.

My question is about bringing it back with me in my luggage. Obviously, I not bringing back any full (or cut up) receivers or anything "evil" but what about parts? What about that $100 tripod?

How far up the ladder from just some medals, pins, and such can I go without a problem? For me, I would think some spare parts for my SA builds might make sense. How about a wood stock? how about a barrel?

I am not worried about surprized looks at customs, but only what is the law. Anyone with experience or knowledge on this?

My luggage limit is up to 50lbs per bag......... (and I can throw out the clothes on the return trip to make more room.)

Thanks in advance.

I would be VERY wary about transporting barrels and the like in my luggage. I can see the news headlines now. Don't forget they get all excitable about drinks and shampoo in your luggage just imagine what would happen with gun parts I think you would be ok with stocks and drums and some of the small parts. I would ship the parts via courier as the airlines will bum rape you on the excess baggage .They are clamping down on excess luggage according to my girlfriend, she works at a major airport.

I am not sure on the laws in Germany regarding barrel ownership, you may need to have their equivalent of a firearms certificate the same goes for bolts and receivers. Also be aware that if you can get the barrel and get it on the plane ok you have another potential problem. If your flight was divert for some reason for instance England then you would just have imported an illegal firearm oops!

So I think the moral of the story would be to ship it and possibly pay a bit more but don't go to jail. Also know the gun laws in the country you are visiting as the USA is quite relaxed compared to most other countries.

This has come up a bunch of times on FAL Files, and knowledgeble members have posted good shops. Log on there and do a search. Gun shops are not as common in Germany as in USA, and many are just hunting shops. I've found that, in general, a gun shop in USA has more stuff of interest than those in Germany.

Switzerland, though has some great shops with lots of surplus. Depending on where you'll be, Switzerland may not be a bad drive; Bern is full of gun shops (not Zurich though!).

Personally, I'd say skip the search for gun parts and just go look around at the history. You won't find a lot of WWII left, but the pre-war buildings and museums are very interesting. Berlin is a must, Munich is great (beer & food!).

Longhorn-- Don't worry, you will not see me in any headlines. I was just asking if anyone had any first hand knowledge. I just didn't want to not ask the question and then find that I missed some deal of a lifetime. And, I do fly to Europe about 6-7 times a year and yes, I can bring two 50lb pieces of luggage for free.

Abominog- Yes, food & beer are part of my normal mission on my trips, so I will have my priorities set correctly. And I will have a friend in Berlin as my guide too. I went to Bastone in February and to Waterloo in May. EXCELLENT trips! And yes, to see and walk "in history" is a great experience. Thanks for the FAL forum idea....

I would be careful of bringing barrels back into the US. If the bureau of all things fun has required that all imported barrels be torch cut, why would they make exception for you? It might arrive safely only to be handed over to some jerk kid in a customs uniform.

there is NO COUNTRY in European Union where you can legally buy gun's parts
such as Barrels Bolts Cylinder Frame without a police licence, and I am sure that
no armouries would sell it illegaly. Prison are not confortable here in Europe.
Even if you legally buy these parts, you need another licence to export.
The only difference between European countryes is concerning the magazine.
Magazine are in free sale in Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, and other countryes
they are regulated in France, Italy ecc..
Small parts as firing pin extractors ejectors are regulated in France.