Hey Aussie, I live in Germany, and it's restrictive as well, but not as bad as all that. However, when it comes to handguns it's still pretty harsh, if you have a hunting license, you can own two handguns. If you have a sport shooting license, you can own two. I won't go into all the time, pain and money to get those licenses, but it's a lot of all of those. I have both and am maxed out at four handguns. Rifles/shotguns aren't too much of a problem, but you can only own three semi-autos. There is no such thing as a weapon for self-defense, you cannot have that "need" to own a firearm of any kind here. However, if you do own firearms, you can defend yourself but only in special circumstances.