Chile Forum

I was talking to javier on the chilegringos, and he mentioned a permit can be obtained, or a license to have, possess, and or carry a gun. I was hoping this could be legally addressed. I do have a license in the US, and a concealed weapons permit. Is there a Chilean equivalent? Can a gun, pistol, rifle and or collection be imported? Thanks.

It's none of my business but may I ask why you want a gun in Chile? Coming from Europe I don't understand why so many americans want to have guns. The less weapons in circulation the better. It seems there are way too many guns in the US and maybe that has something to do with how violent US is. Sure, some says that the gun doesn't kill ... people do, but it becomes an "arms race" where good guys forces bad guys to get weapons too. Just wanted to say this but not knowing any of your reasons for bringning guns to Chile pls don't see this as an "attack" on you.

Magnyz, thanks for saying that.

As an American, I want to say to my fellow Americans: I don't have anything against guns for the most part. I don't own one. I don't want to own one. If I were to move to Chile, I would not want to be in a place where I would need one.

I don't know what the gun culture is like in Chile. I hope it is nowhere near what it is like in the US.

here is a thread where we beat the subject a bit:
http://www.allchile.net/chileforum/view ... ht=hunting

As for concealed weapons, no such thing in Chile. The paperwork and regulations around guns is so thick that you might want to just downgrade to a slingshot.


Most people call it self-defense, I call it Gun Karma. I bet in the history of the World, 99.9% of the cases of people shot with a gun, had been caring a gun or owned a gun.

Hunting is another thing, but I also don't believe in the theory that you need much more than a good quality single shot rifle. If you suck that bad at shooting, you likely should not be hunting or carrying a gun. Hunting animals like you are going to war is an ego trip thing, not hunting. If you want to hunt for sport, be sporting about it.

Any situation in Chile that you need a gun, you have most likely worked your way in to it very hard (e.g. your engaged in some sort of illegal activity).

I totally agree with all the answers! Chile is not the wild wild west that this country has become.I think is more of a testosterone thing than anything (if you ask me). As a female, I would rather see people calling each other "weones", smacking each other silly or giving each other few kicks in the jewels but other than that nope, and afterwards inviting the "enemy" to drink a beer or eat a "sanguchito"and that should be the end of the story BUT IF el weón se pone porfiado once again, then he should deserve another smack and the sentence ¨snap out of it¨!

I know nothing about regulations but it seems owning a handgun is "low class" to Chileans I know. Some own them but don't talk about it. Admitting you own a gun is admitting you live in a low class neighborhood, I think.

...I think that in the us...those that have guns and make a bad name for themselves are similar to those really bad drivers we see now and again here...they are not always there, you have to keep an eye out and when they show up we just have to stay out of thier way and hope for the best.

TO not have some kind of weapon in the south of Chile is foolish...now maybe if you live in the city limits its not such a mandatory deal but in the country...if you don't have at least a shotgun you are a dumb ass....cases in point....check out the following...

My mother law is alone in the house sometimes..and so if a stranger shows up its good for them to see that she has a shotgun...it definitely keeps the guys whose cars break down on the road respectful....we have pumas that cross our land about every two weeks...I do not want to shoot a puma but when a dog barks in that certain way and I know he is around then I can shoot off a couple rounds and it keeps him out of my pants....in different parts of the south there is a tremendous rabbit problem and the dogs simply can't keep up with it...the cows twist thier legs in the rabbit holes and have to be put down...I am always out with the shotgun gun for the rabbits...occasionly we have an animal injured because of whatever reason and the shotgun or the short 38 pistol puts them down fast and out of thier misery...it comes up that el puelche is out walking late and thier those that are out as well hunting rabbits...they can come across the fence and not realize where the are because of the pisco they have drunk ...so as they get closer puelche can shoot off the shotgun so that they are aware that its best to call it a night or least go away in another direction...which they do....

A few years ago we had some cattle theft issues going on...at the time we had some land in and amonst the indiginas...in CHile if you catch someone on your land you can shoot them and claim self defence and there is really nothing that comes up with it...so we had some guys that would lead some of the younger novillos to the fence att he side of the yard whereby they would butcher the cow and toss the meat into the road for later pick up...in this way if the feared discovery they could move to the road and not have fear of getting a shot gun blast...well we went to town and talked to the carabineros and outlined our plan to shoot down the thieves...basicly giving notice so that when it went down...there was less worry of "issues" of self defence coming up...

THe carabineros said, okay and pushed us on our way saying that when you get them...don't let them out on the road...make sure they are dead by the time we get there and if they make it to the road then drag them back...no worries, we will bury them right there and that will be it...wel honestly we did not want to shoot down a nieghbor...it was a nieghbor that was reaponsible we knew...so we waited two days from the last theft and we went out about 1:30 am until about 5:00am....we crisscrossed the property all night(we had about 550 acres at the time) and shot off the shot gun here, there and everywhere to...in a certain way, give notice that we were serious about not having any more issues with catlle theft...and we didn't have anything else after that and everyone knew that the game was up...

In a side bar...in our new place it turned out that because the land had been less than cared for the locals had become accostumend to hunting it for rabbits....I am all for them hunting rabbits off my land as they are a problem...but one evening soon after we arrived it turned out that we had two hunting parties converge in the small valley where we had the house...they came from two different directions...it was about 11:30 at night....they were shooting alot and came in at the same time...maybe 7 or eight shotguns all told...the blasts were hitting the house.....we went out and shot in the air at first but then began recieveing direct fire from each side at maybe 30 or 50 meters...the guys were all drunk and so it was a shotgun fire fight for about 25 minutes untill the groups melted back out and into the forest...we were in the middle and each time we fired to push them back each side would fire intot he house tinking that it was the opposing side...after that we had no isssues....kaboooooom...you better have at least a shotgun...


laters p out.


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Hi all,
I read G's post with interest and the knee jerk reactions with amazement. I'm sorry, I don't make excuses for criminals, the one about an "arms race" . ..haven't heard that one before but I'll add it to the "harsh childhood, disadvantaged youth, etc etc list.
The fact that Magnyz is in Europe (as I used to be) accounts for much of the conditioning he has potentially received. Others may have different experiences but Europe is changing. The indigenous city populations are rapidly being oppressed by aggressive, armed, immigrant based, drug fuelled gangs/groups. (I grew up in London) Values are changing world wide and it isn't getting better.
If you read it carefully, EP's post carries the old message "speak softly and carry a big stick". Personally, I'm in favor. Admin appears to have it right however (again), no concealed carry permits but one can own handguns for competition, home defense etc. As an avid competitor for 22 plus yrs, I plan to.
Chile may hold the potential for every one of us to realize a better life in one way or another, that's why we are either planing to move there or considering it. How one guy or the next feels about personal protection shouldn't evoke such a reaction.
The fact that G has a CCW permit shows he's trained and is no criminal, not the guy you should worry about and potentially, the guy you might want to call on in a bad situation. Your mileage may vary.

Yes, once I become an official "permanent resident" I would like to at least get a shotgun with some double 0 buckshot load (if available).

It is really not a class thing as some have surmised. In my experience, especially my 24 hour Ernest Hemingway bar days in Santiago Centro talkin' to people with my mujer and her fellow employees tending the restaurant and thus screening the natives I associated with, gun ownership is a fact among the upper middle class and upper classes and not exclusive to the makeshift or drug acquired weapons of the poblaciones. Of course, that richer segment has the good stuff and I can understand why they wouldn't talk about it in polite company or the average gringo they meet.

I speak as a former USA gun lover who painfully bartered away his arsenal after making the decision to move to Chile and later discovered that this "attachment" has no validity or foundation in Chile.

If one is in need of having some weapons for household protection, I recommend bringing in extranjero police quality billies, saps, batons, collapsible batons, stun guns and tasers.

The only reason I'm alive today is because I had a loaded gun handy, ready to use at home.

Anyone who wants to deny others the means of the natural right of self-defense has some serious issues with taking responsibility, amongst other things.

So the solution is to fight violence with more violence? I don't understand that mentality.We are dehumanizing ourselves more and more to the point of becoming like animals in the jungle, losing total value of life.Is that suppose to be called "self defense'? Alright then, let's all become John Waynes and fill the morgues to no capacity, let's get our guns and start shooting the first bastard that will look at us crooked..why not, is the law of the jungle isn't it? With guns we feel safe, we feel powerful......go ahead, make my day!Let's all do like Clint Eastwood. Is all pure insanity! Society as a whole is out of balance.

Gloria, what started as a simple question about permits has got your knickers in a bit of a twist. Let's break it down to a couple of simple truths.
I (as in me, myself) have the natural (being secular you see) right to defend myself against harm or death. And I (same entity) would prefer, should things become serious, that my assailant went to the morgue in my stead. What's the problem with that?
One is either a victim or one is not and turning the other cheek is simply not some people's style.

>Anyone who wants to deny others the means of the natural right of self-defense has some
>serious issues with taking responsibility, amongst other things.

If you are trying to make an inference from an opinion about having guns in the house for self-defense purposes (towards other people in Chile and not in Texas, and I'm not talking about living in the countryside and having a need to protect against wild animals) to deficiency in taking responsibility you probably need to think again. If your general statement would be valid most countries in Europe (where you would never get a gun permit with a purpose to keep a gun in the house for self-defense) would have "serious issues" with taking responsibility. Ridiculous.


This issue could be one of those where seemingly rational individual choices eventually creates an outcome that is worse for everybody (a classical so called "prisoner's dilemma" maybe). If a situation has evolved to the point where everybody (good and bad) is armed to the teeth (like it seems to be in Texas) then clearly it is a society with pretty serious flaws where most people does not want to live. On this list I have heard many who are fed up with this and this is one of the reasons to move to Chile. In Chile, from my still somewhat limited experience, I believe it is not like this but clearly if everybody would think like for example Agentx3 then, as a society, we're going in the wrong direction and eventually it would be a place where most normal people would not want to live. Clearly (at least for me) very strict laws about having guns for self defense purposes (with the exception if you own land and use it for animals) is a good thing on the societal level. One example of the opposite that comes to mind is that shoot out some months ago in Virginia where this crazy teenager had no problem to buy a gun, as I understand it.

MikieO ...

What I read when I read your stement is this (I hope I am exaggerating!) ... I do not care about the society I live in as long as I am ok. Me is the most important thing and to hell with the rest. I do not care if my behaviour and my wishes creates a society which is dangerous for those who does not arm themselves. As long as I can get a gun I don't care if in the process of having that right it becomes easy for other people with bad intentions to get guns too.

Back to the stone age...

I was trying not to get involved here but the Agentx3 soundbite... my response is nothing against G who is asking a reasonable question about permits etc. If and when I decide to get a .22 to shoot bunnies, this is a useful question to have on the forum.

I also think that people have asked reasonable questions as to what the weapons are required for, as things are different here.

Puelche's frontier lifestyle makes for brilliant stories but is not, I would suggest, how many expats would find themselves living in the shortterm.

Shooting rabbits and stuff aside for a moment, what's all this talk of handguns and evil bad guys? As a general rule, keeping a *loaded* weapon to hand in the house because of some misplaced stranger-danger-conditioning is dangerous. Regardless of whose hands they might fall into, your nearest and dearest are at risk. Loaded guns and kids don't mix.

I would also prefer the unarmed petty thieves we have here than people getting their hands on weapons over the next few years and changing the rules of the game.

Agent x3 please don't bring your attitude here. Really.