President Bolsonaro of Brazil eases Restrictions on Ammunition sales, Gun Imports

Ammoland ^ | 10 May, 2019 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

On 7 May, 2019, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro issued a decree further reforming Brazil's extremely strict laws on gun ownership and carry.

Keeping his campaign promises, President Bolsonaro signed an initial decree only two weeks into his presidency, in January of this year.

The decree signed on 7 May makes it a little easier for Brazilians, who wish to use their guns to defend themselves, to train and to do so.  From lfpress.com:

“Public security starts inside your home,” said Bolsonaro, a far-right former army captain who made getting tough on criminals in a country that is the world leader in total homicides a big part of his election campaign.

To own a gun in Brazil, citizens must pass a series of requirements, including a psychological screening and a safety course.

I have not found the text of the 7 May decree. But riotimesonline.com gave this summation:

According to Bolsonaro, the main measures of the decree include:

• Permission for the rural gun-owner with legal possession of a firearm to use the weapon within the perimeter of their own property;
• Breaking of the monopoly on arms imports in Brazil;
• Permission for collectors, sport shooters and hunters (CSCs) to be able to travel between home and shooting site with the firearm and its ammunition;
• Armed Forces Veterans with ten years or more of experience will be entitled to bear firearms;
• The right to purchase up to 50 cartridges per year will go up to one thousand cartridges per year.

[marktwain]

There is an error in the article. Brazil's homicides are about 15% of those reported in the world, not 50%.

[InABunkerUnderSF]

In Brazil any criminal who wants a gun can get one easily. They make it hard for law abiding folks though. Many otherwise honest people just ignore the laws and arm themselves anyway.

Most guns in private hands are Tauruses. Taurus is the only domestic manufacturer and they are cr... not of high quality. ANY US, European or Turkish manufacturer's product will have a definite quality advantage.

[jim35]

I own several Taurus handguns, and they are uniformly reliable, durable and priced for the average income. I love Taurus, and have been using them for decades.

[super7man]

I have a Taurus PT111. Fine little gun for the price. Never a problem.

Now if ya’ want to talk about a Lorcin, we can be on the same page. ;o)

[InABunkerUnderSF]

I've only owned two. A PT111 that was a problem from the day I bought it. It was prone to light primer strikes and with 115 grain NATO ball, depending on the brand of ammo, it would reliably fire between 50 and 95 percent of the time. I went round and round with Taurus, the company I bought it from and my FFL and ended up shipping it to Taurus in Florida. It took five months for them to get it back to me with no explanation of what was wrong or what they did to fix it. Took it to the range. No change in performance. I sold it "as is" for fifty bucks.

The other is an 856 revolver that I sometimes carry as a backup gun. This is the gun that I learned how to perform a trigger job on a revolver on. Generally works now but the cylinder gap measures .004+ inches, twice what a comparable S&W would be. You have to be careful how you hold it or your knuckles get singed

From a former co-worker in Brazil I learned that when you send your Taurus to Miami for repairs they throw it into a 20 foot ocean container. When the container is full they load it on a ship and send it to Porto Alegre. When it get to PA it sits in bond for a day or two (or seven) until the ever efficient Brazilian customs guys clear it for entry. It's then trucked about 100 km up the river where it's pulled out of the container, inspected and passed off to repair. The gunsmiths have minutes not hours to diagnose and fix any problems. It's then thrown back in the ocean container and shipped back to Miami, clears customs and is trucked back to you. Having worked for 17 years in logistics this is not a process that fills me with confidence.