Sport shooting in Belgium
In 1903 a national union was founded in Brussels to group Belgium’s many shooting societies; before the First World War Belgium’s pistol team won five world titles, and Paul Van Asbroeck the 1908 Olympic pistol event. As sport passed to the language communities, the union split into a wing for each; the French-speaking wing runs provincial and regional matches and leaves national and international ones to the national union. Clay shooting has a federation of its own.
In the Flemish and French-speaking Communities, shooting a firearm that needs a permit takes a sport-shooter licence, which a recognised federation issues under the Community’s decree (the French-speaking one also accepts a governor’s permit to hold the gun): from 16, or 14 for an Olympic discipline in the French-speaking Community, first a provisional licence to learn on, then regular practice, a theory test on the law and a practical test in safe handling.
Gun licence in Belgium
- A sport-shooter licence: a provisional licence, then theory and practical tests per category, from 16 (14 for some disciplines in the French- and German-speaking Communities).
- To keep it, at least 12 shooting sessions a year, counted under your Community’s rules and, in Flanders and the French-speaking Community, entered in a shooting logbook.
- A firearm subject to authorisation outside the minister’s sport-gun list also needs the governor’s permit: no end date, but checked every five years against a valid licence.
Federations
- RBSSF ·
Targets
RBSSF
Belgium’s national federation, uniting the Dutch-speaking VSK, the French-speaking URSTB-f and the German-speaking RSFO under one set of national rules.
| Target | Weapon | Distance | Scoring area |
|---|---|---|---|
| RBSSF ISSF 100m Rifle | Rifle | 100 m | 328.25 mm |
Sources: URSTB-f, “Historique de l’URSTBF”; ISSF, “Member Federations”; Decreet houdende het statuut van de sportschutter (Flemish Community, 2007), arts 2, 7 and 9; Décret relatif à la pratique du tir sportif (Communauté française, 2011), arts 6, 7, 11 and 14; RBSSF Nationale Reglementen 5.3.1 (2024), read on .