OWD,
For those who can afford the time and money to hunt in Japan, I'm told it's great - lots of deer and bear - not so many birds anymore. The guns laws in Japan make California look tame - it takes about 4-6 months to get a license just to buy a gun and be able to shoot at a skeet range. Then another few months to get a hunting license. Japanese can only own two guns, so if they get a new one, they have to sell the old one - usually as a trade in on the new gun. To get a rifle, one has to show responsible ownership with a shotgun for 10 years before being able to get a rifle. Hunting and shooting are dying out in Japan due to the strict laws. They Japanese hunters I know are in their 60's and 70's - awesome guys and I learn a lot from them, but no young blood. Many of the guns in Japan are nice - since those who can spend the time and money to shoot can afford nice guns. Most of what I've seen are Japanese guns (Nikko, Miroku/KFC, SKB). Other makes are generally Italian (Franchi, Barreta, Marochi) German (Merkel, Suhl) or American (Winchester - Browning - how do you classify Browning?). I've only seen a few English guns - much to my disappointment.
