Oh, yes. The rifles.
I admit I don't know as much about availiability of rifles in the USSR. While the shotguns were more or less yes-yes, the rifles were always more or less no-no. Until 196-something, one could buy a rifle under secial permission (the rumor connects the ban on rifles for the hunters with Kennedy's murder). Before the WW2, I've been told, the NKVD and other law-enforcmnt bodies looked through the fingers on break-open rifles (drillings, double rifles, etc), but took a very firm stand against "army rifles".
But anyway, the professional hunters, who needed rifles, had rifles (at times not as their property, but isued to them like the militeyry issued rifles to soldiers).
Now a hunter can buy a rifle after he/she had owned a shotgun for 5 years without incident. After you buy the gun, and before you get a keep/bear permit for it, you come to a Milicia range and fire a few shots: the milicia keeps the bullets and empties, so that they can trace your gun, if you shoot soneone with it. Other aspects of gun ownership are the same as regards shotguns.
Also< i forgot to mention that you only can buy a shotgun if you're 18 or older.
