Proof of need for sport shooters: what § 14 WaffG requires

Acquisition and possession are two different thresholds

§ 14 WaffG distinguishes between acquiring a firearm (Erwerb) and continuing to possess one (Besitz). The required frequencies differ substantially, and this is where most confusion online begins.

The options are alternatives — meeting one is enough. For acquisition there is an additional guideline of no more than two firearms within six months; “in der Regel” means the authority has discretion here, not that it is a hard block.

Where the “18 range days” figure actually comes from

Forums often claim the number is administrative practice or comes from the WaffVwV. It does not. Both figures — “once in every whole month” and “18 times in total” — are written into the statute itself, § 14 (3) no. 2 WaffG. The 2020 reform of German weapons law replaced the earlier vague term “regelmäßig” with these concrete numbers.

What counts as one occasion?

The statute counts occasions, not shots. One range day is one occasion, even if you shot several disciplines that day. OnAim deliberately counts conservatively and treats multiple entries on the same date as one range day. There is no explicit statutory rule for this case.

Which document the authority actually accepts

Several authorities state explicitly that a personal log alone is not enough:

“Die Kopie des Schießbuches oder des Mitgliedsausweises ist hierfür nicht ausreichend.” (A copy of the shooting log or membership card is not sufficient for this.)

— Landratsamt Mühldorf a. Inn

The official Berlin weapons-authority form requires a certificate with signature and stamp from both the club and the federation. The word “Schießbuch” does not appear on it at all.

The Lower Saxony federation (NSSV) sets out the division of roles most clearly: the official record is the Vereinskladde, kept by the club (at minimum date, name and firearm type; retained for ten years). It calls a personal shooting log “empfehlenswert” — recommended, a sensible supplement rather than a substitute.

Since 2026: who issues the certificate

In Bavaria, responsibility for certificates covering continued possession under § 14 (4) and (5) WaffG moved from the club to the Landesverband (state federation) as of 1 January 2026. The Bavarian federation announced it and the Mühldorf district office confirms the transition. Whether other states handle it the same way cannot be inferred from these two Bavarian sources, so ask your Landesverband how the application works there before planning around a deadline.

What your personal log is for, then

• You always know where you stand. Eleven documented range days versus nineteen is a difference you want to know before you apply, not after.
• You can support your club. The DSB describes an obligation on clubs to document how often each member is active. Having your own dates in order makes that reconciliation easy for both sides.
• Paper gets lost. A booklet that gets soaked in a range bag is ten years of documentation gone.

That is what OnAim's activity record is for: it shows how many range days are documented in a period you choose and exports them as a PDF — no serial numbers, no licence data. It does not tell you whether a Bedürfnis exists. That is for your federation and the authority to decide.