Bow and Crossbow Hunting in Europe: Where It's Legal and What Bow You Need

Can you hunt with a bow or a crossbow? Not in Latvia. The Hunting Law puts both on its list of banned hunting means. Owning one is a different story. A bow needs no permit at all, and a crossbow counts as a cold weapon you can buy from 18 with no permit and no registration. Cross a border or two and the picture changes again: Denmark, Finland, France, Hungary and Italy let you hunt with a bow, usually once you've passed a bowhunting exam or course and your bow clears a minimum power. The crossbow has a harder time. Almost no country in Europe lets you hunt with one. And for deer you want a bow of at least 45–50 lb, so the light bow you learned on stays at home. Everything we stock for this is in bows, crossbows and air guns.

What's allowed in Latvia

Start with the bow, because it has the easiest time. Section 3(1) of the Ieroču aprites likums, Latvia's Weapons Circulation Law, takes bows out of the law altogether, and section 3(3) does the same for bow and crossbow arrows. There's no age limit, no permit and nothing to register. The one place the law still reaches the bow is section 71, which says where you may shoot it. More on that further down.

A crossbow is a cold weapon. That's the law's term for objects designed to cause harm with muscle power or a mechanism (section 1(4)), and section 71(3) names crossbows as cold weapons outright. Under section 14(3), anyone aged 18 or over may buy, keep, transport and use cold weapons in training and competitions. You need no police permit and no registration.

Transport it, don't carry it. The law lets you transport a crossbow but bans carrying cold weapons designed to cause injury in public places (section 13(1)(4)). Athletes in training and competition are the exception. So in practice it goes to the range in its bag or case, uncocked, with no bolt on the rail. Not slung over your shoulder down the high street.

Hunting is banned. Section 24 of the Hunting Law counts hunting with prohibited means as illegal hunting, and point 9(i) lists crossbows and bows. Hunting with a bow costs 4–70 penalty units (€20–350). With a crossbow it's 8–100 units (€40–500), and you can also be barred from using your hunting rights for up to a year. What you can hunt with a firearm, and when, is in our Latvian hunting calendar.

One warning if you've been reading around. Some articles online, and Google's own AI answer, still say a bow is a cold weapon in Latvia. They're quoting the old Weapons and Special Means Circulation Law. That law has been repealed.

Where in Europe you can hunt with a bow

Every country writes its own rules, and they don't agree. We read the legal texts for the countries in this table ourselves in November 2026, so this is what the law says, not what a forum remembers.

Country	Bow hunting	Crossbow	What you need	Minimum power and broadheads
Denmark	Yes, all game except mouflon and wild boar. Red, fallow and sika deer allowed since 1 January 2024	No	Bowhunting exam (buejagtprøven) or an equivalent test. You may hunt only with the type of bow you took the exam with	Red, fallow, sika deer: arrow energy at least 80 J, arrow at least 33 g, fixed broadhead with at least 3 blades and a cutting diameter of at least 25 mm. Roe deer: at least 40 J and a 25 g arrow
Finland	Yes: small game, beaver, roe deer, deer, mouflon and wild boar. Not moose or bear	No	Hunting licence. Roe deer, deer, mouflon and boar need a shooting test	Draw force at least 180 N (about 40.5 lb). Beaver, deer, mouflon and boar: broadhead cutting diameter at least 22 mm
France	Yes	No	Hunting licence plus a one-day bowhunting course run by the departmental hunters' federation. Every arrow must carry your licence number (for foreigners, the French validation number)	No minimum draw weight. Big game: at least 2 blades and a cutting diameter of at least 25 mm
Hungary	Yes	No	Hunting exam plus a supplementary bowhunter exam	Big game: draw force over 222.7 N (just over 50 lb)
Italy	Yes, the law allows the bow, but regions set the species and seasons	No	Italian hunting licence, regional rules	Set by the regions
Germany	Arrows banned on hoofed game	Not on hoofed game	–	–
Czechia, Croatia, Ireland, Norway	No	No	–	–
Sweden	No (per the federation)	No	–	–
Latvia	No	No	–	–

Sources: Danish order BEK 1479/2023, Finnish hunting decree amendment 516/2017, the French order of 18 August 2008 on bow hunting, the Hungarian Game Management Act, Italian Law 157/1992, article 13, German Federal Hunting Act §19.

The European Bowhunting Federation (March 2025) adds Spain, where each region writes its own rules, plus Portugal, Wallonia in Belgium and Slovakia, the last one inside enclosures only. Estonia allows small game. Austria, Poland and Lithuania say no. We haven't read those countries' laws ourselves, so treat the federation's country list as your starting point and check again before you travel.

If you're coming from Latvia. Here's the catch: you can't sit a bowhunting exam at home, because there's nothing at home to sit it for. Some countries accept the international IBEP (International Bowhunter Education Program) course. Others want their own exam. France lets foreigners who validate their licence there for 3 or 9 days skip the course. Denmark wants buejagtprøven or an equivalent test. Hungary wants its own supplementary exam. Before you book anything, ask the outfitter and that country's bowhunting association which piece of paper they'll accept. It's a short email that can save a wasted trip.

Why crossbow hunting is banned almost everywhere in Europe

We checked every country in the table, and every one of them bans hunting with a crossbow. Latvia, Finland, Hungary, Croatia and Sweden name it outright. Czechia, Norway, France, Denmark and Italy simply leave it off their lists of allowed hunting means, which comes to the same thing. Ireland bans hunting with arrows and similar missiles, and Germany bans arrows and bolts on hoofed game. The European Bowhunting Federation names one exception: Portugal, after the hunting exam. We haven't confirmed that in the Portuguese law text.

So a crossbow in Europe belongs at the range, the target butt and the 3D course. It's a good fit if you want to shoot on your own land or at a club. If someone tells you crossbows are fine for hunting across most of Europe, they've been watching too much American TV.

Can you own a crossbow in Germany? Yes. There's no permit and no registration, but you must be 18 to buy or own one (German Weapons Act, section 2). Hunting hoofed game with it is off the table.

What bow you need for hunting

Draw weight. That's the force it takes to pull the string back to full draw, and bows are marked in pounds (lb). One pound is about 0.454 kg, so a 50 lb bow asks for about 22.7 kg of pull, held steady while you aim. The New South Wales hunter education course in Australia recommends at least 45 lb for fallow deer and wild boar, and at least 50 lb for red deer. The legal floors in Europe land in the same place: at least 180 N (about 40.5 lb) in Finland, and over 222.7 N (just over 50 lb) for big game in Hungary.

Unit	How to convert
Pounds (lb) → kg	lb × 0.454 (50 lb ≈ 22.7 kg)
Newtons (N) → lb	N ÷ 4.45 (180 N ≈ 40.5 lb)
Foot-pounds (ft-lb) → joules (J)	ft-lb × 1.36 (59 ft-lb ≈ 80 J)

Don't buy more bow than you can hold. If the draw is a fight, the shot will be too. Your arm shakes, the arrow goes where it likes, and your shoulders and chest pay for it afterwards. An 18–24 lb beginner's bow is the right tool for learning to shoot and the wrong one for a deer. Work up to 45–50 lb a step at a time. For many people that takes longer than a few months.

Recurve or compound? A recurve makes you hold the full draw weight for as long as you aim. A compound's cams and cables take most of that weight off at full draw, so you can settle and aim without fighting the string. The NSW course calls the compound the easiest bow to master and the most accurate. The recurve hits back with simplicity: it's lighter, has less to go wrong and needs less looking after. We don't stock a compound bow at the moment. And if Denmark is the plan, remember you may only hunt with the type of bow you took the exam with.

Arrows and broadheads. Field points are for the target butt. On game you need a sharp broadhead, and the law tells you how big. Denmark wants at least 3 blades and a 25 mm cutting diameter for deer, Finland at least 22 mm for big game, France at least 25 mm for big game. The arrow's spine and length have to suit the bow's draw weight and your draw length, otherwise it flexes the wrong way and flies off line. Weight matters too. A heavier arrow is slower, but it carries more momentum, so out of the same bow it usually goes deeper. Denmark puts a floor on it: 33 g for deer.

Distance. Hunter education courses put the average hunter's maximum effective range at about 30 yards, roughly 27 m. Plan your shots inside 25–30 m, and only stretch further if your practice groups at that distance land where they should. An arrow doesn't knock an animal down the way a bullet can. It kills through blood loss, so where it hits and how sharp the head is matter more than raw power. Robin Hood split arrows at a hundred paces in the films. Real bow hunters take their pride in getting close.

How to choose a powerful crossbow

Buying one for the range, your own land or a trip to Portugal? Here's what we'd look at.

Energy. Arrow maker Easton puts deer at 25–41 ft-lb (34–56 J) and boar and bigger game at 42–65 ft-lb (57–88 J), and the Belgian bowhunting federation recommends the same numbers. Crossbow makers love quoting bolt speed in fps. Usually that's measured with a light bolt, so the real energy with a heavier hunting bolt can come out lower than the box suggests.

Crossbow	Type	Draw weight	Speed (maker's figure)	Energy
Barnett Wildcat-RC	Recurve	about 165 lb	280 fps	about 94 J (our estimate, 400-grain bolt)
Black Flash Forwo-X	Compound	about 175 lb	375 fps	about 169 J (our estimate, 400-grain bolt)
Barnett Whitetail Hunter STR	Compound	about 180 lb	375 fps	about 169 J (our estimate, 400-grain bolt)
Barnett XP405	Compound	about 213 lb	405 fps	187 J (maker's figure)
Barnett HyperTac 420	Compound	about 210 lb	not stated	about 202 J (maker's figure: 149 ft-lb)

Recurve or compound crossbow. The recurve is the simpler machine. Its string is easier to change and you can do more of the upkeep at your own bench. The trade-off is width, and it's harder to cock. A compound crossbow is narrower, and faster and more powerful than a recurve of the same size. All those cams and cables mean more trips to a workshop, though. Which one is quieter? The sources argue about it, so we won't pretend to settle it.

Cocking. Use a cocking rope or a crank. A geared crank lets most people cock even the heaviest crossbow without turning it into a gym session. To uncock, shoot a practice bolt into a safe target or backstop. Don't let the string down with the cocking device unless the maker says that's fine. And don't leave a crossbow cocked for hours.

Dry fire. Never pull the trigger without a bolt on the rail. A dry fire can wreck the crossbow and hurt you. Many models have an anti-dry-fire mechanism, so check whether yours does.

Bolts. Use only the bolts and nocks the maker specifies. The wrong nock can cause a dry fire all on its own. Crossbow bolts usually run 18–22 inches, and broadheads weigh 90–125 grains.

Scope and safety. Most crossbows come with a scope that has several aiming points for 20, 30, 40 and 50 yards. Keep your fingers below the flight deck, because the string can cut them. Before you shoot, check that nothing is in the path of the limbs. One branch is enough.

How to practise legally in Latvia

A bow in your own garden is fine, if the garden is enclosed. Section 71(4) of the Weapons Circulation Law allows bows whose arrows have no hunting heads in an enclosed area, as long as you follow safety requirements. So field points in the garden. Broadheads stay in the case.

A crossbow needs a range. Section 71(3) says you may train with a crossbow only at a range of the right category. The good news is that the range can be yours: you can set up a first-category range for bows and crossbows on your own property without a municipal permit (sections 69 and 70). It still has to meet Cabinet Regulation No. 494.

Safety distances. Cabinet Regulation No. 494 requires an outdoor range with shooting distances over 3 m to be fenced off. At 30 m the danger zone behind the target is 110 m, which is more field than most of us have. You can replace it with a backstop behind the targets that's high enough to stop arrows that miss. The waiting area must be at least 5 m from the shooting line.

In practice:

• Put a backstop or a thick protective mat behind the target so no arrow goes further.
• Nobody stands on the target side while anyone is shooting. Collect arrows only when everyone has finished.
• Practise at the distance you plan to hunt (20–30 m), and from height if you'll be hunting from a high seat. The angle changes everything.
• 3D targets, the animal-shaped ones, teach you where the arrow needs to go, not just how to hit a ring.
• Rather practise with company? Pick one of the Latvian Archery Federation's clubs. Several run 3D competitions.

Check before you buy

• Is bow hunting legal where you want to hunt, and which exam do you need?
• Does the bow's draw weight meet that country's minimum, and can you hold it steady for the whole aim?
• Do the arrows' spine and length match the bow's draw weight and your draw length?
• Do the broadheads meet that country's rules on blades and cutting diameter?
• Crossbow: are you at least 18? Where will you shoot it?
• Does the crossbow have an anti-dry-fire mechanism, and does the set include a cocking rope or crank?
• Do the bolts and nocks match the maker's specification?
• Are your target and backstop rated for the power of your bow or crossbow?

What we'd pick

These are bows and crossbows we sell ourselves. We couldn't find independent tests of these models, so we won't pretend there are any. Our picks rest on the legal requirements and hunter education advice above. Prices move, so take ours as approximate and check the product page for today's.

Bow

• Black Flash Impala hunting bow, around €379. A take-down recurve with a wooden riser, fibreglass limbs and threaded bushings for a sight and stabiliser. The maker gives a draw weight of 50 lb (about 222 N), which clears Finland's minimum but not Hungary's (over 222.7 N). The listing's figures aren't clear, so ask us for the exact limb weight before you order. In Latvia it's a 3D and practice bow. Abroad, where the law allows, it's a hunting bow.

Crossbows

• Black Flash Forwo-X, around €754. The most affordable of the powerful ones: about 175 lb, 375 fps, adjustable stock length and cheek piece, Picatinny rail and a 4×32 scope.
• Barnett Wildcat-RC, around €898. A recurve crossbow with an anti-dry-fire mechanism, and the set comes with 7 aluminium bolts, a scope and a bag.
• Barnett XP405, around €1,339. Narrow for a compound, with 405 fps and 187 J by the maker's figures. A scope, a cocking aid and 5 Hyperflite bolts are in the box.
• Barnett Whitetail Hunter STR, around €1,427. 375 fps, a 4×32 scope, a cocking aid and 7 bolts.
• Barnett HyperTac 420, around €2,264. The most compact and the most powerful here: 149 ft-lb (about 202 J), a built-in cocking crank and a 1.5–5×32 scope.

Crossbow bolts

• Barnett X-Bolt 20″, 6 pack with 125-grain field points.
• Barnett HH Carbon 20″ with 100-grain field points.
• Barnett Hyperflite, 5 pack for HyperFlite and HyperGhost crossbows. Our XP405 and HyperTac 420 ship with these too. Check your manual before you order spares.

For practice

• Black Flash Target professional, around €255, on a wooden stand, around €188.
• Black Flash Arrow Mat Deluxe backstop, around €143, for bows up to 50 lb. It isn't made for crossbows.
• An arrow puller and string wax. Small things, and you'll miss them the first evening you don't have them.

Buying for a beginner or a child? Go light: the Black Flash universal bow, 22 lb, for adults and the Barnett Lil Buck for children.

Final word

In Latvia the bow and the crossbow stay off the hunt, but there's plenty you can do with them: shoot the bow in your own enclosed garden, take the crossbow to a range, or build that range on your own land. If bow hunting is the goal, pick a country where it's legal, pass its exam or course, and bring a bow of at least 45–50 lb. Leave the crossbow at the range. Bow hunting is close work, so the homework comes first. Every arrow in the ten at 30 m is a deer you won't lose later.

Frequently asked questions

Can you hunt with a bow in Latvia?

No. Section 24 of the Hunting Law lists bows and crossbows among prohibited hunting means. The fine for hunting with a bow is €20–350 and with a crossbow €40–500, and hunting with a crossbow can also bring a ban of up to a year on using your hunting rights.

Do you need a permit for a crossbow?

Not in Latvia. A crossbow is a cold weapon there: you may buy, keep and transport one from 18 without a permit or registration. Germany is similar, with no permit but an 18+ rule. A bow has no age limit in Latvia.

Which European countries allow bow hunting?

By the legal texts we checked: Denmark, Finland, France, Hungary and Italy. The European Bowhunting Federation adds Spain, Portugal, Wallonia in Belgium and Slovakia. Almost everywhere you'll need a bowhunting exam or course first.

Can you hunt with a crossbow in Europe?

Almost nowhere. Every country whose law we checked bans it. The only exception the European Bowhunting Federation names is Portugal.

What draw weight do you need for roe deer or red deer?

For deer and wild boar, 45 lb is the usual minimum recommendation, and 50 lb for red deer. Finland's legal floor is about 40.5 lb, and Hungary's for big game is just over 50 lb. Denmark measures arrow energy instead: at least 40 J for roe deer and 80 J for red, fallow and sika deer.

---

All our bows, crossbows, bolts and targets are in bows, crossbows and air guns. We deliver anywhere in Europe for €10, or you can collect your order free at our range in Riga.