Other than getting into kites, I recently purchased an air rifle as well. I wasn’t sure if expats could own one or if you needed some sort of license, but it turns out there are no such rules. Anyone can buy and own an air rifle in Kuwait, which is great.
After doing a bit of online research, I decided I wanted a rifle from the German brand Weihrauch. They’re regarded as making some of the best air rifles out there, and the company has been around for over 125 years. A quick Google search didn’t turn up any local results, so I decided to track down all the air rifle shops in Kuwait and check them one by one. Here are the shops I found:
@nayshangungallery
@camouflage_kwt
@gannas_alrheeb
@albowardi_hunting
@negochi.kt
@alhadaf_kw
@alkhudari_guns
@alsabihkw
@rammaiq8
@alsayyad_q8
@logistic.systems (they sell real guns only I think)
@khaleelalmuzayensonsco
@almejren_airguns
The only store that actually had a functioning website was Camouflage. The rest just have Instagram accounts, and most don’t really show what brands they carry. Eventually, I found out that Negochi carries the Weihrauch brand, but they only had one model available, the HW80. It was around double the budget I originally had in mind for an air rifle, but after doing a lot of online research and realizing this rifle would likely last me a lifetime if taken care of, I decided to pull the plug and buy it.
The buying experience, unfortunately, wasn’t that great. I love Negochi and I’ve posted about them multiple times before, but the salesperson I dealt with wasn’t very good. The first time I visited, there was a knowledgeable sales guy who walked me through the rifles. When I went back to actually buy it, he wasn’t there and I had to deal with someone else, who I now realized didn’t really know what he was doing.
He recommended I get the heaviest pellets they had, which were 13.43 grams. My fault for not researching it beforehand, but it turns out that weight is too heavy for my rifle and not recommended (more on that in a bit). I then went down to their rifle range in the basement to tune the iron sights myself. The salesperson insisted on coming along to help, which was fine since I figured it might be useful if I had any questions.
So I started firing pellets and adjusting the iron sights, but my accuracy circle was pretty large. Tuning was taking a long time because just when I’d get close to the bullseye and think it was dialed in, the next shot would land noticeably outside the center.
At that point, the employee wanted to take over and try himself. I figured maybe my eyesight wasn’t great and he’d have better luck, but he struggled as well. He ended up hogging the rifle while trying to tune the sights, and it started taking way longer than it should have.
Then, at one point, he decided to tighten the bolts on my rifle because he thought they might be loose. He used the wrong size screwdriver and applied more force than he should have, which ended up damaging two of the screws. I didn’t complain or say anything. Maybe I should have, but since I let him take over, I felt partly it was my fault. It’s a small thing, just screws, but it still bothered me because it’s a brand new and expensive rifle and I hadn’t even left the store yet.
Long story short, once I got home I realized the heavy pellets he recommended were likely the cause of the problem we were having. Using heavy pellets can create a wide accuracy spread and make tuning difficult. I should have been using lighter pellets instead, ones which are much better suited for my rifle.
I decided to complain to management and ask them to either order replacement screws or at least swap the pellets for the correct ones. I messaged them on Instagram, but even though they saw my messages, they didn’t reply. I then found their WhatsApp number and tried there as well, but again, no response.
Eventually, I figured maybe they didn’t speak English, so I used Google Translate to message them asking if they were ignoring me. A few minutes later, someone finally called. It was the shop, and specifically the cashier I had purchased the rifle from. I’m not sure if he’s also the manager, but I decided not to complain to him about the issue. Since I’ll likely be going back to the store for other things and the shooting range, I didn’t want to create any unnecessary issues or drama, so I just dropped it.
So yeah, overall it wasn’t a great experience.
On the bright side, the good news is that you don’t need a license or to be Kuwaiti to buy an air rifle, or even a bow, in Kuwait.
One odd thing I discovered now is that I won’t be able to order accessories online. Both MyUS and Shop&Ship refuse to ship anything related to guns, and that includes things like carrying bags, scopes, and other gun accessories. Which is kind of weird. I get restricting the rifle itself, but not being able to order a rifle bag feels a bit extreme, since the bag isn’t exactly the dangerous part. Oh well.