A federal framework of hunting means, specified by each canton
The LChP/JSG and OChP/JSV set the framework for hunting means and methods; calibres, sights and equipment remain cantonal.
The hunting means and methods authorised in Switzerland are governed at federal level by the Federal Act on Hunting (LChP/JSG) and its implementing ordinance (OChP/JSV), which set the general limits applicable across the whole territory before each canton specifies the concrete rules on weapons, calibres, sighting devices and authorised ammunition on its territory. This federal baseline also governs restrictions relating to night hunting and prohibited equipment. Conditions for acquiring and possessing a weapon fall, moreover, under a framework distinct from hunting practice itself. A hunter active in Switzerland must therefore combine two levels of information: the federal texts available on Fedlex for the general framework, and the cantonal hunting regulation for the precise rules in force in the relevant territory, including when moving from one canton to another.