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Almost immediately after the guarantee became part of the 1912 constitution, hunters, legal scholars, and public safety advocates began to ask what was a hunting weapon. A popular assembly was convened to study the question, and with the advice of experts, they determined that firearms with automatic and then-new semi-automatic actions were military arms, not hunting weapons. All other actions were permitted. This decision, once ratified by the populace, was added to constitution in 1919, with the proviso that the question be revisited every 60 years to account for further developments in firearms.

The 1979 hunting weapon popular assembly left the previous decision largely in place, though they limited the caliber of hunting rifles to 9 mm, and the bore of shotguns to 12-gauge. Ioudaia uses the foreign "gauge" system for measuring shotgun bore due to its popularity in countries formerly colonized by European nations, and thus the wide availability of shotguns and ammunition using that system.

Hunting guns are otherwise lightly regulated. The only adult citizens banned from possessing them are criminals convicted of violent crimes and people judged to pose a danger to themselves or others by reason of mental disorder. The minimum age to possess or use break-open guns is 15; it's 18 for other actions. Nearly all autonomous cities ban firing hunting weapons outdoors except in designated areas; some require them to be carried in locked cases as well.

By contrast, pistols are all but illegal for private citizens. There is no right to possess them, and they are almost completely the province of police and military forces. Pistols are found in civilian hands only at licensed pistol ranges, and they are restricted to calibers under 7 mm. The manufacture, importation, and transportation of sidearms and their ammunition is tightly controlled by the national government. They are contraband in most autonomous cities and their possession by civilians is considered proof of criminal intent. Pistol ranges are therefore usually found in smaller cities and in rural areas. However, Ornemion has a number of pistol ranges within the city, and Areme has two.

As a result of hunting weapons being widely available, Ioudaia's traditional hunting culture endures. In Ioudaia's poorer areas, Palmassia, Sahel Tufani, and the adjacent areas of Jolgeh Asvat, subsistence hunting remains a viable way to feed a oneself or a family.

In much of western Ioudaia, through Palmassia, and everything south of Araxia, upland game birds form the basis for seasonal delicacies, many very fancy. Before the development of firearms, these dishes were the food of the wealthy, who could afford to send out hunters to catch them favorite game birds. But as hunting became easier and less expensive, they became treats of the upper middle class and finally now the middle class.

Venison and other game meats are seasonal foods in places, even in areas wealthy enough that subsistence hunting is unnecessary. Thinly sliced, smoked, and seasoned game meats remain a common fancy early winter food throughout the northwest and center of the country, even in urban areas.

Trophy hunting is much rarer than hunting for food. Ioudaia's premier trophy animal, the Euchalsidarian leopard is also the national symbol, and is protected as an endangered species. Leopard hunting permits are very rarely issued – the last one was awarded by lottery in 2011 – because they require boom populations in the leopards, which follow population booms in their prey species. During the leopards' boom years, competition for territory is intense, and many young leopards are killed fighting with older, established leopards. So, permitting a tiny hunt does nothing to affect the overall final population size.

Hunting the Doman lion is entirely forbidden, because it has only a tiny population. Ioudaia's only other large predator, the Euchalsidarian wolf – actually a feral, wolf-like dog brought by the earliest settlers – is a challenge to hunt, as its primary ranges are in the country's forest and mountains. Hunting them is a sport only for the best hunters, due to the difficult terrain and the animal's speed and stealth. Every decade or so, packs of wolves "get even", killing an unwary or unlucky hunter.

Hunting large herbivores for trophies is more common, but the largest populations are in Ioudaia's national parks and wildlife preserves. The former have short hunting seasons with low bag limits; the latter prohibit hunting entirely. Hunting exotic birds for trophies is more unusual, but similar restrictions apply, though the bag limit is usually one per hunter per season.

Gun sports have a dedicated following in Ioudaia. Despite being played by far fewer people than team sports or the various sorts of races, almost 100,000 adults participate in shooting sports each year. The most common of the shooting sports are hunting-like or hunting-practice sports: skeet, trap, and precision riflery. There is, of course, some overlap in these sports with hunters, either showing off their skills or honing them in the off season. But there are many people who practice them without going hunting.

Air gun sports are the next most popular, possibly because air guns aren't firearms, and are easier to own and train with. These sports include precision air rifle and air pistol shooting, and skirmishing sports such as paintball. The largest air gun sports groups are found in Sympoleis, but smaller groups exist throughout the country.

Pistol sports are the rarest because pistols are barely tolerated in Ioudaia. Nevertheless, there's a large group of precision pistol shooters in Ornemion, generally estimated at 4,000 to 5,000 shooters. A smaller pair of pistol clubs are based in Areme, associated with each of the city's pistol ranges. Total participation is around 700 shooters each year.