Hi guys. Can anyone tell me what they are in NZ? I hear that they are really bad in Australia but haven't heard anything of NZ.

465H&H

Hmmm - I'll try:

Ordinary Licence - A Class, the owner is licenced, pretty straight forward process but takes a bit of time due the the vetting required - this will allow you to aquire any number of hunting type weapons, semi-autos, bolts pumps etc in any calibre. No handguns or military style semi-autos(unless they have a mag capacity of lees than 7 and no separate pistol grip. Have a look at somehting like www.guncity.co.nz to see what gets sold to A class licence holders - personnally I'd never actually buy anything off them). There are minimun requirements for safe storage.

Collectors Licences - There are a couple of grades and you need to undergo a higher standard of vetting that involves being a member of a recognised club in good standing and for a minimun period. Handgun licences are more or less the same. No-one (except cops and military) can use a handgun and most collectables except on a range i.e. no hunting.

Its a pretty pragmatic framework as long as you don't have a criminal conviction and don't want to carry/hunt with handguns. From what I hear Aussie is a lot less gun friendly generally.

No doubt if I'm wrong some-one will tell me !!

You got it right. I was in the pistol club for a number of years and had 1/2 doz or more but having to go to the club to shoot took the shine off it especially as I am nearly an hour away from the range so sold them on. Not a draconian process to go through and it was reasonably straight forward to get the B class licence for handguns. Join a club and be a member for 6 months with a reference from the club when getting the licence. Personal visit by police firearms officer and a check with spouse-close kin and a unrelated reference. Have as many as you can afford and that holds true for the other licence classes as well.

quote:

Originally posted by 465H&H:
Hi guys. Can anyone tell me what they are in NZ? I hear that they are really bad in Australia but haven't heard anything of NZ.

465H&H

Australia not as bad as many other countries!!! Indeed conditions in Australia vary from state-to-state as well, as they are all state-based laws.

Matt Australian gun laws suck.......and the hassle to get in and out of Australia with firearms is 10 times worse than NZ or the USA.

What are you allowed to own in Australia......if I'm right aren't 10/22's illegal in Aussie.
No Military style semi autos.
All out of state residents who want to take a firearm into WA have to get a temp licence.

I've been to ACT 3 times with a firearm and still have to go and get my photo taken.....have they thrown the last 3 away??

In NZ it's easy to purchase a firearm once you have the appropriate licence.......see what you want buy it take it home......no stand down, no paperwork, no registration.........Kiwi

Well your telling the story!! I only said that there are many countries that are worse, some much worse than Australia.

I can own as many longarms as I like and handguns too.

You mentioned USA... have you tried taking guns into the USA? (as a non-US citizen)...

Yes, Australian laws are not easy but I have managed to get the right to shoot with a cabinet full of guns, to be able to hunt over immense areas without special permission and my sons have gained the same rights with a fraction of the problem getting a driver's licence takes.

I'm taking one of the boys pistol shooting this month and have no doubt he could get a pistol licence, too, if he could be bothered going through the regular club shoots required.

And that's the difference Sambarman, you have "managed to get the right"
We have the right.
Anyway you package it Aussie gun laws are very tight.

You're quite right, Bulltahr, and I hope NZ is spared any Port Arthur epiphany whereby your dependable right-wing PM turns into Rebecca Peters*.

*In case anyone googles this person, be a little wary of the Stewart Beattie article:
http://members.iimetro.com.au/~hubbca/peters.htm
It infers one of the nuttiest conspiracy theories I've ever heard, that Peters (no friend of mine) engineered six mass murders in Australia to bring about restrictive gun laws.

quote:

Originally posted by Bulltahr:
And that's the difference Sambarman, you have "managed to get the right"
We have the right.
Anyway you package it Aussie gun laws are very tight.

Therein lies the problem mate - we dont have any real 'rights' and I dont think NZ does either. Those politicians can give you a proper arse-reaming if they want to.

Yes, Matt, we don't have a bill of rights and the shooters of Australia generally don't seem to want one, probably because it could be perverted to include a clause that said the citizens shall be free from the dangers of firearms.

Protestant shooters can claim they are covered by their restoration of rights after the Glorious Revolution of 1688, but that only gave equality with Catholics and allowed the government to regulate arms ownership, anyway. I don't think it's got us anywhere, so far.

But even the Constitution of the United States is not a magic guarantee of freedom since prohibition was added to and later removed from it via the same process that covers the amendments referred to as the Bill of Rights.

The only assurance is that the means formerly used by the temperance movement to get prohibition have worked a treat for the NRA. The danger could be if the Rebecca Peters types resurrected the bullying methods of a century ago and got the Second Amendment nullified.

Your right there Matt, common sense always seems to be a rare comodity amoungst politicians when it comes to firearm laws.
We all seem to be just one election away from more restrictions.

In saying that tho, I almost fell off my chair when our Labour govt kept the staus quo a few years back after the greens insisted on a enquiry/review of our gun laws with a view to getting registration implemented amoungst other things......... might have been a different story if was straight after Aramoana tho..........

quote:

Originally posted by sambarman338:
Yes, Matt, we don't have a bill of rights and the shooters of Australia generally don't seem to want one, probably because it could be perverted to include a clause that said the citizens shall be free from the dangers of firearms.

... and will distribute further 'rights' to minority groups like gays and refo's. Not that there is much left to give them these days!!

I came to NZ 20 years ago from India.

This is gun heaven as far as I am concerned. I can own any number of hunting guns - rifles or shotguns. I am not interested in automatics or even semi autos.

I can buy guns on the web and ship them by courier. Easy to get licences. Easy to get import permits - just go to the local arms officer and it is done in less than 30 minutes.

I can hunt in most public lands and easy to get permits. Now I can just log on to the DOC website and fill my own permit and print it out!

quote:

Originally posted by Matt Graham:
... and will distribute further 'rights' to minority groups like gays and refo's. Not that there is much left to give them these days!!

Yes, Matt, and we have more reason than most to resent the empowerment of the former. Oblivious of what you think of their lifestyle, the feminising of opinion and power is much to blame for the hunter's parlous position today. (This is not a new thing and goes back at least to the whimpy Jacob and his mother dudding Esau.)