Collecting handguns in Australia

[TDC]

It always amazes me how revealing some governments are. The first indication of pending problems seems to be the centralized governments distrust of an armed citizenry.

Criminality issues are the common rallying cry for those governments creating such restrictive firearms rules, but the reality is they fear their own citizens ability to fight back against a potentially repressive and restrictive government...

Aussies are a very strong, proud and independent people. If it can happen there it can certainly happen here. I have to wonder if a huge underground trade and market exists to effectively circumvent these repressive rules. I also have to wonder how simple day to day selling and trading can function among gun enthusiasts in Australia..

Can anyone imagine the uproar these laws and rules would create in the USA if our government attempted to impose them tomorrow?

 

[S&W_aussie]

Thanks S&W Aussie for sharing that perspective.

Out of curiosity were you around during the Port Arthur controversy, and how did the country progress from a society that welcomed firearms pre-incident to the current backward state it is today ?Perhaps you can share some lessons we can apply towards adressing certain retrograde areas in our own nation.

Hi Sliver,

I certainly was around. The current laws are 100% driven by the "knee jerk" reaction by the Federal Government to what happened at Port Arthur. Until then we all had SKKs, L1A1s and Browning A5s..lol.

When I was 19 (I am 42 now) I remember going to a Gun Shop in George St ...one of the main streets right in the middle of the city and handing over my cash and walking out the door with a 12 guage shotgun for my father for Christmas. NO licensing, NO permits....the good old days. There was not increas in gun related crime prior to the law change...just the one horrible massacre at Port Arthur.

I had my handgun license at 18 when I was a member of the "Brisbane Area Army Pistol Club". The club was on our main military base in SEQ. Back then I could ride to the club on my motorbike with my gun in a backpack. Not now..lol.

I used to drive around town with a 3 rifle gun rack on the rear window of my ute (pickup)...cant have a rifle outside a safe now unless you are going to take it to a range, police station, gunsmith/dealer or a farm to shoot .

A report came out today that 1500 illegal firearms have been siezed by police Australia wide in the last 12 months....in a country of 21 million thats not bad..lol

The main difference is that here in Australia we do not have a bill of rights...firearm ownership is viewed as a privilege, not a right. This has only happened since the 1990s...as I said rifles and shotguns in Qld never required so much as a permit until Port Arthur.

Thanks to everyone for the replies

MIke

 

[Magnum-Krazy]

Mike, first off you have an impressive collection !
Have heard that in Australia you could own firearms but didn't fully know all the red tape you all have to go through to get them.
But at least you can own guns, thats on the good side.
In the states here in Indiana we are one of the first early states thats considered "Shall Carry". Once we register for our carry permits, pay the fees, we have our conceal carry permit within two to three weeks. My last permit I got was a lifetime. We don't have to take any gun courses. Once we buy a gun we can buy another gun or rifle after a 10 day period, authough can also buy multiple guns at once (authough its not recommended).
Luckly most of our states honor each others conceal carry permits.


Ernie

 

[Camster]

I always find it curious,that the two countries with the most wide open spaces,Australia and Canada,where folks should be able to go out and shoot to their heart's content,have such restrictive laws.

 

[kennyb]

mike...great collection!i surely hope somehow the plight there changes in a positive way

 

[Gman56]

My thanks and condolence to all of you inAustralia.I thought we had it bad in NewJersey!Australias firearm laws make njs look good!

 

[rxbrew]

The Ausse's are know to be very good shooters. Too bad to here about the hoops you have to jump through. You have a very nice collecton. Keep shooting. God bless the USA. This should be a wake up call for all of us.
Have a Coopers on Me!!!
Cheers Fred

 

[spaniel]

I appreciate you sharing, so we can all understand just how precious our RIGHTS are. I never knew the extent of these regulations until now.

How absurd. I've always hoped to visit your beautiful country one day but...no offense...I would certainly not be moving there. Last weekend I drove an hour away to LEGALLY buy a handgun from another individual in a parking lot.

 

[zywina]

Thats Even Worse than us here in Cannuckastan! What a bunch of ****! We are just staring to get rid of our long gun registry as they found out it is a colasal waist of time and money and serves no purpose! Now we have to start in on the unjust handgun laws! Once you start you drive'm to the fence's!

Thanks for the law class, Dale Z in Canada!

 

[ibewbull]

I thought New Jersey was bad.

God bless America. I surely am glad was born here.
I am also glad I left NJ and Wisconsin finally passed Act 35 giving Wisconsin's citizens a legal way to carry concealed.
back in 1970 I had dreamed of living in Australia and now my dream is for Australia to be free Hos much did George Soreos have to do with the restrictive laws there?
I am glad there is some way for the folks to shoot and own guns.
Is there a way to carry them?
Thanks for the post.

 

[S&W_aussie]

WOW...I am amazed at the response to this post!

I'm glad it has given some of you guys a renewed appreciation for your freedoms and rights.

Australia is an awesome country. We all feel very safe and lucky to be here...its just the gun laws are a royal pain in the rear!..lol

Cheers

Mike

 

[bflobill69]

Looks like another beautiful country I wont be moving to...

 

[Hawgleg44]

Wow, I'm thankful to live in MA after reading this thread!

The problem with MA is the different towns have different attitudes towards gun ownership. I've never lived in a large town or city and all my Police Chiefs have been gun friendly. I've had my unrestricted License to Carry since I was 18. you have to be 21 now that they changed the laws.

As long as my "assault" weapons and full-capacity magazines were made on or before 9/13/94, I can own them. I can own any handgun made on or before 10/21/98. I can own any handgun made after that, too, that's not considered an "assault weapon", but you have to take advantage of some loopholes in the law in order to get something that's not considered MA "compliant".

Do you want a machinegun? Sure, we can have them in MA. Overall, MA is NFA friendly (other than supressors).

I can honestly say that there's nothing out there that I want that I don't own here in MA. It still sucks here, but living in W. MA isn't as bad as some make it sound. 5 gun clubs in my immediate area, I have my Class A LTC and have boxes of pre-ban magazines for every gun I own.

I'm sorry to hear about all the hoops you have to jump through in Australia, but at least you do have a respectable collection that you enjoy. Keep up the fight.

 

[SMK]

Mike

What happens with a person's gun(s) when they can no longer participate in 6 matches a year due to age, medical condition, work obligations, etc?

I also wondered what the market was like for guns there? Expensive because of limited availability or not so much due to fewer buyers willing to do what it takes to buy a gun?

Scott in Ohio

 

[S&W_aussie]

Mike

What happens with a person's gun(s) when they can no longer participate in 6 matches a year due to age, medical condition, work obligations, etc?

I also wondered what the market was like for guns there? Expensive because of limited availability or not so much due to fewer buyers willing to do what it takes to buy a gun?

Scott in Ohio

Hey Scott,

If you can't meet your shoot obligations you have to hand in your license and sell your guns. The only way to keep them is to qualify for a collectors license and then prove that the guns are "collectable". ...if you had a safe full of beautiful S&W classics that wouldnt be much of a problem but if you have a crappy Glock 17 and a couple of Taurus revolvers I am pretty certain the police would just laugh at your application for a collectors...lol. (so would I)

Modern guns are not hard to find here but good examples of pre 1970s guns are near impossible to find here. I have seen a total of less than a dozen guns come up for sale with diamond grips, S or K serials, or any more than 3 screws in the lasrt 3 years that I have been seriously collecting. I have also seen a total of 6 nickel guns (3 of which I bought).

There are a lot of mod 10s (old police issue 3" SB) for a couple of hundred but you can only have them on a collectors or security license due to the barrel length. I have seen a few 29s (about a dozen of which I bought 3), 3 model 27's, about a dozen 28's, about 3 Model 17s, a couple of model 57's and about a hundred, well used 14s & 19s that have usually been butchered with slab barrels and no trigger spur

I could buy any number of 686/586...but I dont see them as collectable.

I have seen 1 model 15 and 1 model 18 for sale & 2 Triple Locks.

I also buy pretty much any pre 70's Python that comes up (seen about 8 purchased 2)...the 2 I have were 2 of only 3 pre 70s I have seen come up.

I am sure there are more guns around for sale but not heaps of other models. I have NEVER seen a 58, 24, RM, Heavy Duty or 16 come up for sale...

Australia has a population of only 20 million...Long Island has 8 million alone so we dont have a lot of guns here to choose from..lol. In 1965 there were only 11 milion people here.

I guess its all relative

Mike

 

[mbliss57]

Mike,
You are an inspiration from a collectors perspective.. hard at it against bad odds. But man does it make me nervous to know that Australia was as free with it's gun laws as the USA is now not more than 20 years ago..
It makes me really appreciate the NRA.

Mike from Ohio

 

[M2MikeGolf]

Hey Aussie, I live in Germany, and it's restrictive as well, but not as bad as all that. However, when it comes to handguns it's still pretty harsh, if you have a hunting license, you can own two handguns. If you have a sport shooting license, you can own two. I won't go into all the time, pain and money to get those licenses, but it's a lot of all of those. I have both and am maxed out at four handguns. Rifles/shotguns aren't too much of a problem, but you can only own three semi-autos. There is no such thing as a weapon for self-defense, you cannot have that "need" to own a firearm of any kind here. However, if you do own firearms, you can defend yourself but only in special circumstances.

 

[logictox]

Interesting thread, should make us all greatful for what we have and help us understand the liberties some would take from us given the chance.

 

[samandglove1]

Mike,

Thanks for posting all of this information. I am as amazed as others on this forum in how difficult firearm ownership is outside our borders. I'm glad that you and your mates continue to do whatever you have to do to assemble and enjoy a collection. Keep the faith and if you ever make a visit to our country, let us know on the forum. I'm sure there are forum members in every state who would be happy to share their treasures with you at their respective ranges/clubs. I've got a sack full of N-frames that you can enjoy if you ever visit Massachusetts.

 

[Beemer-mark]

Lest we forget (In the US of A) our 2nd amendment is not for collecting, shooting hobbies or duck hunting. It's to protect us from the bad guys, which from our founding Fathers' viewpoint, may be the government.