New member from Australia

Aussie Mike

Member
Joined
May 20, 2019
Messages
13
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Location
Lake Macquarie New South
Hi everyone,

I am a new member to this site, I'm from Lake Macquarie about 100klms north of Sydney, it is a saltwater lake about 42 sq miles in size and is connected to the Tasman sea via a narrow channel. I guess most people would call it a lagoon but over here it is reffered to as a lake.

Handgun ownership is not easy in Australia and we are required by law to be a member of a pistol club and register each firearm with the Police Dept. We are not able to own a handgun for any other purpose than target shooting and are mandated to participate in a minimum number of competitions in each calibre owned per year in order to maintain our shooters licence. These rules are strickly applied and enforced by our local Police Dept, NO firearms in Australia are allowed for self defence purposes. We are able to own bolt action rifles and ALL handguns are limited to 10 round capacity magazines. Semi auto longarms are very rare and are generally owned by proffesional hunters only. Full autos are extremely rare and require high level government exemptions which are nearly impossible to acquire.

I currently use a Beretta 87 T target pistol for rimfire competitions and a S&W "no dash" 686 for service psitol and NRA matches plus a CZ 452 rifle for target and varmit hunting.

Firearms and ammuntion are very expensive over here ie: 357 $40-50 per 50 rounds, 9mm around $30 + for 50 rounds. The governement prohibits use of FMJ ammo at pistol club ranges. Most centrefire users hand re load to keep our sport affordable. My club has 2 x 25 mtr ranges and a 50 mtr range used for pistol and .22 rifle comps, all these have powered turning targets.

I shoot at least twice a week and try to visit other clubs and participate in various competitions. When not shooting I am out in my boat on the lake fishing and sometimes venture offshore to chase larger game type fish. I am involved in competitive motorsport and spend as much time as I can with my 3 year old grandson. I'm fortunate to have lots of time available since I retired from 40 years working for U.S. companies in the I.T. industry.

I'm looking forward to reading more of the great information I see on this site and learning more about Smith & Wesson firearms.

Cheers form "downunder"

Mike
 
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Welcome. Nice to get the scoop on laws from down under. Yeah sounds a bit costly but glad you are allowed to have firearms.
 
Welcome to the forum from Tennessee. Thanks for the info on your firearm laws. Lots more complicated than our laws here in Tennessee. Keep shooting.
 
Hello and welcome from Indiana! Man, those laws are ridiculous. So, I don't know what the crime rate is down there, but I have never heard of a law that says if someone was trying to kill or seriously mame you, you could not use your gun to defend yourself.
 
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