Current average turnaround time for first time Firearms Licence if approved?

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Cruciblewrecker

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#315396 11-Jul-2024 20:55

Hi all,

I'm thinking of maybe applying for a NZ Firearms Licence if I want to further pursue Clay Pigeon Shooting after I do a shoot at Carodale Estate the weekend after this weekend and someone on Reddit said the current turnaround time if approved is a whole year and to me that smells like bull**** given the official FSA website says allow 4 to 5 months.

So does anyone know what current average turnaround time is given I can't imagine there'd be too many people applying for one in the midst of an recession?

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2395 posts

Uber Geek

#3258544 11-Jul-2024 21:16

no idea on turn around time these days. it may vary greatly on area your in. you could ask the arms officer. however a year is quite possible in the current climate.

only tip really is take make sure all references are close by. also make sure your security is all good. they probably do the same old trick of not telling what storage is acceptable, only if yours is not acceptable.

Ge0rge

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#3258563 12-Jul-2024 05:56

Its pretty hard to argue that the storage requirements are hidden.

There's a web page dedicated to it, a written guide, multiple videos and if you really want, there's even the law.

noroad

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#3258564 12-Jul-2024 06:15

My neighbors recently had to wait like 6 months to renew their licenses, I ended up storing their firearms for an extended amount of time for them. Its an unworkable setup that creates non compliance due to its poor execution.

Dynamic

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#3258569 12-Jul-2024 07:27

My sister got her firearms license about a month ago. There was a 3 month wait locally (central North Island), so she arranged a test at a town 90 minutes away where they could see her in three weeks.

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2degrees

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#3258581 12-Jul-2024 08:05

I bought a high power (>1000fps) air rifle a few weeks ago to try to get a possum that's been coming around (haven't managed to spot him when I go out with it, but ... SOOOOOON). When discussing it with the guys at Hunting and Fishing they said the wait around here (Warkworth) was getting up to 2 years so yeah the high power air rifle was a good option.

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tweake

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#3258642 12-Jul-2024 10:32

Ge0rge:

Its pretty hard to argue that the storage requirements are hidden.

There's a web page dedicated to it, a written guide, multiple videos and if you really want, there's even the law.

the requirements have never been hidden, they just get interpreted differently by different people.

not sure on the current situation, but we used to have problems with AO from different areas trying to enforce different rules. also every police officer thinks they are an arms officer and enforces their own version of the rules. i just looked at the guide and there is things they allow in the guide that some officers will not allow. i know people who have had their renewal rejected because they failed the storage and its done as per the guide. just because it passes the law, the guide, does not make it suitable. even if its deemed suitable, it may not be for the next guy.

whats annoying is not having a list of safes that they have pasted, so you can go buy one of them. instead you have to buy it first and you won't know if it passes until inspection.

wellygary

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#3258696 12-Jul-2024 10:39

Dynamic:

My sister got her firearms license about a month ago. There was a 3 month wait locally (central North Island), so she arranged a test at a town 90 minutes away where they could see her in three weeks.

Its not the test that is the biggest cause of delays, its the police interviews with referees etc,

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neb

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#3258829 12-Jul-2024 14:54

Friend of mine's wife got hers in a couple of months, with the mitigating circumstance that he already had a license with all the necessary setup for safe storage so it was more a +1 than a start-from-scratch.

networkn

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#3258834 12-Jul-2024 15:03

Ge0rge:

Its pretty hard to argue that the storage requirements are hidden.

There's a web page dedicated to it, a written guide, multiple videos and if you really want, there's even the law.

Some might even suggest that someone who had difficulty despite all of that, should have their application reviewed particularly closely :)

tweake

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#3258846 12-Jul-2024 15:50

networkn:

Ge0rge:

Its pretty hard to argue that the storage requirements are hidden.

There's a web page dedicated to it, a written guide, multiple videos and if you really want, there's even the law.

Some might even suggest that someone who had difficulty despite all of that, should have their application reviewed particularly closely :)

no, don't be stupid.

just because you follow the rules in no way does it mean it will pass inspection.

hsvhel

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#3258912 12-Jul-2024 18:37

Mine was delayed 12 months last year, but they did accept that there was a long renewal process.

New, after you sit the course and exam, may still have a delay to the interview. Would contact the local Arms officer for your region for advise on that current wait list

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networkn

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#3258914 12-Jul-2024 18:40

tweake:

no, don't be stupid.

just because you follow the rules in no way does it mean it will pass inspection.

You seem to have having a comphrehension issue.

Wheelbarrow01

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Chorus

#3259032 12-Jul-2024 23:56

Not super recent, but I applied for my licence in Christchurch on 27 June last year. I then attended the safety course on 19 August.

My Police interview, referee check and security check all took place on 07 September and I was advised of a successful outcome 6 days later.

My licence arrived in the mail about 2 weeks after that so all up, pretty much bang on 3 months.

With regard to security, the rules and standards are pretty clear. If in doubt, go above and beyond - that is what I did and the AO was very happy I hadn't just aimed for the minimum standard with everything. If you can't afford quality security, you probably can't afford quality firearms, so why bother at all if that is the case?

One thing I will say about security is that there is no standard or guidance I could find on where keys for safes should be kept. In my case, the key to my gun cabinet is in a locked combination safe, and the key to my ammo cabinet in a different combination safe - both are solid state (not electronic or relying on batteries), concealed and securely bolted down. My wife works at a locksmith, so these are not $50 Bunnings safes - they are the real deal. The AO was impressed with the effort I went to in this regard.

My wife does not know the codes to either of the safes where the keys are. This is important as the AO did specifically ask that - family members who are not licensed must not have access to the keys, which makes just hiding the keys somewhere around the house problematic as they could be stumbled upon by accident or otherwise at any time, by anyone including visitors, burglars etc.

Technically you could keep the keys on your person "at all times" but this fails the practicality test for a couple of reasons - firstly, do you shower and sleep with the keys? And secondly, the ammo key must not be be kept in the same place as the gun cabinet key (and to me, "one on each wrist" does not count as different places!!)

And then there is the issue of where to keep the spare keys - keeping them with the primary keys is counter productive. In my case, the spares are locked in the gun safe of a licensed friend so I have that covered.

Some may say a practical solution to the key issue is to buy a gun/ammo safe with combination locks, but I didn't want a cheap electronic one (which usually comes with a back-up key that you have to hide somewhere anyway!!), and the old school dial combination gun safes are horrifically expensive - $3000+.

All up, including the 2 door gun/ammo safe, extra deadlock on the garage door, and the key safes, I spent well over $1000 on security. This is in addition to the other security measures I already had such as CCTV, electric gates, vicious dog, branded locksmith car in the driveway etc.

tweake

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#3259124 13-Jul-2024 12:54

Wheelbarrow01:

If in doubt, go above and beyond - that is what I did and the AO was very happy I hadn't just aimed for the minimum standard with everything.

ammo safe

I didn't want a cheap electronic one (which usually comes with a back-up key that you have to hide somewhere anyway!!),

excellent points.

thats what a neighbor got failed on, having the bare minimum legally allowed. yes it passed the rules, and is still in the guide above, but that does not mean it will pass. what was insulting was at recheck the guy said the old setup was perfectly fine. it very much depends on who you get.

if your going to do skeet shooting then get a decent sized safe for ammo. you tend to bulk buy to keep costs down and need somewhere to store it.

those electronic locks often have weak back up key that kids could pick open. what annoys me is they don't tell you which is a good safe or a bad safe to buy. you only find out after the fact.

Cruciblewrecker

72 posts

Master Geek

#3264448 25-Jul-2024 20:44

Forgot to add I live in Auckland on the North Shore specifically.

Also I did the clay pigeon shoot at Carodale Estate and struggled with the target tracking and the guy who runs the place said I'd be more suited to rifle shooting and I'm inclined to agree with him because I've shot my air rifle and my crossbow I purchased last Christmas more times than I have a shotgun at a moving target.

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