Helpfull firearms dept

[john.d.m]

I just moved here to NZ, so I went to the main police station in Palmerston North and enquired about bringing my rifles and shotgun over,
I was gobsmacked at the helpfullness and friendliness of the copper that willl deal with it for me.
He gave me advice how to get them here and when to get them sent over.
It is supposed to take 8 weeks to apply for a FAC here, but he said it will take 4 as he reckons I shouldn`t be without my guns too long !!!
I have to get 2 references 1 will be a friend of mine who is a Kiwi and lives close, the 2nd reference can be my wife ! can be good thing or bad thing I suppose
When I mentioned my mates name he said " oh his daughter went to school with my daughter, if you too are mates then I better get you some hunting sorted out ,what do you want to hunt and where ?"
I did ask him what could I own when I get my NZ FAC.
His reply was "anything you want to buy!"
I like it here even more now
Will keep you all posted how it goes.
J

 

[Thar]

 

[Thar]

Hi John

Been to Palmerston North, I think there is or used to be some good Sika stalking or should I say hunting now , near there. Did you get my PM? Not far from Wellington then on the ferry to South Island for a bit of mountain hunting.

When I was over there they were talking about bringing in a rule to stop immigrants settling in Auckland, did that apply to you? Not that I would want to settle their.

All the best

Thar

 

[WAYNE DAVIES]

Hi John
Glad to see your flat out getting the house sorted for the wife, and not thinking about rifles and hunting
Hope she don't read the forum

 

[vincy]

hey john mate you are about my size could be a nice cheap swanndri stalking jacket for me. lol

 

[john.d.m]

House is sorted Wayne, so there! hard luck, you can`t drop me in the sh** !!
I got the pm Thar thanx matey
As for the FAC thingy.
I got to attend a saftey talk at the cop shop, he told me would be no problem at all, as it`s all basic saftey stuff,watch a video, talk some stuff and then thats it,I think even I canmanage that
I got the application form, its a singlet leaflet ! so easy to fill in,bet you lot are jealous
I not applying for my FAC untill after wifey gets here and the container arrives,so she can be my 1 reference and my safe arrives, because, although the only security I need to show copper is a chain through the trigger gaurds and attached to a beam in the house, but they will come and look at my safe when it arrives as I will be changing my security set up,(and also he was intruiged by the size and weight of it )so I told them I might as well wait `til it arrives and do it all in one go.
The Police over here do not have to have a list of the serial Nos of anyones rifles or shotguns,but they do advise everyone keeps there own list so if anyone gets burgeled they have to be able to tell them the No`s of anything stolen.
Was supposed to go Possum shooting last night, with a borrowed 44 mag lever action,but it pi**ed down so sod that.!( I`m still a fair weather shooter in my old age )

 

[apollo]

Them english (welsh) pigs not good enough for you now are they john mate

 

[Carl Gustaf]

Good luck on your new life in New Zealand John. It will be great to see some photos of your beasts when you get sorted.

 

[Duncs]

Hi, was out in that neck of woods for 6 months some time ago. Possoms with a .22, and all the pigs we could hunt with a Knife! Follow their lead, and you won't go wrong.

 

[john.d.m]

Just an update on the FAC thingy.
I sat my saftey test on july 31st, basic isn`t the word for it
Passed that ok,so I applied for my fac 1st of sept, as we got our stuff here now, and the cabinet was ok.
Customs said I could have put rifles in container but I wouldn`t want to do that.as they would have confiscated them till i got fac.
so i got a dealer in uk shipping them over now as police said i could ship them as soon as i applied for ticket.
Police rang yesterday, they made an appointment to speak to my references, wife and a mate over here, so Kim can have any house/land she wants
let you all know how its going

 

[apollo]

Best of luck John i know how much you love your guns and sport, have fun......

 

[john.d.m]

It`s all moving along a bit now.
On Sun night, had the local firearms officer ring me, would it be ok to see me Mon (y/day)
He had already interveiwed my reference on Sun.
He came on Mon morn, we had a chat, he thought my gun safe was a bit too much !
He interveiwed Kim I had to go out for a ciggy while he did that,I think the choice of house and land has just gone through the roof
The only thing he said may cause a prob is that I have no police record over here, but I did have my U.K FAC and our police check paperwork (which we needed for immigration ) so he was more than happy with those.
All was ok realy, we chatted about everything from vintage cars to rugby etc etc, and he drank lots of coffee, his opinion was theres no problem, I should have my FAC in 4/6 weeks.
My rifles can be shipped to me now, when I have returned a bit of paperwork and posted the cheque to the dealer
See, getting a FAC can be reasonably straight forward. touch wood.

 

[sikamalc]

Settling In to the new life

Hello John. I have been reading your posts, glad to see you arrived safely and that life is good for you and the missus. Have you managed to line up any Thar or Chamois hunting yet? I have had a couple of friends in the past did it, and commented on it very highly. I also have another aquaintance who has also recently moved out to your part of the world, he was the chairman of the SE BDS Branch, I will put you in touch with him if you like as he has already gone for Thar, but with no success this time.
Take care, enjoy.

Regards
Sikamalc

 

[Thar]

Hi Sikamac

With all your talk of Tahr I thought I would put a piccy of one up.

Best rgds

Thar or Tahr

 

[sikamalc]

Ta for the Thar

Thanks Thar, that looks like a good piece of Taxidermy work. I have seen Tahr/Thar before, they do make an attractive mount, and as they are now protected in Asia, I think I am right in saying New Zealand is the only place you can hunt them fair chase.

 

[Thar]

Re: Ta for the Thar

they are now protected in Asia, I think I am right in saying New Zealand is the only place you can hunt them fair chase.

Yep you are right there, as far as we could tell that one was the biggest taken in N.Z. the year that I shot it. Well the biggest Taxidermist in the South Island who did the mount was not aware of any bigger being taken.

Hunting it was the hardest hunt I have done and I am pretty fit. If every thing works out I will be back over next year to have a go at a Chammy and hunt a few more pigs.

Best regards,

Thar

 

[sikamalc]

Hunting the high peaks

Well done you. Its nice to hear about other peoples adventures abroad, and with a nice trophy on the wall, one only has to look and sit quietly admiring it, and the memories of the day come flooding back.

I am off to the West Coast of Scotland soon with clients, and also north England for European Red Stag, fingers crossed this weather holds. Hope everyone else on the forum is getting into the Fallow and just around the corner is the Red Stag rut. Best time of year to be in Great Britain. Good luck everyone.

Regards

Sikamalc

 

[Thar]

Malc

I am supposed to be up on the West coast stalking red stags next week (not likely now with F@M ), then again for the first week of October for the rut. Were are you stalking? PM me if you like.

Best regards,

Thar

 

[morena]

Hi All,
Just had an email forwarded to me from Erlend Barclay about F&M restrictions.DCS website to be updated shortly. www.dcs.gov.uk.
!!!!!!!!!!*****
morena

 

[john.d.m]

Just an update on my firearms certificate.
It`s been issued ! I applied early Sept, had a visit from a local to check everything was ok.
Today I had a fone call from the firearms officer in Palmerstone North (yes he rang me,i didnt ring him) just to tell me its been issued ,he emailed me the number and details etc and the credit card type thing will be with me within 2 weeks and .........
"he will grant me an import license as quick as he can so I can get my rifles over, as he can imagine what its like not being able to go hunting"
Thats what I call service !
I think some U.K firearms depts could learn a thing or two there !
and the best thing is, nothing else to do for 10 yrs,except notify them when I move house,no need for variations, or vary amounts of ammo, or buy a moderator,( yuk cough cough, spit spit ) just go into the shop and buy anything I want and when I want, well thats according to the law, wifey may have something to say about that
I hope you all in the U.K have easy,quick renewals,variations and grants

Went for a wander up in the hills 20 mins from my door, and actually saw deer and goats but only tracks of pigs.
The bush is something else !!! bloody thick and steep, mate I went with is ex military so reasonably fit,after an hour of walking/climbing up one hill, I was a little tired,ok ok I was knackered !! and was quite embarrassed when we got to the top, as we met a couple, well into there 60`s, they both carried packs, and they weren`t even out of breath, she was carrying a 303 and he a 7mm.
Saw a Ruger No1 in 416 in the local gunshop the other day, wanted NZ$ 1500 for it.