Thread: Moving to NZ from US

Originally Posted by ak888

I'm planning on moving to South Island, but based on the replies so far I think the best course of action will be to sell it and get an A category rifle instead. Seems to be more trouble than it's worth to be a handgun owner down there

you are right - on the plus side the hunting opportunity's are endless - and we have a very healthy hunting fraternity

Originally Posted by ak888

I'm planning on moving to South Island, but based on the replies so far I think the best course of action will be to sell it and get an A category rifle instead. Seems to be more trouble than it's worth to be a handgun owner down there

Hello ak888, you have had some very good advice from members of this forum and you have reached the most logical conclusion.
I'm not in the pistol fraternity but @Bol Tackshin clearly is and has outlined the situation accurately and as was my understanding. The key words are, "Actively participating." In NZ you cannot simply buy a pistol and have it in your safe, you MUST attend club & competitions regularly. If you become "inactive" the pistol is taken away.

As a recent immigrant, getting any sort of Firearms Licence will take you the fat end of two years.

In the mean time you might be able to attend some clubs and use club firearms, under supervision.

In addition to pistol clubs, there are also indoor small bore shooting club, rifle clubs and the New Zealand Deer Stalkers Association. Once you buddy up with someone you might be able to hunt, "under supervision."

My final suggestion is, if you are a member of any gun clubs in USA, get some character references from those clubs. It might help break the ice in Christchurch.

Good luck.

Hugh Shields
Controlled Rabbit Culling
Wellington

great advice Hugh Shields

Originally Posted by ak888

Seems to be more trouble than it's worth to be a handgun owner down there

No not at all. In fact it is rather easy and a great deal of fun. There is only one proviso and that is that you have commitment to being engaged in the sport.

The big thing is owning a handgun here is way different. Harder, definitely.
Range work only and highly regulated license requirement wise.
If you wanted to carry it in the car for self defense (highly frowned upon on both counts), or take it out in the bush for a crack at something, that is also frowned upon.

To clarify, @Hugh Shields, I was interested and asked someone in the pistol community about it. Competing in a club shoot every month seemed a bit steep for my level of commitment, and I haven't pursued pistol shooting any further. It seems the policy by the powers that be to disincentivise shooting sports is working!

Originally Posted by csmiffy

The big thing is owning a handgun here is way different. Harder, definitely.
Range work only and highly regulated license requirement wise.
If you wanted to carry it in the car for self defense (highly frowned upon on both counts), or take it out in the bush for a crack at something, that is also frowned upon.

Or just join a gang and what you want with it.

From what I understand you’d need to be have a firearms license to have a gun here, let alone a pistol. That process will likely take 3 years from the time I arrive…I’ll let you know.
Also, moving your glock here will be the least of your problems, unless you or your partner are kiwis. Feel free to message me with questions. Cheers mate and best of luck.

Everyone who doesn't have a pistol License loves to talk about how hard it is to get a pistol License. The reality is provided you have your attendances the vetting procedure really isn't anything different than that for your a cat. You also don't "have to compete" but yes you need to shoot graded matches, for our club this can as simple as a 24rd course of fire on a Wednesday night or a full blown IPSC match. I couldn't say for for people moving here internationally but the it only takes about 3-6 months for a License to get processed from application to approval now down south

@Howa1500 - what I posted is from a dealer amd pistol shooter - his words were "compete" and when I pressed, it was formal competitions, not club night shoots. I was left with the distinct impression that getting a pistol licence was a significant undertaking, and quite expensive hobby to maintain.
From what you have said, it sounds like the guy is making it sound more difficult than it is. Why a dealer would do that is a mystery to me. It really put me off.

Originally Posted by Bol Tackshin

@Howa1500 - what I posted is from a dealer amd pistol shooter - his words were "compete" and when I pressed, it was formal competitions, not club night shoots. I was left with the distinct impression that getting a pistol licence was a significant undertaking, and quite expensive hobby to maintain.
From what you have said, it sounds like the guy is making it sound more difficult than it is. Why a dealer would do that is a mystery to me. It really put me off.

Feel free to flick me a pm mate if you ever want to ask questions, but I really don't think it's as difficult as people make it out to be

Originally Posted by Howa1500

Everyone who doesn't have a pistol License loves to talk about how hard it is to get a pistol License. The reality is provided you have your attendances the vetting procedure really isn't anything different than that for your a cat. You also don't "have to compete" but yes you need to shoot graded matches, for our club this can as simple as a 24rd course of fire on a Wednesday night or a full blown IPSC match. I couldn't say for for people moving here internationally but the it only takes about 3-6 months for a License to get processed from application to approval now down south

It was just over 2 months from application to approval for me. South island.
I had been told by many how long and difficult the process was, but it was an incredibly simple and quick process for me.
Maybe I was just lucky?