Thread: Firearm Storage Requirements

curly question for you guys. I have my E endorsement which obviously requires me to keep my rifle in an 'E" Endorsed safe and store ammo separately etc. No problem at all.

What happens when I decide to go up north to my in-laws farm and do some possum culling. Where do I store the rifle while away as it won't be in an 'E' endorsed safe that has been approved in my house? I guess this applies to A cat gear as well as it needs to be locked in your house.

Wondered what your thoughts were?

Cheers.

Good question.

Strictly speaking I should imagine you'd have to keep the E Cat firearm with you the entire time. Highly impractical though if you wanted to go out to a restaurant for dinner or such with the in-laws. An Cat firearm could be stored in an A Cat safe at the in-laws if they have one.

Basically, the same situation arises when you may be away hunting and staying in a hut.

If I recall correctly I was advised you have to take all reasonable steps.

I have a hard case for an A cat rifle. The case gets padlocked and locked to a heavy chain which is in turn locked to attachment points in the vehicle.
Bolt and ammunition stored separately. Bolt taken with me when I leave the vehicle. Locked case taken indoors where I am staying.

This is more than I see a lot of shooters doing.

I parked at supermarket the other day, looked over at ute next to me. Saw full gun bag on passenger seat, door unlocked and no one in sight. If I was inclined it would have been too easy to pinch

Originally Posted by kidmac42

I parked at supermarket the other day, looked over at ute next to me. Saw full gun bag on passenger seat, door unlocked and no one in sight. If I was inclined it would have been too easy to pinch

Gezz that's bad!! I hope to never come across someone like that in the bush. Probably just as ruthless with their identification!

Originally Posted by Cyclops

If I recall correctly I was advised you have to take all reasonable steps.

I have a hard case for an A cat rifle. The case gets padlocked and locked to a heavy chain which is in turn locked to attachment points in the vehicle.
Bolt and ammunition stored separately. Bolt taken with me when I leave the vehicle. Locked case taken indoors where I am staying.

This is more than I see a lot of shooters doing.

Thanks for the post

Tried looking through the arms code in more detail but can't see anything. I do recall something about taking reasonable steps but there really isn't anything defined but possibly i'm not looking in the correct spot. The house I would be going to has no safe or storage as they don't have firearms. Interesting....

Originally Posted by Cyclops

I have a hard case for an A cat rifle. The case gets padlocked and locked to a heavy chain which is in turn locked to attachment points in the vehicle.
Bolt and ammunition stored separately. Bolt taken with me when I leave the vehicle. Locked case taken indoors where I am staying.

I generally do the same thing, though with an alarmed cable lock rather than a chain and if I'm not using a hard case I thread the cable through the action. Also have those little action padlock things which live on the rifles when they aren't in use - might not stop a determined thief for too long, but for the small effort it takes I may as well put off any potential opportunists as well as covering them up and locking the car (which also has an alarm). Almost sounds a bit over the top now!

At a friends bach we used to stay in when shooting there was no gun safe, but there was a table made of solid 3-4" thick timber which we chained the guns to the supports of, that seemed safe enough.

All A-Cat though, not sure about any specific E-Cat requirements.

It's just another one of our horrible laws which is open to interpretation. I think I would much rather leave my gun in the car (no bolt) than walk into a shop with a gun even if it's broken down and in a backpack, imagine if some thing happened in the shop and someone searched your bag.....criminal intend comes to mind. No no officer I just didn't want to leave my gun in the car.
I'm still a big fan of, I shouldn't have to lock my car, house or anything.... if it's not yours don't fu#kin touch it, I know this isn't real life anymore but I still like to work on a handshake and a man's word.
As far as a gun goes being left at your in laws with no safe, if you have removed the bolt and taken it with you and the worst happens and someone steels the gun they are still buggered for a while until they get a new bolt.
Isn't our gun safety at home more to insure children don't get access?

Originally Posted by 10-Ring

Good question.

Strictly speaking I should imagine you'd have to keep the E Cat firearm with you the entire time. Highly impractical though if you wanted to go out to a restaurant for dinner or such with the in-laws. An Cat firearm could be stored in an A Cat safe at the in-laws if they have one.

Basically, the same situation arises when you may be away hunting and staying in a hut.

That would look great at the dinner table haha. Me sitting there rocking backwards and forwards haha

The Arms Codes says "Licence holders must take reasonable steps to secure firearms against theft." and "Never leaving your firearm in an unattended vehicle."

The second statement is very impractical. It would mean that you carried your firearm into the petrol station when paying for fuel or café when getting a coffee. If it is in a case it might not cause too much concern but it would be most unusual to see this done.

I focus on the first statement and (as I said above) the reasonable steps one can take.

Originally Posted by Cyclops

The Arms Codes says "Licence holders must take reasonable steps to secure firearms against theft." and "Never leaving your firearm in an unattended vehicle."

The second statement is very impractical. It would mean that you carried your firearm into the petrol station when paying for fuel or café when getting a coffee.

No.

If you choose to visit a petrol station with your firearm in your vehicle it's up to you to take all reasonable steps against theft.

Its your choice to visit a petrol station. Or a bank. Or a supermarket with your firearm. Because you want to go to these places.

No one is forcing you to take your firearm with you when you choose to visit these places.

You choose.

And you choose to accept the consequences of your actions. Because you're an adult.

It works for everyone, whether it's an A cat sitting in the vehicle, or an E cat tucked in the boot.

As to the OP, if you want to use an E cat, store in E cat suitable security. B Cat has a Memorandum of Understanding with the Police, designed for shooters who travel with with pistol but I've yet to met a B cat owner who leaves their pistol unlocked in a bag, in an unlocked car. Dunno, maybe I just don't circulate in the same circle of people of people who just throw their firearms into a car for shits 'n giggles...

Originally Posted by Kscott

No.

If you choose to visit a petrol station with your firearm in your vehicle it's up to you to take all reasonable steps against theft.

Its your choice to visit a petrol station. Or a bank. Or a supermarket with your firearm. Because you want to go to these places.

No one is forcing you to take your firearm with you when you choose to visit these places.

You choose.

And you choose to accept the consequences of your actions. Because you're an adult.

It works for everyone, whether it's an A cat sitting in the vehicle, or an E cat tucked in the boot.

As to the OP, if you want to use an E cat, store in E cat suitable security. B Cat has a Memorandum of Understanding with the Police, designed for shooters who travel with with pistol but I've yet to met a B cat owner who leaves their pistol unlocked in a bag, in an unlocked car. Dunno, maybe I just don't circulate in the same circle of people of people who just throw their firearms into a car for shits 'n giggles...

Thats the way I interperet it, I drive to where Im shooting and I drive back and lock up my firearms if Im by myself. If I am with others then they can go in while I wait in the vehicle.

Originally Posted by Kscott

Its your choice to visit a petrol station.

I dunno, you might be going hunting somewhere that is far enough away from home that you need to refuel on the way. Not much choice about stopping at a petrol station then is there.

I thought you werent allowed to leave a firearm unattended in a vehicle. Mine gets padlocked to the bedframe when Im up at my inlaws.

‘Unattended’ means no-one is in, near or able to watch the vehicle.