Thread: Stewart Island police

Just heard a story , admittedly about 10th hand so cant be sure of any accuracy . but a party staying at a Stewart island hut ,having the hut visited by the police while out fishing and being done for leaving their firearms unattended and insecure .

can anybody confirm this actually happened

nope but if its true..fair enough given the volume of folks who are down there on tracks....hells bells I take firearm out when trout fishing as leaving it unattended is just dumb.

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

nope but if its true..fair enough given the volume of folks who are down there on tracks....hells bells I take firearm out when trout fishing as leaving it unattended is just dumb.

We were in the Ironbark hut in 1982. Some loopys arrived as we were heading off for a hunt and fish with some whom complained about firearms etc in the hut. We got back very late with trout and venison. Put on a stew and set the trout in tinfoil in the embers. We started to eat at about 12.30am. The food vapours were enveloping the hut. One female tramper had not offered any criticism at all. We knew she up and was not asleep. My bil asked her if she wanted a feed. Crikey she was out of her sleeping bag quicker than a whippet.She had 2 helpings of stew and trout. Scowls across faces in the morning from her friends. Still laughing about it to this day.

Originally Posted by gamereaper

Just heard a story , admittedly about 10th hand so cant be sure of any accuracy . but a party staying at a Stewart island hut ,having the hut visited by the police while out fishing and being done for leaving their firearms unattended and insecure .

can anybody confirm this actually happened

Dunno but on a TV show a cop was doing tour of the huts and gave some advice re firearms security to the hunters there - nobody was ‘done’.

Originally Posted by Finnwolf

Dunno but on a TV show a cop was doing tour of the huts and gave some advice re firearms security to the hunters there - nobody was ‘done’.

for 8 years as Senior Ranger Waikaremoana did hut rounds on lake - if hunters in hut quick look at firearms - asked many to remove bolts and put firearms out of sight - never ever got a shity reply at all - in fact had more problems with bloody trampers mainly females moaning their butts of at having to share hut with hunters - all got same message from me - I have spoken to hunters -their firearms are safe - have asked them to drink out side and keep noise down - they seem a good bunch - but many trampers still not that happy - so who was the problem really

They should have thought about the possibility of meeting hunters when they set out for the hut(s)!

What were they expecting a Ranger to do? - kick the hunters out? pffft!

While there in March, they were doing the rounds. One of our party was being dropped off on Lucky’s Beach by dingy when they were intercepted. Got the usual lecture and a promise to visit the rest of us at Yankee Hut (which never eventuated) Was issued a “free” H&F trigger lock and a handful of plastic chamber flags as a giveaway, then off they toodled.

We had a discussion about rumours of them confiscating ammo/mags found in huts but not sure of the veracity of those claims.

One interesting part of this is that the cop had expressed his “opinion” on his feelings about that party’s use of a break action single shot rifle. His dislike of them revolved around the fact that you couldn’t tell if the rifle was loaded or not. Hhmmmmm.

I would like to add that I had mixed feelings about the freebies handed out. On one hand I was somewhat disappointed that the rest of us missed out on a “free” trigger lock but on the other hand I felt that it was all a bit condescending and that throwing the natives a few coloured beads would make all the bullshit go away and we would fall over ourselves in forgiveness for all their transgressions against us, past and present.

And really, chamber flags??? what the actual fuck!! Those things are for Utubers, to show the firearms illiterate that a rifle is not loaded, they are not a solution for proper firearm safety. Pure virtue signaling!!!

Originally Posted by Sidetrack

And really, chamber flags??? what the actual fuck!! Those things are for Utubers, to show the firearms illiterate that a rifle is not loaded, they are not a solution for proper firearm safety. Pure virtue signaling!!!

Chamber flags are not for the firearms illiterate. They are not virtue signalling.
Just because you may not like them doesn't make their use wrong.

NRANZ ranges and TSNZ ranges require chamber flags to be used when the rifle isn't on the firing point.
Chamber flags are a simple easy visible way to see that a rifle is not loaded, the bolt is not closed and therefore the rifle is safe.

One shouldn't so quickly dismiss the use of chamber flags or any other safety measure.

Originally Posted by Sidetrack

Those things are for Utubers, to show the firearms illiterate that a rifle is not loaded, they are not a solution for proper firearm safety. Pure virtue signaling!!!

Unfortunately the "firearms illiterate" make a lot of noise and influence future policies. Any little thing that indicates to them that Firearms owners are responsible and safe is a good thing. You are correct that it is not a substitute for safety procedures but they do no harm as an addition.

Originally Posted by Sidetrack

One interesting part of this is that the cop had expressed his “opinion” on his feelings about that party’s use of a break action single shot rifle. His dislike of them revolved around the fact that you couldn’t tell if the rifle was loaded or not. Hhmmmmm.

Well, he's won daftest comment of the day. One of the reasons I specifically like break actions is the safety aspect. If the action is broken, you can easily see if there is a round in the chamber and if it's broken, it can't fire. Guns with a manual hammer add another layer of safety.

Originally Posted by MB

Well, he's won daftest comment of the day. One of the reasons I specifically like break actions is the safety aspect. If the action is broken, you can easily see if there is a round in the chamber and if it's broken, it can't fire. Guns with a manual hammer add another layer of safety.

Always break open and empty my Baikal when approaching a hut. And once I'm in there I break it down completely so there's absolutely no confusion. The huts I use regularly are mostly other hunters. If going into a tramper heavy hut I'll sometimes just break it down and tuck it away discretely in my pack.

Originally Posted by Sidetrack

And really, chamber flags??? what the actual fuck!! Those things are for Utubers, to show the firearms illiterate that a rifle is not loaded, they are not a solution for proper firearm safety. Pure virtue signaling!!!

Chamber flags do have a use and a very good one.
On ranges, its a very quick and clear indication that the chamber is unloaded and safe without having to inspect the chamber and they work in all action types. Just confirm the magazine is empty or removed.
I never used to take my camber flag hunting but probably will now just for huts. While hunting they serve no purpose.

I usually just my firearm on the rack with bolt, ammo, mag goes into my pack. But i have always been in the hut.
Might be a little bit more difficult for other action types with no way to remove the bolt.

Originally Posted by Nugget connaisseur

Might be a little bit more difficult for other action types with no way to remove the bolt.

So true that. - and so often rules and ideas seem based on firearms that have removable bolts and/or mags.

So the Stewart Island cop tries to do something pro active for gun safety and all of a sudden you guys are spinning it to be something negative what happened could be interpreted in many different ways just because your slant on it makes you feel vindicated or victimised doesn't mean it's right.......it doesn't mean it's wrong either. You guys are making ass hats of yourselves by all jumping to conclusions that this was anything other than pro active effort to keep firearms owners safe without any facts

Originally Posted by dannyb

So the Stewart Island cop tries to do something pro active for gun safety and all of a sudden you guys are spinning it to be something negative what happened could be interpreted in many different ways just because your slant on it makes you feel vindicated or victimised doesn't mean it's right.......it doesn't mean it's wrong either. You guys are making ass hats of yourselves by all jumping to conclusions that this was anything other than pro active effort to keep firearms owners safe without any facts

I absolutely agree, but you also make my point. How easily bought we are. Throw a few baubles at the peasants and everything is all right in the world again. NZ Police should absolutely be completely trusted, they are our friends, they only have our interests at heart. That narrative may suit some but we’re in this trough because of completely the opposite. Constant law changes, exorbitant licensing fees anyone???
I’ll reserve my judgement till I see a meaningful change in attitude.