Thread: Travelling with guns in a motorhome / campervan

Nice rig bunji!

Mate is currently living here in NZ in a house truck. Has one of those two steel loop thingies bolted into an innocuous corner of the truck. Has had the FA officer approve it. All good.

@ XR500 Yeh it was a good set up for want we wanted to do ,the accommodation jacked off on stands for stand alone accom if you wanted ,you could then use a 12T winch to crank the boat or 3 quads & fuel onto the back deck & 4X4 into remote Beach launches & exploration .

That is in FNQ on the way to the tip of Cape York,we loved the life style,were only going to do it for a year ended up doing 3 yrs.

Originally Posted by john m

I spoke with the local AO today he was ok with the ammo and bolt locked seperate to the guns and the immobilser.The guns to be locked away in a cabinet or box secured to the vehicle, or well hidden somewhere. I've found a space that can be closed in 1150mm x 420mm x 70mm that will hide two with some carefull construction. From what is on the net and other persons experience with there AO there seems there is no standard regulation and its open to interperation by the local AO.Mine did agree it is not practical to be with the vehicle or guns at all times.

Interesting,
I'm hoping to do something in NZ that will include hunting and touring as a visiting international hunter.
Australian rules are similar
In fact there are no actual regulations regarding the carriage of bolt actions in rimfire/Centrefire and others classified as category a and b.
Semi autos etc have specific requirements , if you have genuine reason and appropriate licence category.

Hoping to travel across with 1 rifle, I figured a motor home would be acceptable to carry a firearm so long as I take precautions.

John, something else to consider is a take-down rifle like the Bergara BA13

It would be a shit load easier finding/building a hiding spot for that than a full length rifle.

Originally Posted by Happy Jack

Ok so done a search and this old thread came up.

I'm not looking for opinions rather have facts, but has anyone actually lived in a motorhome for an extended period with a rifle?

Will find out who the local AO for this area and ask as well.

Possibly looking at a year on the road if we can get all our ducks to line up, if we can't it will be back to the drawing board.

Can't comment on what type of vehicle it will be yet as we are only just starting out on the idea.

Even in Australia people have opinions and interpret things differently.
Firstly you hope nothing goes amiss, secondly you hope the police are more concerned about the offence of theft than as splitting hairs about the legality of transportation.
It's in the public interest to pursue the theif and return the firearm.

Am i technically breaking the law if my vehicle runs out of fuel and i have to refuel, leaving the rifle in the car while i go in to pay for it?

I am of the personal view ( and my view may be illegal under the law ) that if I stow my firearms in the vehicle in a manner that is equivalent to or exceeds the stowage security employed by NZ Police in vehicles I have done everything reasonably possible and should be OK, otherwise I could argue that the Police stowage is not adequate if it is considered that mine is not.

Your opinions don't matter. Outside of your approved permanent security at your home address, your firearms have to be under your personal control and supervision.

Any security that you provide that is not under your personal control and supervision outside of that does not meet the required legal standard. If your firearm goes walking, that is the measure by which your accountability will be enforced as a rule. Mitigation for effort and common sense may be applied but don't bank on it.

You are at the mercy of the individual police officers who consider the case.

'Cause remember: these new laws do not apply to the Govt institutions that themselves are equipped with firearms.

Almost every cop car has a firearms lockup in the boot. Love to be corrected, but from my understanding those firearms stay there, and I don't even know if they get signed over from constable to constable at the end/begining of each shift. So most of the cop cars you see parked up at the back of a cop shop have firearms secured inside the boot, in a lockup. A crim certainly won't get access to them with 5 min and a jimmy bar up his sleeve, but given time and an angle grinder most measures will succumb.

Originally Posted by Sidney

Your opinions don't matter. Outside of your approved permanent security at your home address, your firearms have to be under your personal control and supervision.

Any security that you provide that is not under your personal control and supervision outside of that does not meet the required legal standard. If your firearm goes walking, that is the measure by which your accountability will be enforced as a rule. Mitigation for effort and common sense may be applied but don't bank on it.

You are at the mercy of the individual police officers who consider the case.

@Sidney I am asking you to provide an educated / experienced guess to the following. Me - firearms in unattended vehicle stowed in Police equivalent lockbox. Police officer - You have broken the law. Me - I elect case to be heard by a Judge having taken all reasonable steps in the circumstances etc and exceeded the Polices own stowage requirements. Judge's findings - loss of firearms licence plus fine and conviction or hand slap and telling off ??

MH, your assumption that you and the police are under equal obligations w.r.t. firearms laws is the fatal flaw in your argument.

Police are not subject to the firearms legislation.

You are applying "common sense", the prosecutor and judge will be looking at the letter of the law...

Originally Posted by JessicaChen

Am i technically breaking the law if my vehicle runs out of fuel and i have to refuel, leaving the rifle in the car while i go in to pay for it?

Assuming your vehicle is on a service station forecourt.
Depends on how your rifle is secured in your vehicle and whether your vehicle is within your line of sight while you are paying for the fuel. Also how secure is any ammunition and the bolt for your rifle?
If you can see your vehicle at all times, as I understand it, you're not breaking the law.

Personally I take the do what is reasonably practical.
Firearms are concealed in vehicle when traveling, generally with luggage on top.
Ammunition is locked in a separate compartment.
Bolts are in a backpack that goes with me if/when I leave the vehicle.
I take the risk that I'll have to explain to a judge why I didn't completely follow the law and throw myself on the judge's mercy.

The law is an ass.
You're not meant to leave a firearm unattended in a vehicle.
So you're traveling and need to go into a bank.
Try carrying your firearm bag (soft or hard) with you into the bank.
They won't unlock the door(s) and nek minute the girls & boys in blue will come racing round the corner weapons drawn.

Funniest travel story.
One year on the way to the NRANZ nationals, at the tunnels near Kaikoura there's a fully kitted policeman, bushmaster flak jacket and all.
On the radio news it says they're chasing some guy with a "sniper rifle" and 30 rounds of ammunition !!!!
The poor guy being chased probably can't hit a barn at 100 yards.
Well don't look at me, in the ute are 3 FTR rifles, and 1200 rounds of ammunition which can hit at a 1000 yards. All good here officer.

Originally Posted by bunji

@ XR500 Yeh it was a good set up for want we wanted to do ,the accommodation jacked off on stands for stand alone accom if you wanted ,you could then use a 12T winch to crank the boat or 3 quads & fuel onto the back deck & 4X4 into remote Beach launches & exploration .

That is in FNQ on the way to the tip of Cape York,we loved the life style,were only going to do it for a year ended up doing 3 yrs.

@bunji Nice rig mate and an enviable lifestyle but I have to warn you, you cant say jacked off on the forum. thats for another website

On another level, went to the nationals in WGTN one time for NZPA as it was called back then. Walked off the ferry in Picton all carrying our "brief cases".
We had a whole team of police at that bottom of the walkway........One of the club members was a very funny cop himself so he had sent them along just for a laugh. Once I got my undies sorted I thought it was funny too.

Originally Posted by bunji

@ XR500 Yeh it was a good set up for want we wanted to do ,the accommodation jacked off on stands for stand alone accom if you wanted ,you could then use a 12T winch to crank the boat or 3 quads & fuel onto the back deck & 4X4 into remote Beach launches & exploration .

That is in FNQ on the way to the tip of Cape York,we loved the life style,were only going to do it for a year ended up doing 3 yrs.

@bunji, we did the South Island in our camper quite a few moons ago. Quite the minimalist approach, but we got anywhere we wanted to, and being up that high gave us a great view of the landscape passing us (slowly!) by

It's just as well police are not bound by firearms legislation, with the scenario last year where the copper chased a perp, while leaving the patrol vehicle unlocked, keys in ignition, 2 loaded Glocks in the car lock box, the key of which was on the ignition key ring...perp backtracks to police car on foot, drives off in patrol car, abandons car and decamps with 2 Glocks..OOOPPPSSS!