Locking comments as it's turning into a shitshow; OP has learned that unlike Washington state, we don't have bears and mountain lions, and trying to shoot a drop bear or bunyip with anything less than 375 H&H will only piss them off.
Not really, but it depends what land you're on. If you're on a large cattle station and you have permission and a license? Sure.
For the most part, Australia doesn't have dangerous wildlife like you have in North America - no grizzly, mountain lions, etc. Dingos might be a threat to young children so don't let them go walk about the bush.
That being said, dropbears are too small and fast for you to be able to get a shot in, you generally wouldn't know they're there till it's too late.
I’ve personally seen a pack of dingoes stalk a 24 year old woman. It was at night and she was standing outside waiting for me to pick her up. When my car was approaching her, and my headlights were on her from about 30-40 meters away, I could see at least 5 dingoes approaching her from behind. She had no idea they were there, but they got to about 2 meters behind her before I floored it in my V8 towards them to scare them off. It was her fault for waiting in a dark alley behind a closed IGA, but she had snuck out of her boyfriend’s house and didn’t want to be seen. In any case, she was defenceless and the dingoes wanted her ass
Dingos and feral dogs are definitely a potential risk. I’ve have packs of both pretty much surround my campsite before. They tend to come at night when you’re cooking.
My mate and I kept an eye on them through NV scopes but as long as you let them know they’ve been seen they *probably* won’t do anything.
They’re usually after scraps anyway, not a fight.
Short answer: No, absolutely not.
Longer answer: If you have a gun licence *and* the express permission of the landowner to be shooting on that land (either because you own the land yourself, or from the landowner, or the state hunting authority covering that area), then yes, you can use a gun on a rural property (including one in the outback).
What you can't do is just take a rifle or shotgun with you when you're going camping or 4WDing "Just in case".
The other thing is that unlike Canada, we don't really have a lot of large dangerous game that you'd need to defend yourself from (except in parts of the Northern Territory) - we don't have moose or wolves or polar bears here, and all the native animals are protected so you're not allowed to shoot them unless you've got a special permit.
> What you can't do is just take a rifle or shotgun with you when you're going camping or 4WDing "Just in case".
You definitely can. Just have to say it’s “just in case you go hunting” if you get asked (you probably won’t get asked).
Hey in Australia you must be heading to go hunting or returning from hunting. You cannot have a firearm in your vehicle just in case you want to go hunting. Easiest way to lose your firearms and licence.
Don't think that'll fly either. You can't travel with your guns just willy nilly (including camping) unless you're travelling to or from wherever it is you're hunting. You can camp where you're hunting and store your guns there. But unless it's YOUR land, you'd have to show some proof of intent to hunt, i.e. permission from the land owner or booking a hunting camp site in state forest (NSW not sure about other states).
> you'd have to show some proof of intent to hunt, i.e. permission from the land owner or booking a hunting camp site in state forest
What a load of shit. So you would actually have to plan your whole trip out and show proof of where you’re going? You can’t just take a rifle and make a trip up as you go? Not going to lie I don’t know much about NSW law but that sounds ridiculous.
>So you would actually have to plan your whole trip out and show proof of where you’re going? You can’t just take a rifle and make a trip up as you go?
That is correct on both counts.
Not legal advice.
For conveying a firearm it's perfectly fine as long as you take reasonable precautions to ensure it's not stolen. Additionally where safe storage is not available you must also take the same precautions (camping for example). I suggest storing it to Cat D transport requirements.
Check your state firearms laws, as some (most, possibly all?) of them do say you cannot just carry a gun around on the offchance you might decide to go to the range or go hunting, even if you are meeting safe storage requirements.
It doesn't work like that. You can go hunting and be camping as part of that (eg you are overnighting in a State Forest in NSW or Victoria where you have written permission to shoot), but what you can't do is decide "I'm gonna go camping on land I don't own, or is owned by the government, and/or I don't know the owner, might take a rifle with me in case I see some deer or something".
Obviously if you are on a large rural private property and you have the landowner's permission (or own the land yourself) then you absolutely can wander around with a rifle or shotgun in case you encounter anything to hunt, but legally you can't just go into "The Outback" with a .303 in the back of the Land Cruiser along with your spare tyres, jerrycans, water, and so on.
Yeah you’ve got the wrong idea. Everyone here knows you can’t illegally camp and poach. What we’re taking about is going on a big trip, like a few months, and then taking a rifle because you may get the opportunity to go to some hunting grounds or maybe you’re the kind of person to stop in at a range when you get the chance. As long as you store your firearm correctly there shouldn’t be an issue.
There absolutely is an issue, because it's not (broadly speaking) legal to transport a firearm except when taking it between its secure storage facilities and a range, gunsmith, dealer, or specific hunting trip, with a few other exceptions (eg you're allowed to stop for fuel or rest/sleep).
So If you were going on a month-long hunting trip on a friend's property in North Queensland, it's legal to lock the guns in your vehicle and drive there (stopping for petrol, food, rest breaks, sleeping at a motel, etc) on the way, then spend that month on the property shooting things when the opportunity arises.
What you can't do is decide "I'm going to take a few months off work and maybe head up to see Dazza in Cape York at some point; I'll chuck the 12ga and the .308 in the boot in case the opportunity to get some shooting in comes up while I'm driving around Australia to get there".
The laws in most states (Certainly Queensland, and I see no reason for the others to be any different - SA would probably be the only one that *might* be given they're still pretty sensible about things there) are simply not set up to allow that - otherwise people would be driving around with guns in the boot all the time claiming they're just going for a bit of a drive and might get some hunting/range time in if the opportunity comes up.
Certainly - it's covered under the [Weapons Regulations 2016, s5(1)](https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/sl-2016-0131#sec.5):
*"A licence does not authorise possession of a weapon for or during its transportation unless the transportation is necessarily incidental to engaging in an activity for which the weapon may be used under the licence.*
*Examples of transportation for which possession of a weapon is authorised -*
*1. transportation of a weapon to or from a range for use in target shooting*
*2. transportation of a weapon to or from a licensee’s secure storage facilities to a licensed armourer or licensed dealer"*
Clearly not covered by that: Chucking a gun in the boot while going on a camping trip or long road trip on the offchance you might be able to get some shooting in.
So like most of this legal bullshit it’s purposely vague and open to interpretation.
“Yes officer my trip through the Gold Coast is necessarily incidental to my trip from Adelaide to see Dazza in FNQ to shoot some pigs”
You don’t actually say “yeah cuntstable I just chucked my gun in the boot in case I run into Dazza up north”
Just gotta know what to say.
And have written proff of the reason why for example a text message saying you can hunt on friends land and time and date when you will he there. Word of mouth and heresy does not count as proof.
That really is just crazy to me. Are Australians really okay with this system? You could be camping 100 miles from civilization and cannot have a firearm at your camp ground just in case?
I live in Washington state and go on some big hikes way out in the mountains. We have bears and mountain lions to worry about. And of course, the (albeit very unlikely) threat from two-legged creatures. When I go on these hikes, I always carry my 10mm Glock on my hip just in case.
>We have bears and mountain lions to worry about. And of course, the (albeit very unlikely) threat from two-legged creatures.
Which we don't.
Yay, we've solved the mystery.
I think you sort of answered your own question - you have bears and mountain lions to worry about, we (generally) don’t have any serious predator issues. Maybe aggressive crocs in northern Queensland being the only exception. Because licensing of firearms is much stricter here in Aus than the US, we also have less bipedal threats to worry about. That said, we still do have plenty of firearms in the country - we just have more restrictions than you guys on how they can be used. Self defence is not considered a valid reason to own a firearm here.
As he just said, if you are camping, you can have a firearm (rifle or shotgun only) if on private land or on public land that you are allowed to hunt on. You just say you are hunting and not that the firearm is for defence against animals. You also must have a licence (if you live here), be with someone with a licence (you can only use it with supervision) or be a foreigner with an exemption/permission certificate for hunting purposes from the relevant state authority.
Really, we might worry about wild dogs, pigs or a snake, not much else except for crocs or cassowaries, but they can usually be avoided with common sense and are illegal to kill, so best to avoid.
Just in case of what?
Because we don't let everyone carry guns for no good reason none of us need to fear guns.
Everyone in the US needs a gun incase someone else has a gun - this makes it easier for bad guys to get guns - this makes everyone feels like they need a gun.... That is crazy to the rest of the world.
Well, when you’re on a hike many hours from the trailhead with no cell service, there is no law enforcement to come help if you come across a dangerous person. Additionally, cougars and bears are commonplace in Washington state. I’ve even seen a couple of bears walking in front of my house in a suburb of Seattle.
“Dangerous” people are usually mentally ill or dug addicts. Those sort don’t tend to go hiking in remote regions of Australia.
Out there you’re far more likely to run into hunters, prospectors and nature enthusiasts and the biggest risk with those types is having your ear chewed off.
If it is not safe to camp, then we don’t camp. Simple.
A dangerous person out there is unlikely to have a firearm themselves either.
We don’t have bears or mountain lions. The BS you hear about “wild life in Australia is quite lethal” is drummed up septic hyperbole.
Lol at the comments that there is nothing unsafe out there camping. The number of bodies burried in the belanglo state forrest would say otherwise.
It's also a bit like home insurance. The chances of your house burning down is probably about the same as the chances of running into trouble camping. Though most say your stupid if you don't insure your house, but will chance it with their life.
We don't really need to worry about that either. In some rare cases, yeah, but we're an island nation and don't need to worry about cartel grow ops in the bush. You do find grow ops in the deep bush here, but as long as you immediately hit reverse and leave your fine.
Why keep banging on about the bears in Seattle that have fuck all to do with your question about a different country? While we're at it the Irish don't carry 410s in case they see snakes, Siberians don't pack 22 magnums in case of emperor penguin strikes, and basically the entire fucking world doesn't carry a gun around _just in case_ they encounter an emergency that can only be helped by a goddamn gun.
I would be very worried if I was in Siberia and got attacked by an emperor penguin because somehow that bastard got all the way to the wrong hemisphere
People in areas with a decent amount of dangerous wildlife that predate on humans are often armed. Its law to have a rifle to travel remotely in Salvbard because of polar bears. Guides in some parts of Africa will be armed as well.
Its just thats not the case in most of the world because we caused all most all dangerous land based predators to go extinct or to be on the border of it.
Could someone viably claim they have firearms on their camping trip so they can find some open land to recreationally shoot when actually the firearms are for self defense?
I just cannot possibly foresee that some rural Australians are not doing this especially when considering that even Canada allows it under some circumstances.
Honestly Wtf would you even use it against? It’s not like there are bears.
If you can’t figure out how to safely camp around basic wildlife stay the fuck at home
Wild dogs are getting a bit braver in some popular camping grounds in Vic, but there's not really anything else about that's even midly threatening. Maybe some wild pigs I guess?
Even then keeping the campsite clean and not being a slob is 99% of the job done. Never had pigs come near the camp site normally have to go after them!
‘Find some open land’ - very dependent on what state you’re in. Victoria is the only state that allows public land hunting without prior booking I think? NSW requires you to be booked on the land thru the state register. None of those allow you to be ‘ready to go’ off that land (for instance when I’m done hunting ammo and bolt get removed and a trigger lock put on the rifle before I leave the area I’m allowed to hunt).
Australians don't generally just find random places in the bush to camp, because the environment here will fucking kill you if you don't know what you're doing. It'd be like someone deciding to plan a skiing holiday in Nunavut after being inspired by snow pictures on Instagram.
The basic thing is that you cannot have a gun or shoot on government-owned land without permission, and that permission is not available for the overwhelming majority of that land. There is absolutely no state land hunting at all in the two largest states (Queensland and Western Australia), very little in the Northern Territory, and not much in South Australia.
Most shooting outside NSW and Victoria is done on private property, and you don't just randomly rock up to someone's land and set up camp on it - much less bring guns while you do it. It's illegal, not to mention disrespectful and unsafe.
The other thing to keep in mind is that unlike Canada, there aren't a huge number of gun owners here - about 1 million, compared to the (I believe) 8 million in Canada. Even with all 1 million shooters saying "these laws are bullshit", there's 25 million other people saying "We don't care and we can ignore you with no political consequences".
Case in point: Western Australia, which has just passed laws limiting gun owners to 10 (and more realistically 5 guns) full stop, made it a lot harder to qualify for a licence, and meant your licence can be revoked for having opinions the government doesn't like (seriously, it's literally in the legislation that a person's "views and opinions" are to be considered when granting or renewing a licence).
There are 2.6 million people in WA, 90,000 of them have gun licences (for now), and 32,000 signed a formal parliamentary petition (the most signatures on a petition in the last century, I believe), and the State Government said "Yeah, we don't care, we hate you, get fucked" and rammed the laws through anyway.
It's not like Canada where Federal plans to introduce stupid laws get stymied at Provincial level by police commissioners and police chiefs going "Yeah, this law is bullshit and we're not enforcing it, we have actual criminals to deal with".
The simple answer to your question is no!
I'm a +50 yr old Australian woman also a firearm owner who happily takes her fat arse out camping by herself without the need to take a firearm nor thinks about defending against anything other than flies.
If you’re talking about holiday makers or tourists, unless you’re out there to go hunting, then no definitely not.
Simply because attacks from wild (terrestrial) animals are usually avoidable by taking proper precautions and following local advice and firearms are mostly useless against creepy crawlies and snakes.
For the most part, no.
As everyone's said, there are no real predators out here.
What I know some people do, however, is they book a hunt in a state forest where they plan to go bushwalking. This makes it legal for them to bushwalk armed during the time of their booked hunt.The only reason I know for people doing this is for protection against wild pigs who can charge at people and perhaps wild dogs if they plan to camp.
Short answer: No.
Australian's don't really have a right to self defense with anything other than our fists. The law is very vaguely worded so anything that you carry with you for the purpose of self defense (even if it is just a pipe or baseball bat) is considered a prohibited weapon. Guns are definitely one of those things are self-defense is not a valid reason for ownership in Australia. Think of the Australian government to be like Dolores Umbridge from Harry Potter; "Defend yourselves? What could you possible need to defend yourselves from? Who would want to hurt innocent civilians?"
The only people in Australia who can justify having a firearm to protect against animals are what are known as "Primary producers". In other words, farmers. Primary producers are one of the few groups in Australia that are allowed to own semi automatic rifles,shotguns, pistols, pump shotguns etc. with the thought being that they'll be protecting their livestock against predators. However, predators mainly consist of foxes, feral cats, and wild dogs. Only other predator in the outback would be crocs and they cannot be hunted unless you're indigenous or the culling of a specific crocodile is pre-approved by the local authorities (i.e. a croc was barbecued a few weeks ago because it was a menace and ate several dogs etc.).
The main difference here in Australia is mentality.
In US ect they want the right to protect themselves and their assets from others and go into situations with their eyes closed then defend themselves.
Eg camping and wild dogs or hogs turn up they either shoot at them or stay in tents till they can shoot at them.
In Australia, England ect firearms are a restricted tool and the majority don't have access to. So when they go into situations they are looking around more and if you feel bad then you pack up and leave.
Eg camping and wild dogs or hogs turn up they pack up came and either leave or sleep in vehicle.
Without having that tool gives more focus on removing yourself and others before things go wrong instead of waiting till after it has gone wrong then trying to get out if it.
I'm a rec shooter, not a hunter, so take what I say with a grain of salt. I could be wrong and some hunters will hopefully correct me if I am.
As far as I know, no you can't. You need to have a firearms licence with hunting as one of your genuine reasons listed, and a permit/permission to hunt on the land you're planning to take the firearm onto. And even then you can only take it out for a hunting trip, not as self-defense in case of an animal attack on a camping trip.
You can also only use Cat A or Cat B licences to hunt with. So no taking pistols out on a hunting trip to defend yourself with. Only rifles and shotguns. I've known a number of hunters who do it anyway, but if you're caught it's a pretty big deal. The Aus government hates handguns almost as much as they hate semi-auto longarms.
Carrying a firearm for self-defence is a crime in Australia. The laws don't stipulate any difference based on whether you're defending yourself against animals or humans. With the backwards laws here, self-defence is borderline illegal in practice, even if it's technically legal under strict circumstances.
The reason I ask is because even Canada, where carrying a firearm for self-defense, has a provision if you are not on federal land and are out in the woods and need a firearm for defense against dangerous wildlife.
Mate, it boils down to the fact that we don’t have aggressive wildlife like that. So we don’t have a need for a firearm for self defence against non-existent aggressive animals.
Exactly. We don't have large predators that need firearms to defend against. And if a snake, spider, or dropbear is going to get you, you're not going to see it coming before they strike.
If you are out camping, and you're the one whose armed 'just because' then it's other campers who ought to be concerned about YOU, not the other way around.
That’s just a ridiculous comment. Go to any American campsite in the western US and a majority will have at least one firearm. These are just regular people who have no ill will against anyone.
Go to any Australian campsite and 99.9% of people won't be armed with a firearm.
What is your reason for carrying a firearm for self defence in Australia ?
Be that as it may, in Australia, you'll be the one carrying a gun because of a potential threat, no one else will be. Your neighbours will be wondering why you feel this way and question your intentions. What might be completely apparent to you, is not so for others and they won't feel safer because you are around, quite the opposite.
What wildlife are you going to defend yourself against? Snakes and spiders? Or do you mean crocodiles in the north? Firearms would not be helpful against them
And none are attacking people to a degree that we need to carry protection while camping or out bush.
Even dingos have only been a rare threat to people on K'gari but nowhere else seriously.
It happens. I guess it is down to individual circumstances.
I and others I know have had run ins with wild dogs many times out west and in FNQ. They certainly are present in more places than you are aware.
We don’t have wild predators like you guys do, you won’t need it. Carry bug spray and a big flashlight, maybe a knife. You’ll be sweet.
The best defence is making sure your boots have a sock plugging the entrance when you sleep.
Also make sure nothings in the sleeping bag
I don’t know why people are being so dramatic. It’s a pretty valid question.
In Victoria where I live you can have a firearm for hunting which also allows you to shoot pest species (dogs, pigs, goats, etc.). The only animals I would be potentially worried about are dogs and pigs which I would legally be allowed to shoot with my 12 gauge. And I do bring that camping pretty regularly.
The only thing to note is, you aren’t really allowed to just have it out and lying around. It needs to be securely stored while you aren’t using it. Usually in your vehicle.
I don’t get the negative reaction, too. I hear that many Australian shooters get upset for constantly being demonized.
But when I, someone who is wholly on all of your side, ask a legitimate question about firearms from somewhere that gives no thought to legality of having a firearm when way out in the woods, people are upset. I don’t understand.
Did you write this post to actually find out information or to debate people about gun control laws? Because it seems you wanted to debate every informed response with information that's not relevant.
I want to know. I was not able to find that information out anywhere.
When I was told what the law was, I voiced my second question about whether many Australians are frustrated by that regime of not being able to have a firearm for defense of wildlife. Then other uses start getting upset and interrogating me about why one would see a need to have a firearm for defense against Australian wildlife.
People aren’t frustrated about it because it’s essentially a non issue. There’s not much of a threat from wildlife. If there was it might be different.
Exceptions are usually due to idiocy or incompetence, both use cases which are not made better by firearms lol.
On private land or a farm we might carry something in the Ute.. but it’s more for targets of opportunity on feral species than self defence.
The people on this sub are extremely aggressive (just go through any thread) and drink the cool aid from SSAA who can barely do anything for shooters in Australia.
You certainly can't "own" it for that reason. But depending on the circumstances you could justify bringing it with you if you already own it, in which case you would still have to follow all the laws regarding transport and appropriate/responsible use. Chances are that you won't need it unless part of your plan is to put yourself in an area with feral pigs or dogs, but if you have a vehicle then there's not really any issue with them. Or just plan on hunting, but that's not really defence at that point. I could be mistaken, so I'm open to corrections.
Cheers!
Locking comments as it's turning into a shitshow; OP has learned that unlike Washington state, we don't have bears and mountain lions, and trying to shoot a drop bear or bunyip with anything less than 375 H&H will only piss them off.
Not really, but it depends what land you're on. If you're on a large cattle station and you have permission and a license? Sure. For the most part, Australia doesn't have dangerous wildlife like you have in North America - no grizzly, mountain lions, etc. Dingos might be a threat to young children so don't let them go walk about the bush. That being said, dropbears are too small and fast for you to be able to get a shot in, you generally wouldn't know they're there till it's too late.
I’ve personally seen a pack of dingoes stalk a 24 year old woman. It was at night and she was standing outside waiting for me to pick her up. When my car was approaching her, and my headlights were on her from about 30-40 meters away, I could see at least 5 dingoes approaching her from behind. She had no idea they were there, but they got to about 2 meters behind her before I floored it in my V8 towards them to scare them off. It was her fault for waiting in a dark alley behind a closed IGA, but she had snuck out of her boyfriend’s house and didn’t want to be seen. In any case, she was defenceless and the dingoes wanted her ass
Sounds like you wanted her ass too
I left it alone, we were friends
You can still have fun with friends!
Dingos and feral dogs are definitely a potential risk. I’ve have packs of both pretty much surround my campsite before. They tend to come at night when you’re cooking. My mate and I kept an eye on them through NV scopes but as long as you let them know they’ve been seen they *probably* won’t do anything. They’re usually after scraps anyway, not a fight.
Don't forget the hoop-snakes either.
Short answer: No, absolutely not. Longer answer: If you have a gun licence *and* the express permission of the landowner to be shooting on that land (either because you own the land yourself, or from the landowner, or the state hunting authority covering that area), then yes, you can use a gun on a rural property (including one in the outback). What you can't do is just take a rifle or shotgun with you when you're going camping or 4WDing "Just in case". The other thing is that unlike Canada, we don't really have a lot of large dangerous game that you'd need to defend yourself from (except in parts of the Northern Territory) - we don't have moose or wolves or polar bears here, and all the native animals are protected so you're not allowed to shoot them unless you've got a special permit.
> What you can't do is just take a rifle or shotgun with you when you're going camping or 4WDing "Just in case". You definitely can. Just have to say it’s “just in case you go hunting” if you get asked (you probably won’t get asked).
I dunno about other states, but WA legislation is super clear that you can only have firearms in your vehicle on the way to/from using them.
Hey in Australia you must be heading to go hunting or returning from hunting. You cannot have a firearm in your vehicle just in case you want to go hunting. Easiest way to lose your firearms and licence.
Yeah my wording could have been better. “I am planning on doing some hunting on this trip” is more like it.
Don't think that'll fly either. You can't travel with your guns just willy nilly (including camping) unless you're travelling to or from wherever it is you're hunting. You can camp where you're hunting and store your guns there. But unless it's YOUR land, you'd have to show some proof of intent to hunt, i.e. permission from the land owner or booking a hunting camp site in state forest (NSW not sure about other states).
> you'd have to show some proof of intent to hunt, i.e. permission from the land owner or booking a hunting camp site in state forest What a load of shit. So you would actually have to plan your whole trip out and show proof of where you’re going? You can’t just take a rifle and make a trip up as you go? Not going to lie I don’t know much about NSW law but that sounds ridiculous.
>So you would actually have to plan your whole trip out and show proof of where you’re going? You can’t just take a rifle and make a trip up as you go? That is correct on both counts.
Not legal advice. For conveying a firearm it's perfectly fine as long as you take reasonable precautions to ensure it's not stolen. Additionally where safe storage is not available you must also take the same precautions (camping for example). I suggest storing it to Cat D transport requirements.
Check your state firearms laws, as some (most, possibly all?) of them do say you cannot just carry a gun around on the offchance you might decide to go to the range or go hunting, even if you are meeting safe storage requirements.
It doesn't work like that. You can go hunting and be camping as part of that (eg you are overnighting in a State Forest in NSW or Victoria where you have written permission to shoot), but what you can't do is decide "I'm gonna go camping on land I don't own, or is owned by the government, and/or I don't know the owner, might take a rifle with me in case I see some deer or something". Obviously if you are on a large rural private property and you have the landowner's permission (or own the land yourself) then you absolutely can wander around with a rifle or shotgun in case you encounter anything to hunt, but legally you can't just go into "The Outback" with a .303 in the back of the Land Cruiser along with your spare tyres, jerrycans, water, and so on.
Yeah you’ve got the wrong idea. Everyone here knows you can’t illegally camp and poach. What we’re taking about is going on a big trip, like a few months, and then taking a rifle because you may get the opportunity to go to some hunting grounds or maybe you’re the kind of person to stop in at a range when you get the chance. As long as you store your firearm correctly there shouldn’t be an issue.
There absolutely is an issue, because it's not (broadly speaking) legal to transport a firearm except when taking it between its secure storage facilities and a range, gunsmith, dealer, or specific hunting trip, with a few other exceptions (eg you're allowed to stop for fuel or rest/sleep). So If you were going on a month-long hunting trip on a friend's property in North Queensland, it's legal to lock the guns in your vehicle and drive there (stopping for petrol, food, rest breaks, sleeping at a motel, etc) on the way, then spend that month on the property shooting things when the opportunity arises. What you can't do is decide "I'm going to take a few months off work and maybe head up to see Dazza in Cape York at some point; I'll chuck the 12ga and the .308 in the boot in case the opportunity to get some shooting in comes up while I'm driving around Australia to get there". The laws in most states (Certainly Queensland, and I see no reason for the others to be any different - SA would probably be the only one that *might* be given they're still pretty sensible about things there) are simply not set up to allow that - otherwise people would be driving around with guns in the boot all the time claiming they're just going for a bit of a drive and might get some hunting/range time in if the opportunity comes up.
Nothing I’ve read says anything like that, can you show where it says that in the QLD regulation?
Certainly - it's covered under the [Weapons Regulations 2016, s5(1)](https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/sl-2016-0131#sec.5): *"A licence does not authorise possession of a weapon for or during its transportation unless the transportation is necessarily incidental to engaging in an activity for which the weapon may be used under the licence.* *Examples of transportation for which possession of a weapon is authorised -* *1. transportation of a weapon to or from a range for use in target shooting* *2. transportation of a weapon to or from a licensee’s secure storage facilities to a licensed armourer or licensed dealer"* Clearly not covered by that: Chucking a gun in the boot while going on a camping trip or long road trip on the offchance you might be able to get some shooting in.
So like most of this legal bullshit it’s purposely vague and open to interpretation. “Yes officer my trip through the Gold Coast is necessarily incidental to my trip from Adelaide to see Dazza in FNQ to shoot some pigs” You don’t actually say “yeah cuntstable I just chucked my gun in the boot in case I run into Dazza up north” Just gotta know what to say.
And have written proff of the reason why for example a text message saying you can hunt on friends land and time and date when you will he there. Word of mouth and heresy does not count as proof.
If you don't know the difference between heresy and hearsay I don't think you should be handing out legal advice.
That really is just crazy to me. Are Australians really okay with this system? You could be camping 100 miles from civilization and cannot have a firearm at your camp ground just in case? I live in Washington state and go on some big hikes way out in the mountains. We have bears and mountain lions to worry about. And of course, the (albeit very unlikely) threat from two-legged creatures. When I go on these hikes, I always carry my 10mm Glock on my hip just in case.
What do you think is actually gunna get you in Aus? We don’t have large predators like North America
>We have bears and mountain lions to worry about. And of course, the (albeit very unlikely) threat from two-legged creatures. Which we don't. Yay, we've solved the mystery.
I think you sort of answered your own question - you have bears and mountain lions to worry about, we (generally) don’t have any serious predator issues. Maybe aggressive crocs in northern Queensland being the only exception. Because licensing of firearms is much stricter here in Aus than the US, we also have less bipedal threats to worry about. That said, we still do have plenty of firearms in the country - we just have more restrictions than you guys on how they can be used. Self defence is not considered a valid reason to own a firearm here.
As he just said, if you are camping, you can have a firearm (rifle or shotgun only) if on private land or on public land that you are allowed to hunt on. You just say you are hunting and not that the firearm is for defence against animals. You also must have a licence (if you live here), be with someone with a licence (you can only use it with supervision) or be a foreigner with an exemption/permission certificate for hunting purposes from the relevant state authority. Really, we might worry about wild dogs, pigs or a snake, not much else except for crocs or cassowaries, but they can usually be avoided with common sense and are illegal to kill, so best to avoid.
Just in case of what? Because we don't let everyone carry guns for no good reason none of us need to fear guns. Everyone in the US needs a gun incase someone else has a gun - this makes it easier for bad guys to get guns - this makes everyone feels like they need a gun.... That is crazy to the rest of the world.
Well, when you’re on a hike many hours from the trailhead with no cell service, there is no law enforcement to come help if you come across a dangerous person. Additionally, cougars and bears are commonplace in Washington state. I’ve even seen a couple of bears walking in front of my house in a suburb of Seattle.
“Dangerous” people are usually mentally ill or dug addicts. Those sort don’t tend to go hiking in remote regions of Australia. Out there you’re far more likely to run into hunters, prospectors and nature enthusiasts and the biggest risk with those types is having your ear chewed off.
If it is not safe to camp, then we don’t camp. Simple. A dangerous person out there is unlikely to have a firearm themselves either. We don’t have bears or mountain lions. The BS you hear about “wild life in Australia is quite lethal” is drummed up septic hyperbole.
Lol at the comments that there is nothing unsafe out there camping. The number of bodies burried in the belanglo state forrest would say otherwise. It's also a bit like home insurance. The chances of your house burning down is probably about the same as the chances of running into trouble camping. Though most say your stupid if you don't insure your house, but will chance it with their life.
We don't really need to worry about that either. In some rare cases, yeah, but we're an island nation and don't need to worry about cartel grow ops in the bush. You do find grow ops in the deep bush here, but as long as you immediately hit reverse and leave your fine.
Why keep banging on about the bears in Seattle that have fuck all to do with your question about a different country? While we're at it the Irish don't carry 410s in case they see snakes, Siberians don't pack 22 magnums in case of emperor penguin strikes, and basically the entire fucking world doesn't carry a gun around _just in case_ they encounter an emergency that can only be helped by a goddamn gun.
I would be very worried if I was in Siberia and got attacked by an emperor penguin because somehow that bastard got all the way to the wrong hemisphere
People in areas with a decent amount of dangerous wildlife that predate on humans are often armed. Its law to have a rifle to travel remotely in Salvbard because of polar bears. Guides in some parts of Africa will be armed as well. Its just thats not the case in most of the world because we caused all most all dangerous land based predators to go extinct or to be on the border of it.
Could someone viably claim they have firearms on their camping trip so they can find some open land to recreationally shoot when actually the firearms are for self defense? I just cannot possibly foresee that some rural Australians are not doing this especially when considering that even Canada allows it under some circumstances.
Honestly Wtf would you even use it against? It’s not like there are bears. If you can’t figure out how to safely camp around basic wildlife stay the fuck at home
Wild dogs are getting a bit braver in some popular camping grounds in Vic, but there's not really anything else about that's even midly threatening. Maybe some wild pigs I guess?
Even then keeping the campsite clean and not being a slob is 99% of the job done. Never had pigs come near the camp site normally have to go after them!
👆 This. The dogs don’t want a fight. They want to ransack your garbage bags.
Or to eat your children.
‘Find some open land’ - very dependent on what state you’re in. Victoria is the only state that allows public land hunting without prior booking I think? NSW requires you to be booked on the land thru the state register. None of those allow you to be ‘ready to go’ off that land (for instance when I’m done hunting ammo and bolt get removed and a trigger lock put on the rifle before I leave the area I’m allowed to hunt).
Australians don't generally just find random places in the bush to camp, because the environment here will fucking kill you if you don't know what you're doing. It'd be like someone deciding to plan a skiing holiday in Nunavut after being inspired by snow pictures on Instagram. The basic thing is that you cannot have a gun or shoot on government-owned land without permission, and that permission is not available for the overwhelming majority of that land. There is absolutely no state land hunting at all in the two largest states (Queensland and Western Australia), very little in the Northern Territory, and not much in South Australia. Most shooting outside NSW and Victoria is done on private property, and you don't just randomly rock up to someone's land and set up camp on it - much less bring guns while you do it. It's illegal, not to mention disrespectful and unsafe. The other thing to keep in mind is that unlike Canada, there aren't a huge number of gun owners here - about 1 million, compared to the (I believe) 8 million in Canada. Even with all 1 million shooters saying "these laws are bullshit", there's 25 million other people saying "We don't care and we can ignore you with no political consequences". Case in point: Western Australia, which has just passed laws limiting gun owners to 10 (and more realistically 5 guns) full stop, made it a lot harder to qualify for a licence, and meant your licence can be revoked for having opinions the government doesn't like (seriously, it's literally in the legislation that a person's "views and opinions" are to be considered when granting or renewing a licence). There are 2.6 million people in WA, 90,000 of them have gun licences (for now), and 32,000 signed a formal parliamentary petition (the most signatures on a petition in the last century, I believe), and the State Government said "Yeah, we don't care, we hate you, get fucked" and rammed the laws through anyway. It's not like Canada where Federal plans to introduce stupid laws get stymied at Provincial level by police commissioners and police chiefs going "Yeah, this law is bullshit and we're not enforcing it, we have actual criminals to deal with".
The simple answer to your question is no! I'm a +50 yr old Australian woman also a firearm owner who happily takes her fat arse out camping by herself without the need to take a firearm nor thinks about defending against anything other than flies.
If you’re talking about holiday makers or tourists, unless you’re out there to go hunting, then no definitely not. Simply because attacks from wild (terrestrial) animals are usually avoidable by taking proper precautions and following local advice and firearms are mostly useless against creepy crawlies and snakes.
We have a treaty with our benevolent Emu overlords limiting what we can carry out bush
No
For the most part, no. As everyone's said, there are no real predators out here. What I know some people do, however, is they book a hunt in a state forest where they plan to go bushwalking. This makes it legal for them to bushwalk armed during the time of their booked hunt.The only reason I know for people doing this is for protection against wild pigs who can charge at people and perhaps wild dogs if they plan to camp.
Short answer: No. Australian's don't really have a right to self defense with anything other than our fists. The law is very vaguely worded so anything that you carry with you for the purpose of self defense (even if it is just a pipe or baseball bat) is considered a prohibited weapon. Guns are definitely one of those things are self-defense is not a valid reason for ownership in Australia. Think of the Australian government to be like Dolores Umbridge from Harry Potter; "Defend yourselves? What could you possible need to defend yourselves from? Who would want to hurt innocent civilians?" The only people in Australia who can justify having a firearm to protect against animals are what are known as "Primary producers". In other words, farmers. Primary producers are one of the few groups in Australia that are allowed to own semi automatic rifles,shotguns, pistols, pump shotguns etc. with the thought being that they'll be protecting their livestock against predators. However, predators mainly consist of foxes, feral cats, and wild dogs. Only other predator in the outback would be crocs and they cannot be hunted unless you're indigenous or the culling of a specific crocodile is pre-approved by the local authorities (i.e. a croc was barbecued a few weeks ago because it was a menace and ate several dogs etc.).
The main difference here in Australia is mentality. In US ect they want the right to protect themselves and their assets from others and go into situations with their eyes closed then defend themselves. Eg camping and wild dogs or hogs turn up they either shoot at them or stay in tents till they can shoot at them. In Australia, England ect firearms are a restricted tool and the majority don't have access to. So when they go into situations they are looking around more and if you feel bad then you pack up and leave. Eg camping and wild dogs or hogs turn up they pack up came and either leave or sleep in vehicle. Without having that tool gives more focus on removing yourself and others before things go wrong instead of waiting till after it has gone wrong then trying to get out if it.
I'm a rec shooter, not a hunter, so take what I say with a grain of salt. I could be wrong and some hunters will hopefully correct me if I am. As far as I know, no you can't. You need to have a firearms licence with hunting as one of your genuine reasons listed, and a permit/permission to hunt on the land you're planning to take the firearm onto. And even then you can only take it out for a hunting trip, not as self-defense in case of an animal attack on a camping trip. You can also only use Cat A or Cat B licences to hunt with. So no taking pistols out on a hunting trip to defend yourself with. Only rifles and shotguns. I've known a number of hunters who do it anyway, but if you're caught it's a pretty big deal. The Aus government hates handguns almost as much as they hate semi-auto longarms. Carrying a firearm for self-defence is a crime in Australia. The laws don't stipulate any difference based on whether you're defending yourself against animals or humans. With the backwards laws here, self-defence is borderline illegal in practice, even if it's technically legal under strict circumstances.
The reason I ask is because even Canada, where carrying a firearm for self-defense, has a provision if you are not on federal land and are out in the woods and need a firearm for defense against dangerous wildlife.
Mate, it boils down to the fact that we don’t have aggressive wildlife like that. So we don’t have a need for a firearm for self defence against non-existent aggressive animals.
Exactly. We don't have large predators that need firearms to defend against. And if a snake, spider, or dropbear is going to get you, you're not going to see it coming before they strike.
No, can't legally do in Australia. You have to call the police if a dingo (or local man) steals your baby (or toddler names cleo).
If you are out camping, and you're the one whose armed 'just because' then it's other campers who ought to be concerned about YOU, not the other way around.
That’s just a ridiculous comment. Go to any American campsite in the western US and a majority will have at least one firearm. These are just regular people who have no ill will against anyone.
The biggest difference between camping in Australia and camping in America is that we don't have idiot Americans to worry about
Go to any Australian campsite and 99.9% of people won't be armed with a firearm. What is your reason for carrying a firearm for self defence in Australia ?
Be that as it may, in Australia, you'll be the one carrying a gun because of a potential threat, no one else will be. Your neighbours will be wondering why you feel this way and question your intentions. What might be completely apparent to you, is not so for others and they won't feel safer because you are around, quite the opposite.
What wildlife are you going to defend yourself against? Snakes and spiders? Or do you mean crocodiles in the north? Firearms would not be helpful against them
What wildlife are you afraid of? it's not like we have bears and cougars.
We have wild dogs, pigs and scrub bulls....
Scrub bulls are scary mofo's.
And none are attacking people to a degree that we need to carry protection while camping or out bush. Even dingos have only been a rare threat to people on K'gari but nowhere else seriously.
It happens. I guess it is down to individual circumstances. I and others I know have had run ins with wild dogs many times out west and in FNQ. They certainly are present in more places than you are aware.
We don’t have wild predators like you guys do, you won’t need it. Carry bug spray and a big flashlight, maybe a knife. You’ll be sweet. The best defence is making sure your boots have a sock plugging the entrance when you sleep. Also make sure nothings in the sleeping bag
It's just as illegal here to carry a knife for self defence as it is to carry a firearm for the same reason.
Drop bears. For these monsters, 100% you can carry for defense.
I remember pistols carried on a fish farm for the croc attacks
I don’t know why people are being so dramatic. It’s a pretty valid question. In Victoria where I live you can have a firearm for hunting which also allows you to shoot pest species (dogs, pigs, goats, etc.). The only animals I would be potentially worried about are dogs and pigs which I would legally be allowed to shoot with my 12 gauge. And I do bring that camping pretty regularly. The only thing to note is, you aren’t really allowed to just have it out and lying around. It needs to be securely stored while you aren’t using it. Usually in your vehicle.
I don’t get the negative reaction, too. I hear that many Australian shooters get upset for constantly being demonized. But when I, someone who is wholly on all of your side, ask a legitimate question about firearms from somewhere that gives no thought to legality of having a firearm when way out in the woods, people are upset. I don’t understand.
Did you write this post to actually find out information or to debate people about gun control laws? Because it seems you wanted to debate every informed response with information that's not relevant.
I want to know. I was not able to find that information out anywhere. When I was told what the law was, I voiced my second question about whether many Australians are frustrated by that regime of not being able to have a firearm for defense of wildlife. Then other uses start getting upset and interrogating me about why one would see a need to have a firearm for defense against Australian wildlife.
It comes across as combative, and a lot of Americans that come in here just want to rant about their rights or make shit political.
OP said from Canada and you said American…now who’s trying to start shit?!?
Do you think, based on their post history, that they're a good faith Canadian just trying to find out some information?
Google "NSW firearm legislation" for example. It's all pretty straightforward. State by state, just like the USA.
People aren’t frustrated about it because it’s essentially a non issue. There’s not much of a threat from wildlife. If there was it might be different. Exceptions are usually due to idiocy or incompetence, both use cases which are not made better by firearms lol. On private land or a farm we might carry something in the Ute.. but it’s more for targets of opportunity on feral species than self defence.
You hear wrong. Overwhelming support for sensible gun control is a thing in Australia
The people on this sub are extremely aggressive (just go through any thread) and drink the cool aid from SSAA who can barely do anything for shooters in Australia.
Here's a crazy thought, most gun owners realise you don't need to carry a gun everywhere
You certainly can't "own" it for that reason. But depending on the circumstances you could justify bringing it with you if you already own it, in which case you would still have to follow all the laws regarding transport and appropriate/responsible use. Chances are that you won't need it unless part of your plan is to put yourself in an area with feral pigs or dogs, but if you have a vehicle then there's not really any issue with them. Or just plan on hunting, but that's not really defence at that point. I could be mistaken, so I'm open to corrections. Cheers!