brett1868 wrote:Rural??? How rural are you if the neighbors can hear a heated discussion with the missus? Can never be too paranoid around storage, a rifle inside unsecured for snakes isn't a valid reason. Would have been wiser to keep a .410 in a small safe bolted inside a cupboard, the unsecured ammo is no real excuse either when a $30 MTM ammo can with a couple padlocks or a simple locked toolbox would suffice. You got a bit of a raw deal but nothing that could have been avoided with a bit of care. Get onto a good lawyer that's familiar with the firearms legislation and see if the firearms can be given to a dealer to dispose of. It's not fair to punish you twice, they don't crush the cars of convicted drink drivers so why should they be able to destroy your property for nil compensation?
Ya might need more than a few MTM or tool boxes for 4 slabs
Filing cabinets go alright for just such a purpose I hear.
And to the OP, I'd say ya screwed mate, you'd want a good lawyer to sort that mess you've created for ya self and they don't come cheap, my made had to front up to court on firearms related charges and it cost him over $10k to sort it out but he managed to keep his firearms and license.
I wish you the best of luck.