Meathunter1 wrote:Kiwi deerhunter here looking at moving to Perth. Looks like some pigs ans roos on offer there with the right licence/tags. Happy to work I with landowners management. Cull, table meat, beers etc. Night shoot with thermal prolly easiest?
Not sure about regs for importing my current 5 gun battery. Might be easier to buy new when licensed in Oz.
Getting licenced in WA is not especially difficult if you're happy to shoot at approved ranges, join a club, they support your application, buy a rifle/gun for the job. You must retain club membership and can only use your rifle at approved ranges. If you want more than one rifle you will need to designate different classes of competition for them, though they did used to allow "back-ups" of your primary rifle. The WA government is currently pushing to limit club shooters to ten firearms total, and hunters to five firearms total.
If you want a rifle/gun to be able to hunt, even interstate, you must have a property permission letter to hunt in WA. Gunshops can usually sell you such a letter for a few hundred dollars, but it doesn't actually allow you to ever attend that property - it is purely to get you through the loophole.
Whether you can import your firearms into WA will depend on whether they are legal there, and whether you can provide a "genuine reason" to own each one.
The standard licence is Cat A/B which lets you own and use rimfire rifles, shotguns and centrefire rifles - with some restrictions. Nothing semi-auto, nothing that looks "military", nothing in "large calibres", etc. I think they have a list of specifically prohibited firearms on the website but an email to WA Firearms Branch should get you the information you need.
If you decide not to import your own firearms you can't borrow firearms in WA, you are only licenced to possess and use the specific serial number firearms on your licence, and cannot possess bullets or ammunition for any other chambering you are not licenced to own. The owner of the firearm must co-licence the specific firearm to you if you want to borrow it. To co-licence you need to comply with the same aspects as buying the firearm - property letter, genuine reason, etc.
If you already know large property owners in WA you shouldn't have too many problems. You are more likely to go hunting in the Eastern states than within WA unless you know property owners.