Waiting time for second pistol?

Questions about Western Australian gun and ammunition laws. W.A. Firearms Act 1973.

Waiting time for second pistol?

Post by moopere » 24 Dec 2021, 6:47 pm

I see chatter on the forums mostly from NSW and QLD about some sort of 12 months waiting period before you can apply for another handgun on your cat H license.

Whats the deal in WA? Does anyone know? I scoured Dr. Google and theres enough information out there for a first pistol, but little, really nothing useful, on obtaining a second. This led me to deduce that perhaps we don't have this waiting time restriction here so I wandered off to my dealer and he said something about a 6 month wait after license application (thats ultimately successful obviously).

Does that sound right? I applied and paid for my initial Cat H at the end of SEP 21, the actual license came through early NOV 21.

When can I expect an application for a second handgun to actually be accepted? MAY '22? Later?

Theres a pistol I really want at my local dealer and given the global logistics situation for basically everything, I wanted to put some money down and make the application with WAPOL ASAP thus securing the firearm. Don't really want to pay for it and then pay for storage for 6 or 12 months before I can even apply though ... things are already expensive enough over here in the west.
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Re: Waiting time for second pistol?

Post by geoff » 29 Dec 2021, 2:19 pm

It's about your membership with the club, not when your first Cat H was granted. You need to familiarise yourself with the legislation. Your club may have their own rules, so that's important to understand as well. But as far as what the law says:

https://www.legislation.wa.gov.au/legis ... epage.html

Look to Schedule 3, Division 6, Clause 12(2). Page 110 of the Regs, which is actually Page 116 of the PDF document linked above.

You must be a member for 6 months. In the first 12 months, you may only be licenced for 1x .177 air pistol and 1x handgun (either centrefire or rimfire). Realistically, these are the only time based restrictions in the legislation. What that looks like in practice for a new shooter:

0-6 months post membership: training and club familiarisation, can't get your own pistols. This isn't 6 months after your first visit to the club, but 6 months after you are accepted as a member (and paid your membership fees). Most clubs have a period of 3 to 6 months where you have to come and shoot as a visitor before they'll accept your nomination as a member. So by the time you get to 6m as a member, you're usually almost a year into it.

6-12 months post memebrship: you are legally allowed to make your first application. The regs above state that during this time, you can only be granted a licence for 1x .177 & 1x 22lr/centrefire pistol.

>12 months post membership. There are no legal restrictions, in the Act or Regs, on the number of firearms you can apply for at this point, just the usual genuine need/genuine reason criteria for any applications. Most clubs will have some kind of ruling and bylaws around how many support letters they will write in a given amount of time, so speak to them about what they will support you for. If you have been a member for, say, 3 years, but never actually owned your own pistol (maybe you just shot club guns that whole time), then Clause 12(2) does not apply to you. Technically you could go and get yourself a 22lr Ruger, a 357 revolver and a 9mm and legally make that application because you've been a member for >12 months.

Familiarise yourself with Clause 12(6) - this stipulates how often you have to attend the club to maintain your licence. As you buy more handguns, how your personal life interacts witht he club calendar and this requirement will be a factor. Lots of dudes out there with several guns who struggle to maintain their shoots. Think about this in advance.
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Re: Waiting time for second pistol?

Post by moopere » 29 Dec 2021, 6:32 pm

@Geoff - thanks for the link and the response.

I paid my club membership Jul 2020 after 6 months of shooting club guns. Applied for first Cat H in SEP 2021, so, about 14 months after club membership.

License came through in NOV 2021 and I took possession a centrefire pistol also in NOV 2021.

I had a read of bits of the act. Thats some heavy duty reading there - good lord! Thanks for pointing out the most relevant clause for my query.

I think I'm golden - I should be able to turn up to the dealer and put some money down as I'm 17 months into club membership.
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Re: Waiting time for second pistol?

Post by geoff » 29 Dec 2021, 7:09 pm

It's a shame you got a bum steer from the dealer but he probably misunderstood your situation. Most people are probably getting their first Cat H as soon as possible so they might have thought you were still <12 months. There's also just a lot of folklore around as it pertains to what you can and can't do.

Sounds like you'd be in the clear as far as WAPOL are concerned. Maybe your club has some weird rule, maybe they don't, only way to find out is to ask.
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Re: Waiting time for second pistol?

Post by Bugman » 30 Dec 2021, 7:53 am

I recently sold one of my handguns and the friend who purchased it, put in his application for a PTA and it was approved in 4 days and he received hi paperwork in about a week from the issue date. He is a cat H holder with other pistols. That was his recent experience here in NSW.
I think that you, having to go through draconian WA gun laws like that is unfair to those who have proved to be of good character and do the right thing. Hope it works out ok for you.
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Re: Waiting time for second pistol?

Post by moopere » 30 Dec 2021, 1:57 pm

geoff wrote:It's a shame you got a bum steer from the dealer but he probably misunderstood your situation. Most people are probably getting their first Cat H as soon as possible so they might have thought you were still <12 months.


Yes, indeed. I suspected this after pondering the conversation later on.

geoff wrote:There's also just a lot of folklore around as it pertains to what you can and can't do.


Tons! absolutely tons. I really appreciate the link to the act so I can see whats actually written.

geoff wrote:Sounds like you'd be in the clear as far as WAPOL are concerned. Maybe your club has some weird rule, maybe they don't, only way to find out is to ask.


This occurred to me also. I'm going to visit them first. Have a plink at the range and see if they'll support me for a second pistol. I don't anticipate any problems tbh. After that, if all goes well, off to the dealership.

One thing which makes me scratch my chin, mostly due to comments from Google at large is that the second pistol I've got my eye on is a poly 9mm, same calibre as the first. The chatter mostly seems to revolve around genuine need, given a similar pistol is already possessed.

Anyway, the act doesn't seem to address this except for pastural use as the reason/need, so hoping for the best.
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Re: Waiting time for second pistol?

Post by moopere » 30 Dec 2021, 2:05 pm

Bugman wrote:I recently sold one of my handguns and the friend who purchased it, put in his application for a PTA and it was approved in 4 days and he received hi paperwork in about a week from the issue date. He is a cat H holder with other pistols. That was his recent experience here in NSW.


I've been told that in WA things usually progress without drama or delay for second pistols + The only thing that seemed to constrain me was the potential for a waiting period given the newness of my license. I had planted this seed in my own mind before I saw the dealer and its quite possible that I misunderstood what his reply to me was given I was already on a given mental track.
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Re: Waiting time for second pistol?

Post by Communism_Is_Cancer » 30 Dec 2021, 2:14 pm

moopere wrote:
geoff wrote:It's a shame you got a bum steer from the dealer but he probably misunderstood your situation. Most people are probably getting their first Cat H as soon as possible so they might have thought you were still <12 months.


Yes, indeed. I suspected this after pondering the conversation later on.

geoff wrote:There's also just a lot of folklore around as it pertains to what you can and can't do.


Tons! absolutely tons. I really appreciate the link to the act so I can see whats actually written.

geoff wrote:Sounds like you'd be in the clear as far as WAPOL are concerned. Maybe your club has some weird rule, maybe they don't, only way to find out is to ask.


This occurred to me also. I'm going to visit them first. Have a plink at the range and see if they'll support me for a second pistol. I don't anticipate any problems tbh. After that, if all goes well, off to the dealership.

[b]One thing which makes me scratch my chin, mostly due to comments from Google at large is that the second pistol I've got my eye on is a poly 9mm, same calibre as the first. The chatter mostly seems to revolve around genuine need, given a similar pistol is already possessed.[b]

Anyway, the act doesn't seem to address this except for pastural use as the reason/need, so hoping for the best.



What is your genuine reason for possessing your current pistol? It is a genuine reason to have a spare incase of mechanical failure so you can complete your match. It is also a genuine reason to have the same calibre but a different make and model to use in different matches as some may have an external safety, hammer fire instead of striker fire, etc etc. The onus is on the individual to explain their genuine reason so get creative and explain yourself and you will be fine.
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Re: Waiting time for second pistol?

Post by moopere » 30 Dec 2021, 2:55 pm

Communism_Is_Cancer wrote:What is your genuine reason for possessing your current pistol? It is a genuine reason to have a spare incase of mechanical failure so you can complete your match. It is also a genuine reason to have the same calibre but a different make and model to use in different matches as some may have an external safety, hammer fire instead of striker fire, etc etc. The onus is on the individual to explain their genuine reason so get creative and explain yourself and you will be fine.


Oh sure. I'm not too worried. Its just something I've seen floated in conversation.

In actual fact, the reason I want a second pistol thats so similar in so many ways to the first is exactly as you suggest above ... as a backup/spare in case of failure. Global logistics being what they are today, getting spare parts is a nightmare. I was talking to one of the club guys 6 months ago or so who was waiting in vain for a spare part for his CZ pistol which had taken (at that point) more than 6 months ... I'm not even sure his problem is resolved now, over 12 months on!

Anyway, I'll apply and see how things progress. I'm going to try and slide a 22LR pistol in to the same application to save a few bob and a bit of time. Probably pushing my luck! haha! I'll report disappointment or success :mrgreen:
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Re: Waiting time for second pistol?

Post by geoff » 30 Dec 2021, 7:47 pm

moopere wrote:
Communism_Is_Cancer wrote:What is your genuine reason for possessing your current pistol? It is a genuine reason to have a spare incase of mechanical failure so you can complete your match. It is also a genuine reason to have the same calibre but a different make and model to use in different matches as some may have an external safety, hammer fire instead of striker fire, etc etc. The onus is on the individual to explain their genuine reason so get creative and explain yourself and you will be fine.


Oh sure. I'm not too worried. Its just something I've seen floated in conversation.

In actual fact, the reason I want a second pistol thats so similar in so many ways to the first is exactly as you suggest above ... as a backup/spare in case of failure. Global logistics being what they are today, getting spare parts is a nightmare. I was talking to one of the club guys 6 months ago or so who was waiting in vain for a spare part for his CZ pistol which had taken (at that point) more than 6 months ... I'm not even sure his problem is resolved now, over 12 months on!

Anyway, I'll apply and see how things progress. I'm going to try and slide a 22LR pistol in to the same application to save a few bob and a bit of time. Probably pushing my luck! haha! I'll report disappointment or success :mrgreen:


The likelihood of getting your application approved using the genuine need of "backup incase of parts delay" is almost precisely zero in WA these days. WAPOL haven't let people use backup as a reason for ages - I have even heard anecdotes of roo shooters getting knocked back for an additional 223 when they've said backup, despite it being a tool of their job. My advice - don't use that b word.
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Re: Waiting time for second pistol?

Post by moopere » 31 Dec 2021, 11:20 am

geoff wrote:The likelihood of getting your application approved using the genuine need of "backup incase of parts delay" is almost precisely zero in WA these days. WAPOL haven't let people use backup as a reason for ages - I have even heard anecdotes of roo shooters getting knocked back for an additional 223 when they've said backup, despite it being a tool of their job. My advice - don't use that b word.


Oh sure, I fully expected that to be the case. I'll have a chat with the club first, but I expect I'll go along the lines of iron sights versus reflex sight matches or something to this effect (first pistol has a reflex sight). A difference in competition classification or similar.
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Re: Waiting time for second pistol?

Post by ob1 » 31 Dec 2021, 4:50 pm

"I'm going to try and slide a 22LR pistol in to the same application to save a few bob and a bit of time."

One gun per application for category H in WA.
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Re: Waiting time for second pistol?

Post by moopere » 02 Jan 2022, 1:42 pm

ob1 wrote:"I'm going to try and slide a 22LR pistol in to the same application to save a few bob and a bit of time."

One gun per application for category H in WA.


Oh? Is that right? I see chatter everywhere about trying to manage the exorbitant cost of applications by applying with more than one gun at a time. I wonder if I've confused myself by assuming this is across the board without realising the idea doesn't apply to Cat H??

Turns out that the 22 I'm after, a Walther PPQ M2 22, keeps getting pushed back in its ETA anyway so perhaps it won't matter. Was an ETA of FEB 2022, now its looking more like APR and who knows when they will actually drop so I might be better off just buying the second 9mm and moving ahead with it rather than waiting and waiting for the 22 to arrive.

One thing I'm learning across the board in these uncertain logistical times, not only with guns n ammo by the way, is that if you see something on the shelf that you want or need, buy it immediately! Stocks of everything from furniture to computers, cars to building materials ... its all disappearing and ETA's are spotty or non existent.
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