Biscuits wrote:Hi everyone, my first post. I'm Australian but have been living in the UK about 10 years and only started buying guns in the UK. Planning on moving back to Sydney in about 1.5 years and bring my UK guns with me, well maybe except the semi-autos. In the next couple of months, in the UK, I'm planning on buying another rifle - 6.5 Creedmoor. Some of the rifles I'm looking at have folding stocks. A folding stock would be preferable for me, as I sometimes transport rifles sideways on the back seat of a motorcycle (in a nondescript bag tied to the bike, obvs). Non folding stick out past the width of the bike = not so good.
I've heard folding stock rifles are not legal in New South Wales?
If they aren't legal with a folding stock, would it be legal to import one (when I go back to Sydney) which has had the folding mechanism permanently pinned so that it won't fold any more?
The new rifle I'm thinking of (folding or fixed stock) will probably be:
Tikka TAC A1
Sabatti STR
Bergara B-14 BMP
NSW does not allow anything that alters the length of the rifle, folding, collapsible, or otherwise.
As long as the rifle is pinned in place by a dealer in NSW or before it arrives at a NSW dealer then it should be fine.
You could import a rifle, but the cost of importing firearms to Oz can be outrageous, especially from the US (adds about A$2000 to the cost).
Is the rifle you want not available in Australia already?
I don't think the firearms you already own in the UK will be considered to be "imported" if you bring them in with you.