new zealand gun control hunting & fishing new zealand
Courtesy Hunting & Fishing New Zealand via Facebook

New Zealand has become quite the hot mess for gun owners. Not only has the government gone after gun owners, forcibly confiscating firearms, but it seems at least one big sporting goods chain in Kiwiland has sided with the government against gun owners.

Not only that, but according to one gun owner we’ve spoken to, Hunting & Fishing New Zealand acts as a bully to hang their wholesalers/distributors out to dry. How do they do that? They threaten to cut off wholesalers and distributors from business in their 37-store chain. As there’s only a single importer, it’s not like the marketplace has alternative sources for guns and gear for their stores.

The author of this request is active in New Zealand’s gun owner community, but asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals. Not the least of which, he could lose his firearms licenses from the New Zealand government.

This gun owner is asking for NRA members and American companies to get involved in breaking the distribution monopoly in New Zealand. Frankly though, is the NZ market big enough that anyone will care?

He writes . . .

This question is more of a plea for help.  How do I get in touch with NRA members?

I have a request. We have more problems here than people realize. We are getting hit with bottle necking. We have been cut off from permits. They exist, but the government will not issue them.  No law change needed. The courier services and postal service have stopped transporting rifles or anything related to them.

There is one area in particular where you guys can help us.  Our gun retailers, our largest ones, have betrayed us. They supported the ban, and they actively encouraged the government to go further, with an online sales ban. This is purely to drive people into their stores. The main culprit is [the] Hunting and Fishing [chain].  Have a look at their prices.  Both them, and the small number of wholesalers make more money on a rifle than the American company that built it. We are being gouged, severely.

I was talking to a local independent gun store yesterday. I have heard this hundreds of times. He gave me a good price on a rifle, but made me swear to secrecy. The reason is, with a phone call, Hunting and Fishing will have him cut off from the wholesaler. There is a group within New Zealand who hold a monopoly on gun imports, also ammo and powder, scopes, everything.

Not only have they betrayed us in this round of legislation, but they will not let the gun ownership grow. They shut down all the independent gun stores and the keep prices sky high. This is illegal in New Zealand, but obviously for shooting, this is not enforced.

Now their monopoly and control comes from their connections in the states. No one else in New Zealand can become an importer, because of the close relationship between this group and the suppliers in America. We need the NRA to bust this up.  It has to stop. The NRA and American gun owners have the influence to put an end to this. We really need it, as without growth, we are doomed.

Sorry for the huge message, but obviously we are all very concerned. Commerce is one of the only places we have any room to move.

He sent a follow-up email a couple of days later…

Yesterday I went to see some people to get some more details. Primarily what I was going on was my own knowledge of the firearms sector here, and recent events. I called a gunsmith I know, and he filled in some details. The main culprit here is https://www.huntingandfishing. co.nz/  They are for lack of a better word, bullies. It is not the wholesalers or importers, they are also subject to harassment from Hunting and Fishing. They have a chain of 37 stores. As I understand it, the reps are told by hunting and fishing who they are allowed to sell to, under the threat of losing trade from the 37 stores.

The government has done enormous damage to our importers. At this stage they are not getting compensation for the stock they have that is no longer legal. Most are our of pocket by a half million or so, and the government has told them to re-export them, full in the knowledge these firearms have end user certificates and can not be exported. Because of this, large numbers of sales reps have been fired, and I am now able to get some information out of them, because they no longer work in the sector.

My region (Otago) is particularly bad. What really upset me over this, is that our very small independent stores who cater to real enthusiasts are very afraid of this company. The live in fear, because they may lose their business, which is their passion, if Fishing and Hunting moves against them. I know of one, maybe two stores who were closed locally due to Hunting and Fishing telling the sales reps not to sell to them anymore. I have the contact details for these guys and I am going to give them a call.

This might all be local trade infighting, if not for Hunting and Fishing’s role in current legislation. They played a part in creating these gun control laws. Basically what everyone said was, once Hunting and Fishing (H&F) sided with the government, there was no hope. To the general public, this sealed our fate. It appears they have done a deal of some sort to get the legislation crafted in a way that helps their business.

H&F need a taste of their own medicine. Why are US companies supplying a chain store that promotes gun control? They literally played a role in creating the legislation that has caused us all this pain and misery. If there is one place you guys can help us, it is dealing with this company. They are destroying the rights of New Zealanders for their own commercial gain and bullying everyone.

Again, I thank you guys for taking an interest. There is an awful feeling of hopelessness that comes with all this, because we do not have the right of reply, nor do we have anyone on our side in this country.

If the author doesn’t believe he has anyone on his side in his country, that’s in part the fault of gun owners.  Because if they don’t care enough to educate their fellow citizen/subjects on the proven benefits of firearm ownership, then nobody will stand up for them when the government comes for them.

As they already have.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

56 COMMENTS

  1. You’re on an isolated island nation in a forgotten corner of the world, that’s becoming increasingly despotic at a rapidly accelerating pace. I think moving away would be the most prudent course of action, before it’s no longer an option & the reprisals start.

    • The alternative to just leaving is for New Zealanders to take up arms while they can… Expecting American gun owners to take up their fight is just wrong. How about their setting an example for Americans that we can support?

      • I have sympathy for the Kiwis but heh, you had over a hundred years to start your own NRA and other groups to fight for your rights. We are fighting our own battles here in each State. Form your own secret groups and defy the government, engage in subversive tactics, use the enemies tactics against them.

        • Once that issuing license thing gets started, you are completely beholden to the whims of the enforcing agency.

          You know, private ownership of rifles in legal in Japan, it just requires a license. They haven’t issues any rifle licenses since the 1960’s and the licenses are non-transferable, there are only about 100 license holders left.

          And people knot in the know wonder why we react so negatively to ownership licensing and registration proposals.

    • I feel bad for kiwis but this is in no part a fault of our country or business practices from our side.

      The ONLY way you turn this around,
      The ONLY way you succeed,
      is to rally YOUR people and fight for YOUR rights by all means necessary. No other country can do that for you. No one can give you rights. You must demand them and never let them go!

      If you don’t have the support of your fellow people then your cause is lost and moving is the remaining alternative. Sadly this may be best for you.

      If you care so much and are willing to fight then start small, start local. Build your core and numbers, keep fanning the fire and feed it. Spread the resistance! Never stop building and when you have to power take it! If you have a democracy and it’s the will of the people and true majority then you can enact change and take back what you’ve lost.

      I wish you luck but the battle will be long.

    • Quit whining. If the French can muster 10,000 people to protest the government why cant you?
      Take to the streets. Fight back. Resist. Wear a T-shirt that say “We will not comply”

      Or roll over…

  2. My response to him would be to go pound salt. You elected your leaders, now deal with it. We have our own problems here in the USA

    • Would you give that same response to a Jewish German during the rise of Nazi Germany? Tough shit, you elected your leaders, Juden. Most of the individuals trapped in blue states did not vote for it to become that way, either.

      • Well, yes, I would. It’s not really my business what goes on in New Zealand or Germany or anywhere else.

        If they invade or start exporting their lunacy, then it might be… But until then, my only responsibility is to stay afloat and keep liberty alive right here where I live. My resources are very limited, and that’s already difficult enough.

        Diverting my time, money, and energy to a country on the other side of the world won’t help them or me.

      • Yes. International affairs should not be our concern whatsoever, nor were they what we were founded on. The fact that you immediately go to “BUT THE JEWS!!!!11oneoneone” shows you have no intention of arguing in good faith and shouldn’t be given time of day.

        • I agree with the sentiment that the U.S. should place its interests first in foreign policy, but the idea that a new isolationist type doctrine is feasible is simply not in line with reality. At best, we can dial back and act with a defensive realist type mindset in the vein of Colin Powell, because offensive realism like Cheney’s got us into Iraq, Syria, Libya, et cetra.

      • Dude, we have a war right here in the USA. We can’t fight a two front war. NZ is the least of our concern.

    • Your manufacturers are working with importers whose interests are solely with protecting their cosy monopolies and not those of the sport and firearm owners.

      Your manufacturers are endorsing actions far worse than Springfield Armory or others have done.

      It is the same in Australia as well. One big importer who will not acknowledge the fault in Remington triggers and holds the firearms’ press in control through the fear of withdrawing advertising.

    • Pound sand?
      You know what: the reason we have an alarmingly high opposition is due to the fact that you yanks give the rest of us gun owners throughout the world a bad name with your hillbilly redneck “iM gOnNa arM mY 3 yEAr oLD cAusE FrEedom FuCk yeAH MerICa Y’all!!”
      Toddlers shooting their parents, school shootings, mass shootings, assassinations, totally unproffessional and utterly irresponsible culture with all the ignorance and arrogance to match.

      • And that bigotry is all you need to know about the average Kiwi. (the fruit not the bird) They’re snobs. Thev’e always felt they could look down on the rest of the english speaking world. They weren’t a penal colony like oz they were founded by rich folks and the workers they brought along with them. They weren’t above wiping out the native indians but that’s DIFFERENT, see.

        And guess what, Mikey, we’re not a monolith here. If you pass certain tests, you can own a firearm. Doesn’t mean you pass an iq test tho. And maybe if more of you snobs had taught your children to appreciate firearms and understand they were for more than hunting and target shooting, you wouldn’t be having the problems you’ve got.

        But I doubt it. The English lost their testosterone in the last war. All over you can see the remnants of a once great Empire now begging to be allowed to live from the very savages that they conquered years ago. Goodluck with that, mate. They’re out for revenge and don’t care about any of the rights the English fought for.
        You’ve become a semi socialist enclave that nobody cared about because it was never a threat. You have a nanny for a PM and you wonder why you’re getting sent to bed without your dinner? Children don’t get to decide how they wish to live and die.

        They’re like subjects in a way. They have their betters tell them what to do and they can lie snug in their beds knowing all will be taken care of for them. Can’t complain when now and then Daddy or Mommy decides they’ve been bad and have to be punished.

      • Wow Mike, stereotype much? I’d venture that 99.9% of the law abiding gun owners in America are incredibly responsible. There are bad apples, but if we really had a gun problem in this country you would know about it. We don’t. 150 million gun owners and 600 million guns and hands/feet still kill more people annually than all rifles combined. So go back to sucking the teat of your WEAK prime minister.

  3. Get off the island or get ready to welcome your ISIS invaders as they island hop their way to Oz. It sucks but that’s the way it is when not just your government hates you but also your alleged compatriots.

  4. The problem isn’t Hunting and Fishing, it’s the author of this silly request.

    First off, American gun companies don’t typically sell directly to stores, they sell to distributors. So there’s no leverage there. And the power of the NRA isn’t in online TV or political contributions, but rather in those cheap postcards sent to the membership with a politician’s letter grade, which the membership follows religiously. Votes, not dollars, is the might of the NRA. And the NRA knows no voters in New Zealand.

    Secondly, “Big man come and save me” is the attitude that gets you a nanny state. Mr. Email Writer, grab your testicles, strap them back on, and organize boycotts and political action until you have the chance you want.
    Be clear, be open, be active, be politically merciless. And you’ll never want for the Big Man to come and save you again.

  6. The NRA doesn’t even stand up.for American gun owners, what makes this guy think the NRA will stand up for New Zealand gun owners? The GOA might fire off an angry letter but that’s a thousands times more help than the NRA will give (unless of course you have millions of dollars to contribute),.

    • The NRA is actively engaged in litigation in California, NY and NJ. That you don’t see them much in your state may have much to do with the fact that all that is needed in free states is active lobbyists.

  7. He has my sympathy, but New Zealand’s goose is cooked. It is structured as a grabber’s wet dream, and short of a bloody revolution, that is not going to change.

  8. “Authoritarianism to Totalitarianism : IT’S a Notch ISN’T!”

    We’re about to learn a similar lesson here in the USA with “RED FLAG Laws! (Heresay…Constitutional Infringements…)

  9. The NZ situation sucks, but I’m not exactly clear on what this guy expects / hopes the NRA or the US PotG can do for NZ PotG.

    From looking at H&F’s website, the only firearms they sell are shotguns, and most of those are Italian or Turkish made. It’s not like they are selling a lot of LaRue Tactical or Wilson Combat stuff.

    Further, even if the US PotG could hypothetically put pressure on, say, Remington (whose scatterguns *are* sold at H&F) what exactly would that pressure be? Remmy doesn’t sell to H&F — it sells to the importer / wholesalers. Does he expect pressure would somehow get Remmy to tell their NZ customers “we won’t sell to you if you sell to H&F”? And even if this was somehow magically to happen, what would stop H&F from similarly telling their suppliers, “Fine, but if you sell Remmys to anyone else we won’t buy anything from you”?

    About the only thing I can see we can do for the Kiwis is to facilitate their complaints against H&F, and hope that NZ customers quietly treat H&F like the US PotG have treated Dick’s Sporting Goods. But given how quickly NZ folded, I daresay NZ is on its way to becoming England with respect to gun rights.

    • If NZ has laws like we do here, then the retailer should be sued for engaging in monopolistic practices and restraint of trade. What they are doing would be clearly illegal here.

  10. In reading this man’s account, one salient fact is immediately obvious. There is a partnership between Hunting & Fishing NZ and the NZ government that is emblematic of the way fascism works. The reason supporters of state socialism hate fascists is because, where socialists seek to nationalize property, in the fascist model the state controls the means of production but allows private property to remain in private hands . Under fascism it is not at all surprising to find that Hunting & Fishing NZ aligns itself with oppressive anti-gun government agendas. Although Hunting & Fishing NZ may look and feel like a private business, in most important ways it is actually an arm of the NZ government.

    • In my opinion, it’s more like Germany in March 1933, when the Nazis formally assumed power and the arrests, disappearances, and persecution of Jews began.

      Except, Nazis and their supporters got to keep their guns. Confiscation would do nothing toward training large numbers of young men in handling small arms and marksmanship, so the traditional gun & hunt clubs remained, though under Nazi watch. Who needs a conscriptee who never touched a gun before?

      In NZ the goal is to disarm society, grow power and turn Kiwi Land into another island prison like Cuba, for the sole benefit of the power elite.

  12. To be fair, I think it was mostly American gun owners who were responsible for the hilarious attacks/fake submissions to the New Zealand police website, causing it to go down and burdening the police there with silly nonsense. Other than that, I’m not sure what anyone over there can expect American gun owners to do.

  13. Wow, that explains it. I was there last year and couldn’t get over the prices. In U.S. dollars, it was about $500 to $600 for a 10/22, and about $1400 to $1500 for a plain Jane Glock. On the plus side, you could buy a suppressor off the shelf, “it’s just a can, mate.” At that time, they had ARs, AKs, and folding stocks for pistols, but those required an additional level of gun license.

  14. Since I live in Commifornia and fully empathize and sympathize with his concerns, I hate to say this, but change needs to come from within.
    Yes that means taking up arms, refusing to turn over arms, yes shooting back at people who try to confiscate arms.
    I hate that I hate violence, but at a given time it becomes necessary, then do it and don’t stop till the threats to liberty are stopped.

  15. It seems as though very elaborate plans were put in place rather quickly. I may not be the only one who thinks they were waiting for the right time to act.

    When they started confiscating air guns from a guy who spoke favorably about the US president it was clear they want everyone disarmed.

    Look into moving here. You might be able to make the case you’re a political refugee.

    • The world’s elite have been buying up estates and building shelters for years in New Zealand against some coming disaster probably to be of their making and therefore on their timetable. It makes sense that they should want their native and lesser neighbors to be disarmed before they of necessity take up permanent residence there. What should concern us is that they seem to be poised, both there and here, for action near future; one might suppose that they expect to take it all in 2020, but not without resistance.

      • Nearly all the billionaires buying up NZ are anti gun zealots. Now some may call it a conspiracy theory but if we see a surge of money buying even more of NZ up after this I’d wonder if banning guns wasn’t on the demand list.

    • In Australia, John Howard’s gun laws didn’t appear out of thin air. They were a proposal made by a bureaucrat several years before waiting for an incident of sufficient magnitude to implement.

      I would say the same thing happened in New Zealand. They had the package of laws ready for the right incident.

  16. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. The way to stop this $^!# is for NZ gun owners to form their own political party, and begin challenging the authoritarians politically and go after their jobs. Get more gun owners active and start right now. Get on TV, the newspapers and radio and make as much noise as you can. Gun owner apathy is your enemy. Either do that or move out of the country because after the bastards get done, NZ will be a cross between Venezuela and southern California.

  17. buy it all buy it now. no matter where you are. Europe, south America, central America , north America.
    it is only a matter of time before they roll that sort of stuff out everywhere. extra mags? ammo? do the work to get the permits and license’s if you live in places that require them . cut off your cable TV if you have to finance it. Lay in some stuff, stored securely , so you will have It while you work the political system to get the craziness rolled back. over time you can do that in most places. the gun laws where I live used to be a lot worse than they are now , but it took time and work to do it . brazil is bringing back a little sanity to their gun laws , and its baby steps , but it’s a start.

  18. shooterslottery.org.nz and Kiwi Gun Blog have fought tooth and nail for our rights. When we are not fighting against the actions of YOUR democratic party meddling HERE. With our children. We did NOT vote for our leaders. They did a dodgy deal under a representational voting system. Then simply ignored democracy. We had a new law in three days. Think about that. Any help would be appreciated. If not, keep the snide comments. We are an international family so act like it.

    • Mike,

      As a former Kiwi that got out many years ago I find it interesting you used the term “international family”, hunting and sport are simply a byproduct of Firearms ownership here in the US. First and foremost the Second Amendment is about defense of self, family, property, neighbor, state, country all else is secondary. At this point if the New Zealand gun owner has any hope of “firearms freedom” you will first have to change your attitude as to why one owns firearms then you will have to fight, and unfortunately I don’t believe that will happen.

    • “Any help would be appreciated.”
      Any suggestions?

      remember they don’t care about letter writing or anything like that. Power is just that, power.

    • Mike Loder,

      Even if the United States (whether that be government, the NRA, or simply a mass of firearm owners) could somehow eliminate the improper influence of Hunting and Fishing New Zealand retail stores, that does nothing to change the political support of the populace. And the inevitable result is that more and more infringements will occur in both government and the private sector.

      Firearm ownership advocates in New Zealand have to change the political support of the populace in New Zealand. That requires a herculean effort. While entities in the United States can certainly offer advice and encouragement, that is about it. The rest is up to you who live in New Zealand.

  19. The speed in which all this has taken place tells me that there was a contingency in place for the first opportunity for them to take guns. The politicians didn’t suddenly become anti-gun after the shootings, they were already that way otherwise they would have let time go by to let the emotions calm down.

  21. Short of sending him a shitton of soap to pour into the fountain in the Octagon in downtown Dunedin, which I assume University of Otago students still do, I’m not sure what he wants. People to bring crates of guns, ammo, and accessories ashore at night like bootleggers?

    As for talking. I’m not sure “education” of the other folks is an option. Sharing or even viewing the video of the shooting or the shooter’s writings has landed people with serious charges. The Labour led government may not have an issue with saying that speech against the law is support for terrorism.

    As nice, friendly and generally awesome as the Kiwis are I don’t think they really have the national personality to oppose this now that it’s a law, other than by voting out the current government. They have a mix of individualism and self-sufficiency in their culture that’s counterbalanced by a unwillingness to rock the boat once a course has been set.

    And they have a strange reverence for their system of government. The day Diana died the whole of Dunedin, and the rest of the country so far as I could tell, kind of came to a stop. It was so odd. Even the radio stations that usually did rather vicious political satire in the morning stopped for awhile.

  22. I sympathize. I live in ILLinois. But I have no advice for a tiny isolated country with a population lower than my own Cook County. The deranged Aussie got his wish-just not in America. And ISIS wannabes in Sri Lanka took revenge or so we’re told😢😩😡

  23. The dealers are being asked by the NZ police to do the dirty work of confiscation. They want them to take the guns in, price them, record and store the guns. Compensation for their efforts is not yet a sure thing.

    Guns to be confiscated include any lever action that holds more than ten rounds. Say Great Grandads ol’ 44 rimfire from just after the civil war. When the government comes to find out that a pristine collectors version runs to 10’s of thousands of dollars, what do you suppose Jacinda will do in terms of compensation?

    I had neighbors that moved to NZ just before they turned 50 so they could meet the deadline. At one point before they moved, they had the then NZ prime minister over for dinner and invited us and my friend who was Kiwi. My Kiwi friend said “why would I go visit with someone who runs a banana republic!” He wasn’t impressed with how NZ functions.

    To bad NZ doesn’t have a constitution.

    Here is a gun forum in NZ. They sound flabbergasted at what has happened. Worried too as none of the details of the confiscation have been worked out.

    https://www.nzhuntingandshooting.co.nz/f93/

  24. Form a fellowship a group…catch the ‘evil’ and forge it all into a ring to control ALL!
    the journey long and hard and toss it into a volcano!

    or revolution works too!

  25. New Zealanders have always had a nose in the air attitude about the US. Jealousy mostly and then there’s the idea that they are better than the US and had no need for us.

    Then along came WWII and suddenly we were heroes. Until the war ended and our heroship ended too.

    They took up the communists side during Vietnam and had protests as bad or worse than the US did though they sent very few troops. They would protest US Navy coming to port and finally the USN put a stop to it as it was just too much aggravation to include their dinky Navy and Nation.

    They’re where all of the Commonwealth Nations fostered by GB are and it’s sad to see but they never HAD rights. They don’t have a constitution as we have so they don’t have anything to fight with or fight for and they’ve lost the frontier spirit and now recline in their comfortable little niche who’s only use is as a reservoir of human dna if a nuke war ever breaks out. Sad thought about what THOSE ppl will be like.

  27. Sounds a little like the GCA of 68. American manufacturers supported it as it reduced the competition from furrin competitors.

    Not much new under the sun. Et tu Sprinfield?

  28. Firearms owners ,their families and their hunting friends need to speak out..Waiting for others to do it for you won’t get you heard. Forget voting in polls, vote for a change of Government and let the current Government know why you are voting against them. This will give any incoming Government a heads up that law abiding firearms owners have had it with restrictive law changes.

  30. As a representative for a multi million dollar company in New Zealand for several well known US firearms brands I can categorically say this Is scaremongering and embellishing the truth. We supply over 100+ customers across our country. Now that may not sound like many, but remember we have a population of just on 5m and only 248K firearms license holders. Hunting and Fishing do not hold a monopoly on our firearms industry. It is the fact that the smaller businesses retailers and wholesalers have been quite happy to cut one another’s throats for years and only now after the horse has bolted are trying to tell you they are oppressed. The simple fact is many failed to run their businesses efficiently and ensure they had contingencies in place and are now desperately looking for some one to blame. Many sat on the fringes of the law raising the ire of Law Enforcement here, pretending it was a game. They brought this upon themselves, it’s not the NRAs problem what happens in New Zealand it was our own firearms fraternity , when the government pushed through smaller reforms in the past the majority of these ‘oppressed’ dealers didn’t even bother to learn about the changes that were made let alone make a submission and challenge the government. The number of times the larger dealers were forced to take up the burden particularly financially while these small time dealers sat back is embarrassing. Our firearms industry will contiue, we are lucky to still have one. They have only taken away semi auto Centrefire from general ownership. We can still buy 95% of the firearms the US can. You reap what you sow boys – to bad we don’t have a constitution… don’t even get me started on that bad boy.

Comments are closed.