ŌTOROHANGA gun collectors Kath and Colin Arnold are mourning the loss of New Zealand and world history involved in the gun buy-back and ban.
The ban announced in April 2019 is widely thought by New Zealanders to affect only semi-automatic modern military-style weapons similar to those used in the March attacks on Christchurch mosques.
But Kath says the ban has resulted in many rare antique guns being destroyed at huge cost to their owners and to the country.
Most of the firearms she saw handed in at Ōtorohanga were of World War II vintage, not the military style semi-automatics the buy-back was aiming at.
SEVERELY REDUCED
Kath is a collector of lever action rifles, mostly Winchesters and Marlins.
The collection’s value has been severely reduced because some of the rifles had to be modified. Lever action rifles have a tube magazine under the barrel, and some hold more than the now legal limit of 10 rounds.
“A Henry rifle made in the 1860s (we haven’t got one) but when in good order they are worth thousands, $30-60,000, if it is engraved over $100,000,” says Kath.
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“In addition, a box of cartridges for the Henry might cost $US 4-5000. The idea that it is a danger is laughable, it’s codswallop.”
The Henry had a tube magazine holding 16 rimfire rounds. Reducing such a magazine to fit only 10 rounds would damage the rifle and ruin its value says Kath.
“They don’t all have over 10 rounds. Those that do, we have to modify them, so they can’t be returned to the original state.”
RUINS VALUE
The process costs the owner and ruins the rifle’s collectable value.
You can’t sell glued together antique china and expect to get a good price says Kath.
The Arnolds have been collectors for more than 50 years. But there are many firearms users whom Kath believes remain unaware their rifles or lever action carbines may no longer be legal firearms, The publicity about the buy-back of firearms focused on the military style semi-automatics, but the new laws cover a lot of sporting rifles. Aside from the financial hurt involved in the process there is a change in mood says Kath.
“SCARY”
“Until now gun owners have never had to fear the police and were always able to talk freely with them about firearms and related issues,” she says.
“Now, all of a sudden there is a real genuine fear out there that we are in the firing line big time,” says Kath.
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“We do feel like we have something we need to defend ourselves from — but not with firearms.”
She points to the recent armed police raid on the house of Dieuwe de Boer by 12 armed police seeking the tube magazine for a .22LR lever action rifle. Dieuwe referred to the rifle in his submission to the Select Committee last year.
The search failed to find the rifle, but he says as they left police implied they’d keep having to raid the houses of people he knew until the firearm turned up.
“That’s the scary thing. It’s getting a bit out of hand.
“It is starting to be something for everybody to be concerned about, not just firearms.”
She says the police refused to organise safe keeping of historic firearms handed in as part of the buy-back. Meaning firearms used by New Zealanders in past wars have now been destroyed and their history lost.
