Retired barrister, and active hunter for more than 50 years

Within hours of the Christchurch horror unfolding, our prime minister was promising to tighten our gun laws. The immediate question appears to be whether semiautomatic weapons ought to be subject to a full or at least a partial ban.

A semi-automatic firearm reloads itself without the shooter needing to work a bolt, lever or pump. In a nutshell, the advantage is that it puts lead in the air more quickly, and is more efficient at hitting moving targets.

At present, those holding an A-category firearms licence – the basic firearms licence – are allowed to own semi-automatic rifles and shotguns, so long as they don’t have a military configuration and have a magazine that holds no more than seven bullets. Few hunters use semi-automatic rifles for hunting larger animals – in New Zealand most semi-automatic rifles are .22 calibre and are used for small game such as rabbits and possums. I suspect more duck hunters use semiautomatic shotguns than the traditional doublebarrelled shotgun.

There is one important exception that would need to be made if any ban proceeds: professional hunters. Farmers and landowners, including the Department of Conservation, often employ professional

hunters to control pests on their land. The most efficient way to kill the highest number of animals in the shortest time is from a helicopter. Wallabies, tahr, deer, goats, wild pigs, rabbits and hares may be present in such numbers that helicopter or ground-based operations using semi-automatic weapons (mostly shotguns, but sometimes rifles with magazines holding up to 30 rounds) are not simply desirable but essential.

For me the essence of hunting is in the stalk – pitting my wits against a deer or wild pig with the aim of painlessly dispatching it with a single shot. I do not need a semi-automatic rifle for this purpose, and I personally wouldn’t object to restricting semi-automatic rifles to professional hunters and cullers.

With the sort of buyback of weapons that the Australians employed after the Port Arthur shooting, that would reduce the number of semi-automatic rifles in New Zealand to a small number, and reduce the chance of a homicide on this scale ever occurring again.

All the hunters I know are – without exception – great people. They love stretching their legs in the great outdoors, often with children or grandchildren in tow. They love keeping the deep freezers of their family and friends full of venison and wild pork. I cannot speak for all hunters, but I and the good mates I hunt with would consider the loss of our semiautomatic weapons a price well worth paying if it makes this country a safer place.