Literally just as we were about to send this month’s newsletter out, WA Premier Mark McGowan and Police Minister Paul Papalia announced they were banning a range of rifles they considered ‘too powerful’, citing concerns the guns (and cartridges) could shoot through police body armour.
Despite WAPOL admitting this has never been an issue (there are no incidents in Australia of someone using a .50BMG or .338 Lapua Magnum etc against police), the WA government is ramming the ban through, effective July 1st. They will, allegedly, pay market value compensation to the affected owners.
At time of writing the official list of banned rifles and calibres had not been shared from an official source, but we understand (via Sporting Shooter magazine) the newly prohibited cartridges are:
- .340 Weatherby Magnum
- .28 Nosler
- .330 Dakota
- .338 Lapua
- .300 Lapua Magnum
- .338-404 Jeffery
- .338 Norma Magnum
- .338-378 Weatherby Magnum
- .338 Edge
- .30-378 Weatherby Magnum
- .300 Norma Magnum
- .375 A-Square
- .375 Gibbs
- .460 Steyr
- .375 CheyTac
- .416 Barrett
- .408 CheyTac
- .50 BMG
- .55 Boys
We’re not even going to try and rebut the errors, untrue statements, and irrelevant elements in the official announcement and subsequent public comments from McGowan and others on the issue; but we can confirm we are co-ordinating with other shooting industry groups to form a strong response to this latest attack and will keep you updated as that develops.
