Australian Gun Culture (part 9): Technological Response to Restrictive Legislation

When the Australian government passed its restrictive gun law scheme in 1996, it did not anticipate the technological innovations that would be promoted.

Some, like the straight pull FN/Browning Maral, above, are not much different from previous rifles. The British Lee-Enfield had 10 round detachable magazines a hundred and twenty years ago. The Canadian Ross and Swiss K31 rifles both used straight pull bolt actions with five shot magazines. The Maral has small improvements over all three previous rifles. From browning.eu:

With all its undeniable experience in making hunting rifles, BROWNING® has innovated yet again in the field of straight-pull action rifles with the new MARAL.

A real technical revolution, its « Quick Reloading System » offers shooters incomparable speed and unprecedented firing comfort.

BROWNING® combines this new technology with all the experience it possesses in barrel-making and its expertise in Safety with its 7-tenon bolt, which already equips over a million rifles throughout the world.

Efficiency can also be measured when you look at The breech, which is always contained inside the bolt-casing, this enables shooters to keep their target in their sights continuously when firing.

New in 2014 – Browning launches the Maral high capacity magazine (10-shots) – Available in caliber 30-06. Check out the video right here !

The WFA1 is another straight pull bolt gun with 10 shot magazines, but it is not available in New South Wales on a class B license. It is Class B compliant in Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, South Australia and Northwest Territories.

It is likely being discriminated against purely on its looks. That is common in the world of guns.

Pump action shotguns require a special license in Australia. Lever action shotguns are regaining popularity. John Moses Browning designed the 1887 Winchester shotgun, which had a five shot capacity. It was improved in 1901, a hundred and 16 years ago. More recently, Winchester had some success with the 9410.

The Turkish made Adler lever action shotgun made a splash in Australia.   Link to video.  From gunworld.au:

Short Stroke Lever (5630 Hardened Steel), 4140 Hardened Steel Inner Mechanism, 4140 Hardened Steel Barrel with Air Cooling Vent Rib, Chrome Lined Barrel and Receiver, 7075 T6 Aluminum Receiver, 3-Screw In Chokes (IM, M, IC; Hardened 4140 Steel), Checkered Turkish Walnut Stock.

The Adler has had some success, but has been restricted to a five shot magazine. From abc.net.au:

The Commonwealth currently does not allow Adler A110 shotguns with a magazine capacity of more than five rounds into Australia.

The Federal Government has said states and territories must agree on a new classification before it removes the import restriction.

The nation’s justice ministers could not reach a deal in October, with New South Wales wanting the gun more readily available than other states.

An easy way to increase the capacity of a shotgun is to add another barrel. The shotgun is still a break open, simple design, that is available to a Class B license. A class B is the easiest to obtain in Australia. Three barreled combination guns, as drillings, are fairly common in Germany. But straight up 3 barrel shotguns are less so.  They are making a comeback in Australia.

The Chiappa tripple barrel has one trigger and no selector, so the barrels always fire in the same sequence, right barrel, left barrel, top barrel.  I would prefer two triggers and a selector for the top barrel.  Maybe the market will produce that option.

Australian authorities labeled the shotgun as a “punt gun” which banned it for hunting ducks, one of its most obvious uses.

For those Australians with sufficient resources, a custom made triple barrel 20 guage is available from Manton, for about $100,000 AU or more. As it is in 20 gauge, it might not be considered a “punt gun”, and thus be suitable for shooting ducks.

Some of the overregulation of guns in Australia is being overcome with ingenuity and technological prowess. Guns never were much a problem in Australia, which has had a culturally low crime rate. The gun laws have accomplished little but make life inconvenient for sport shooters and hunters. Some think that was the real purpose.

New Zealand did not change its gun laws after the Port Arthur Massacre, and has had similar drops in murder rates to that of Australia. Like Australia, it has not had a mass murder with a firearm since Port Arthur. Australia has had mass murders with other tools, such as knives and arson.

I expect over time, Australia will moderate its extreme restrictions. It has some of the best hunting in the world. The rural residents have serious need of firearms for pest control.

The Internet revolution is well underway in Australia. The highly concentrated and politically unitary media in Australia will not continue its control over public opinion forever.

©2017 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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