We get a lot of enquireries along the line of "How do I go about getting a firearms license?".

Regardless of the fact that this information is available on the QLD Weapons Licensing website, here is a brief overview to the answer.

---

Step 1: Decide what type license are you after? A Concealable Firearms License is required for pistol shooting (Class H) and is more involved in aquisition than a Firearms License which covers you for rifles (Classes A & B). Whilst there are other license types such as Security Licenses, Dealers Licenses, etc., if you are after any of these you should already know what you are doing!

From the Weapons Licensing website:

Firearms Licence - General Information

A firearms licence is the most common type of licence within Queensland. It allows possession and use of single shot/manual repeating rifles and shotguns (Category A & B) most commonly for sports and/or target shooting, recreational shooting, primary production and other occupational reasons.

Semi-automatic rifles and shotguns (Category C & D) may also be possessed under a firearms licence for some genuine reasons, however sufficient evidence must be provided to justify the need to possess such firearms.


Concealable Firearms Licence - General Information

A concealable firearms licence is issued for the use of Category H weapons (Handguns).

A concealable firearms licence may only be issued for the following genuine reasons:

• sports or target shooting
• primary production
• some other occupational genuine reasons

NOTE: This type of licence DOES NOT authorise the possession or use of handguns for recreational shooting (i.e. hunting)

Collectors can also possess category H firearms for the sole purpose of collecting. A collector’s licence is required to collect these types of firearms.

For sports and target shooters, the weapons licensing laws:

• Bans high calibre handguns (above .38" or 9mm) for sporting shooters except for accredited events;
• Bans short-barrelled handguns (under 12 cm for semi-automatics and under 10 cm for a revolver or single shot handgun) for sporting shooters;
• Bans magazines above 10 shot capacity for sporting shooters;
• Prohibits possession of magazines without a licence;
• Requires clubs and new shooters to operate under a new scheme of membership and graduated access to handguns;
• and Requires sporting shooters to participate in a minimum number of competitions per year.

Achieving your Firearms License (rifles) is easier than achieving your Concealable Firearms License (pistols), but as you'll see on the next page both processes start with joining an approved shooting club (i.e. us!).