BATHURST has the second highest number of gun licence holders in the state.
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Data shows the number of licences jumped by 21.6 per cent (547 licences) in the last five years, from 2528 to 3075, according to NSW Police.
Orange and Dubbo also experienced a spike in licences, ranking third and fourth in NSW.
Numbers in Orange jumped 29.3 per cent (668) from 2278 to 2946, while Dubbo climbed 26.1 per cent (573) from 2193 to 2766.
Coming in first for the most gun licences in NSW was Tamworth with 3259 licences, up from 2794 in 2010.
NSW has witnessed a boom in the number of gun licences, up by 37,967 from 177,675 to 215,642 in just five years, with 853,528 guns registered statewide.
Bathurst Pistol Club president Steve McKeown said grouping all firearms licence holders into one number was “deceiving” and gave the wrong impression of the local region.
“What are they saying, we’re a bunch of rednecks?” he asked.
“Less than 10 per cent would be for pistol licences ... we’ve got 80 members so there’s 80 pistol licences there ... the only time you can use it is at a range.”
Mr McKeown said the number of licences issued for sport or recreational hunting had increased in recent years.
“Our club has grown over the last four or five years, from 35 to about 80 people,” he said.
The city also has numerous gun clubs, including Bathurst Clay Target Club, Bathurst Gun Club, Bathurst Rifle Club and the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia Bathurst Branch.
Chifley local area command Detective Acting Inspector Chris Reay said there were many reasons why people in regional areas would hold a firearms licence.
“I think the community would be more worried about unregistered firearms with unlicensed gun holders,” he said.
Detective Acting Inspector Reay said regular audits were conducted on people who hold a firearms licence.
“We’ll see that they have possession of the firearms and that they are stored safely,” he said.
“We’re also concerned that people who legitimately have firearms are storing them correctly.
“If they’re not stored correctly that’s when they can get into the wrong hands.
“Recently we’ve done some good work with regards to seizing prohibited firearms and unregistered firearms.”
