Sport shooting in New Zealand
New Zealand’s ISSF member, the New Zealand Shooting Federation, represents four national associations — the National Rifle Association of NZ, the NZ Clay Target Association, the NZ Pistol Association and Target Shooting New Zealand — with about 250 clubs and 14,000 members, and provides selection-policy support and international representation.
TSNZ’s major indoor events include the inter-island match, North versus South, and it runs competitions for secondary-school students. A standard firearm may in most circumstances be used without a licence under a licence holder’s immediate supervision; shooting alone needs a firearms licence, after a safety course and vetting, under the Arms Act 2026 and its new regulator, Firearms Safety and Education New Zealand.
Gun licence in New Zealand
- To have firearms of your own you need a firearms licence, from 16: a safety course for a first licence, vetting as a fit and proper person and inspected secure storage.
- Pistols need a pistol target shooting endorsement, open to members of an approved pistol club, and a permit to possess for each pistol.
- An endorsement holder must take part in club pistol shooting on at least 10 days in each year ending 30 June (Arms Regulations 2026, r 83).
Federations
- TSNZ ·
Targets
TSNZ
Target Shooting New Zealand: smallbore (.22) and air rifle, mostly indoor prone at 20 or 25 yards through the winter, on cards gauged outward.
| Target | Weapon | Distance | Scoring area |
|---|---|---|---|
| TSNZ 20yd Rifle | Rifle | 20 yd | 41.1 mm |
| TSNZ 25yd Rifle | Rifle | 25 yd | 51.4 mm |
Sources: New Zealand Shooting Federation; TSNZ, “About us”; TSNZ, “North Versus South”; Firearms Safety and Education New Zealand, “Who needs to apply”; Firearms Safety and Education New Zealand, “Firearms safety course”; Firearms Safety and Education New Zealand, “The Arms Act 2026”; TSNZ, “Indoor shooting”, read on .