One of the gun-buyback scheme's most vocal opponents - Gun City - will become a collection point under a new pilot launching in Auckland.
Two shops - Hunting and Fishing Franklin and Gun City Penrose - will become drop-off points for firearms made illegal after the March 15 Christchurch shootings.
"We've opened up this option to allow the firearms community to hand in their prohibited firearms and parts in a place many will feel most comfortable with - their local dealer," said Deputy Commissioner Mike Clement.
And the Council of Licenced Firearm Owners agrees.
"What this means for some owners is they can hand in their now-prohibited firearms and parts without having police standing over them with guns pointed in there, or near their vicinity," said spokesperson Nicole McKee.
"We think that's a great idea - a good initiative by police.... [Gun owners will be] in an environment they feel more comfortable in, and with the presence of friends around, which is what a lot of retailers are to the community."
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McKee is also pleased there will be assessors valuing the firearms, rather than police.
Firearm owners need to book in a time to drop off their guns and parts, and the process will be slower than police collection events.
"For safety reasons, police will be uplifting firearms from dealers on a regular basis," said Clement.
Owners will be allowed to bring in a maximum of three prohibited firearms and five prohibited parts per firearm.
If the pilot's a success, more gun retailers will be set up as collection points.
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Gun City owner David Tipple previously slammed the buyback scheme as a "proposed feel-good law" that would do nothing to stop future attacks.
Newshub.
