More women are getting their gun licences in Rotorua for hunting and jobs on dairy farms, firearms dealers say.
Gun ownership has been in the spotlight after thieves made off with a huge stash of weapons from an Auckland house last month, including semi-automatic rifles, shotguns and 5000 rounds of ammunition.
Days later, two shotguns were stolen in a daylight burglary in Dargaville.
And police seized 112 firearms nationally from people involved in the drug trade as part of their annual cannabis operation.
Police figures show 25,137 people hold firearm licences in the Bay of Plenty police district, which includes Rotorua. But there is no way of knowing how many guns are in circulation.
Weapons and explosives offences in the Bay of Plenty district dropped from 621 in 2011 to 596 the following year. Offences numbered 574 last year.
Owner of Serious Shooters Rotorua, Dave Mingins, said a lot of young people were taking up hunting as a hobby, particularly women.
"What I have noticed is a lot of ladies are getting their firearms licences, which is really good."
However, gun theft in Rotorua wasn't unusual, so customers were advised not to publicise the fact they had a gun, he said.
Cliff Graham at the Outdoorsman Headquarters said there was "an upward trend" of women getting their firearms licences. "[For] most it's recreational, and for some it's for their jobs on dairy farms."
Nationally, police processed nearly 14,700 applications for firearms licences in the year to June 30, 2013, bringing the total number of current licence holders to 242,158 as of May 28 this year.
While there are 1.5 million firearms in current circulation, firearm-related offending makes up only about 1.4 per cent of crime.
More than 5670 weapons and explosives offences were committed in New Zealand in the year to December - down from 6063 the previous year and 6362 in 2011.
Police said the drop could be partly attributed to a "robust" vetting regime for firearms licences.
"As part of the process, the applicant must provide two character referees, one of whom must be a spouse, partner or relative, who will be interviewed separately," a police spokesman said.
Applicants and licence holders had to have "secure" storage for firearms - without which they could not hold a licence.
Firearms in New Zealand are licensed by owners, not by the number of guns, so there's no way to know how many guns a licence-holder owns.
Under New Zealand law, anyone 16 and over can apply for a standard firearms licence, which allows them to use sporting type rifles and shotguns and some air rifles. Anyone wanting to use a pistol, semi-automatic rifle, or other restricted weapons must apply for a special addition to their licence. Standard licences cost $126.50.