The Eureka Gun Company has announced its Australian-designed and made lever-release rifle, the Stockade, is now available, with the first batch of 30 complete rifles expected to be sent to dealers this week.
However, the news is tempered by the apparent recalcitrance of the NSW Firearms Registry, which Eureka says is still blocking approval in that state and is refusing to explain why.
In the video above, which details the latest developments in Stockade production, Rick Casagrande, co-founder of Eureka Gun Company (EGC), says they wanted to take the NSW Registry to court over the lack of approval in Australia’s largest market but it is not possible if they cannot explain in court what they are fighting against.
Pursuing a freedom of information request did not help, according to Rick.
“What we got was a fully, fully — and I mean 100 percent — fully redacted report,” Rick says.
“The gutless bloody people are hopeless! They do not have the intestinal fortitude to stand in front of a judge and speak up for why and what their opinion is.”
He believes the registry has no reason to refuse approval, after EGC made repeated concessions in the design and specification of the rifle to ensure they could make a model that complied with the state’s requirements.
“I can’t give an estimate of time [for NSW approval] because they’re not forthcoming,” he says. “We will be following it up.”
Deliveries to all other states and territories except WA will be rolled out as production accelerates. Where approved, the Stockade is a Category B firearm, and its starting price without options is $3099.
It has been a long time coming — almost two years after the Stockade was first announced.
Ongoing delays in development and manufacture kept setting the program back, but Rick says it was preferable to get everything right rather than deliver a new product that would have issues.
“We would have loved to have put these guns out 12 months ago but that’s not the way it has turned out,” he says in the video.
“However, when you get them, we believe you won’t be sending them back for any reason whatsoever.”
The first delivery includes left-handed models, which are already in production alongside right-handed ones. Other batches are approaching the end of their production cycle, too.
All current production is of the .223 model. The 9mm version is still being finalised, and Eureka firearm designer and co-founder Jim Cohen anticipates it will be ready to ship by the middle of next year, maybe earlier. The 9mm conversion kit for the .223 will then follow.
Rick says the slowest part of the process is getting receivers — production is dictated by their arrival, but he says they have a way to accelerate the supply.
EGC provides an online ordering system that allows customers to specify exactly which options they would like so they get the rifle they want.
Some gunshops have ordered stock to carry in-store but EGC’s online ordering system also means you can have your rifle shipped to your nominated dealer, with EGC paying a commission to the shop.
Details of this, and specifications of the rifle, are available on the EGC website.
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