Orange recorded a 31.1 per cent increase in the number of gun owners in the past five years, with the number of registered guns 11,009.

The co-owner of Bullets and Bits Ray Hawkins said he sells around 16 firearms a week and wasn’t surprised at the increase in ownership numbers.

“There’s a lot of vermin and pests and farmers are telling me they’re having a lot of trouble with kangaroos,” he said.

“There’s also a few recreational hunters around who are helping farmers.”

Mr Hawkins said shooting was also an increasingly popular sport and the wider community had no reason to fear an increase in the number of gun owners.

“We’re not like America, we have good laws about safety and storage,” he said.

“Education is the key.”

Andrew Pulbrook said he’d owned a gun for around 22 years, said shooting was a popular sport in the region with hunting, shooting and pistol clubs growing in popularity.

“As far as location goes Orange is a good place for people to come to chase different game species including rabbits, foxes and feral pigs, goats and deers,” he said.

Mr Pulbrook said while gun ownership for the purpose of personal protection might be common in the US, he’d never met anyone in Australia who had purchased a gun for their own safety.

“It’s unfortunately that as a result of television and the media people are judgemental about gun ownership,” he said.

“I know someone who’s been shooting for over 60 years and they’ve never shot an animal but every time there’s a restriction on gun ownership people like him have their reputations tarnished

“In fact I think firearms ownership teaches people to be respectful and diligent.”

The highest number of registered firearms in NSW was in regional and rural areas with 14,757 in Dubbo and 14,253 in Bathurst.

There are now 850,636 firearms registered to private owners in NSW compared to 758,802 in 2011.

tracey.prisk@fairfaxmedia.com.au