A Dunedin man who had 251 rounds of ammunition concealed in seven different areas of his house was "up to something", a judge says.
But what exactly Mason Edward James Henare was up to was unclear, Judge Kevin Phillips said.
The 36-year-old appeared in the Dunedin District Court this week after admitting possessing ammunition and breaching a protection order.
Domestic protection orders had been served on him in 2009 and 2015 and as a result, Henare's firearms licence had been revoked.
On January 11, police executed a search warrant at the Portobello home he shared with his mother and son, citing an interest in weapons and associated paraphernalia.
In the bedroom, officers found an assortment of ammunition for three different types of weapon.
There were rounds in the dining room, a .177 air rifle was located in the garage and there was also a hunter's bag.
In it were .270 calibre rounds, more in a jacket pocket and there were even cartridges in an ice-cream container.
The biggest haul though was 172 .22 calibre rounds in a dresser drawer, to go with the 40 in Henare's vehicle glove box.
The defendant claimed the firearm was in his grandfather's room, which had been locked since his death.
"That's just a nonsense," Judge Phillips said.
Henare claimed the ammunition had been given to him by a friend with whom he went hunting.
"I don't accept that either," the judge said.
The weapon and all the ammunition would be destroyed, he ordered.
Henare was sentenced to six months' community detention (with a 7pm-7am curfew) and 300 hours' community work - "just to keep you active at weekends and away from hunting with your mate with all that ammunition", Judge Phillips said.
