The men, aged from 18 to 20, all from Alexandra and Omakau, will appear in the Alexandra District Court later this month to face charges under the Arms Act and Wild Animal Control Act.
Acting Sergeant Dave Greaves, of Alexandra, said five armed police officers from Alexandra and Omakau were sent to the farm after the landowner reported hearing gunshots on his property late on Saturday night.
The young men were taken into custody without incident, and their firearms and a vehicle had been seized, he said.
"The group had all been drinking and it is of grave concern that they mixed alcohol with the use of firearms."
The Omakau landowner is part of an anti-poaching initiative launched in Central Otago at the end of last year. Under the scheme, property owners grant police the authority to issue trespass notices to people found on their land without permission.
The trespass notices list all properties in the initiative. More than 30 farmers throughout Central Otago and in the upper Waitaki have joined so far.
Senior Constable Fred Aplin, of Omakau, said yesterday the more properties that were in the scheme, the more effective it would be.
"We know hunters are a mobile group, so they just move to a different area if they run into problems in one area. Under this scheme, everyone has banded together and that certainly has an impact.
"We'd like to see farmers across Otago and Southland joining forces to tackle this problem," he said.
Two Central Otago men were prosecuted in April for hunting on a property without the permission of the landowner - the first convictions since the anti-poaching scheme was launched in October.
Acting Sgt Greaves said anyone found hunting illegally would be trespassed from every station and runholding in the scheme.
The young men involved in the Omakau incident would all have their firearms licences reviewed.
"A firearms licence is a privilege, not a right."
Lawrence police are also investigating reports of stock missing in that area in recent weeks.
At the end of May, police stopped a man on Waipori Rd who was allegedly drink-driving, and discovered that the other occupant of the car had a firearm with him.
Constable Robert Wallace, of Lawrence, said the man's firearms licence would be brought into question, due to the levels of intoxication.
Peter Angland manages the 13,000ha Landcorp-owned Waipori Station, east of Lawrence, and said there had been several poaching incidents in the past.
"Poaching has been going on for years but they're getting a bit cheekier now, damaging padlocks and cutting fences.
"On Sunday night, we saw lights in the crop that shouldn't have been there and there were fresh vehicle marks at one of the gates.
"Last year, we found one cow with a bullet hole in its head and another time we came across half a cattle beast," Mr Angland said.
He said safety issues were the main concern but poachers also disturbed stock and damaged crops.
Police were also seeking information about nine heifers that were stolen near Lawrence between May 23 and 26. The one-year-old heifers have a replacement value of about $800 each.
