Jeffrey Craig Eaton, 59, appeared by video link from custody in the Dunedin District Court yesterday.
He admitted possessing a firearm while his licence was revoked, possessing ammunition and possessing methamphetamine.
The court heard that on January 13, Eaton had been temporarily living at the Hillview Backpackers Camp Site in Owaka.
He was seen carrying a black assault rifle with a long magazine and skeleton stock while walking on to neighbouring farmland.
Police were alerted and later the AOS found the man unarmed.
A search of his room turned up 141 rounds of .223 calibre ammunition, two of .22 calibre ammunition, a charging handle, a fully loaded 10 shot magazine for an AR-15 type rifle and 0.7g of methamphetamine.
The gun, an AR-15, was also located and was missing key parts, meaning it could not fire.
The military style semi-automatic AR-15 was banned after the 2019 Christchurch Mosque shootings.
Yesterday, police prosecutor Sam Baker amended the firearm-related charge from one with a maximum penalty of four year’s imprisonment, to a lesser charge which carried a maximum penalty of one year imprisonment.
He explained the gun had been generationally passed down and Eaton previously held a firearms licence but it was revoked last year.
Counsel Andrew Dawson argued the time his client had spent in custody would likely mean he was in a "time served" situation and no further penalty should be imposed.
"The things found in his home and the firearm will be forfeited, so the offending will not reoccur," Mr Dawson said.
His client had no history of committing crimes involving firearms and had lived an offence-free life from 2005 to 2024.
Judge David Robinson said he took a "particularly dim view" of people illegally possessing firearms and considered refusing to allow police to amend the charge down.
"Firearms in the hands of persons who are not entitled to hold them are regarded as an anathema in our community," Judge Robinson said.
"It is not a situation however where [the firearm] is associated with some nefarious use and indeed was not capable of being fired."
He was also concerned by the methamphetamine found in Eaton’s possession.
Judge Robinson sentenced the defendant to six months’ imprisonment and ordered the gun be forfeited to the Crown and the methamphetamine be destroyed.
