Accredited firearms training across regional NSW

Stuart Boyd-Law is the founder of Pest Animal Control and Training (PACT) and one of New South Wales’ most experienced accredited firearms safety instructors. Based in Glen Innes on the Northern Tablelands, Stuart has spent years travelling across regional NSW, from the New England high country to the Central Tablelands around Bathurst, delivering practical, hands-on firearms training to farming communities that need it most. His workshops cover the full spectrum of responsible firearm use: safe handling and storage, NSW firearms legislation, principles and theory of marksmanship, humane aim points for the destruction of pest animals and injured livestock, grouping and zeroing, alternative position shooting, and an introduction to shotguns. Stuart is an approved instructor with the Firearm Safety and Training Council and delivers the Pre-Licence Safety Test accredited by the NSW Police Firearms Registry, giving participants a direct pathway to firearm ownership and licensing.

Girls with Guns and Young Guns – closing the skills gap on farm

Stuart is best known for his signature workshop programs, Girls with Guns and Young Guns , which were developed to address a critical gap in rural Australia. While many men on farming and grazing properties hold a firearms licence, the women and young people who live and work alongside them are often far less familiar with safe firearm handling, even though they may be the ones who encounter an injured or trapped animal in need of swift, humane euthanasia. Girls with Guns is a women-only workshop deliberately designed so participants can ask questions, build confidence and learn without feeling judged, with past attendees reporting that 83 per cent gained “a great deal” of knowledge and understanding of firearms safety in a single session. Young Guns caters for new and emerging farmers aged 12 years and over, combining classroom theory with safe handling practice in an engaging, supportive environment, complete with pies and sausage rolls to keep young brains firing. Both programs are capped at ten participants to ensure every attendee receives genuine one-on-one instruction.

Community partnerships that deliver real impact

Stuart’s work through PACT is deeply embedded in the regional Landcare and natural resource management network. He partners with organisations including GLENRAC, Southern New England Landcare, Central Tablelands Landcare, Gwymac Landcare and Northern Tablelands Local Land Services, with training often supported by the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program. These partnerships allow many workshops to be offered as free community events, removing cost as a barrier for families on the land who are already doing it tough through drought, flood or market pressures. Across dozens of workshops, hundreds of regional Australians have gained the skills and confidence to handle firearms safely, manage pest animals such as wild dogs, foxes & feral pigs, and meet their animal welfare obligations when livestock need to be put down quickly and humanely. Whether it is a morning session over coffee and cake at a country hall or a full-day course finishing with live target practice at a Sporting Shooters Association range, Stuart’s straightforward, practical teaching style has earned him a trusted reputation right across rural NSW.