It could be done but you would have to be very very careful.

You must be able to prove the investment in the double rifle is for superannuation investment purposes. And not for other purposes, such as a consumer good purchase.

If you fail to satisfy the tax commissioner that it was a genuine investment, your DIY self-managed super fund will no longer be a complying super fund and you will be taxed at 48.5% of the entire capital value of the fund, and this will continue until it complies.

eg if your fund is worth say $200,000 and you buy a double rifle worth $50,000. As a result your super fund is assessed to be non-complying, you will receive a tax bill as a result of $97,000 wiping out half the value of your fund instantly.

Some ideas:

1. Obviously the value of the DR should not be too large a proportion of the value of the fund as a whole;
2. The DR should be clearly bought as a profit or capital gain making investment with the definite intention of reselling it in the future;
3. Actual use of the DR should be limited and classified perhaps more as "potential sales promotion opportunities".
4. Over time, showing a history of trading, ie buying and selling some DR's at a profit would help a lot.

These are just some ideas and opinions that I have shared and not necessary gospel.

Buying a Chapuis, Merkel, Krieghoff, Searcy etc would be hard to justify as an investment due to their limited appreciation potential in the short and medium term. Buying a good 'vintage' DR at a reasonable price may work. I was told a story of some guys who bought brand new H&H's before the "factory" made a sizable price increase. They made instant profits of many thousands of dollars by immediately reselling their rifles.

A double rifle investment in a super fund would be looked at similar to buying artwork.

I actually discussed this with a fellow member last year who was interested in doing the same.

You should seek good expert tax advice on how to ensure your double rifle investment works and your fund continues to be a complying super fund. As the rules change almost every year, I may be out of date.

Good luck. It could work if approached and structured properly.