In the wake of gun-related tragedies at home and abroad, the term 'shooter' has become synonymous with a lot of things.

A close-knit community of self-described 'averages joes', however, is probably not one of them.

As Australia's gun debate rages, sports shooters and academics alike are increasingly concerned about 'knee-jerk' reactions around reform and say the recent discourse is ignoring one key question.

What do we actually know about those driving the demand for stolen and illegally imported firearms in Australia?

"Gun violence doesn't occur in a vacuum, [and] it often seems as if there's a lack of political will here to actually look beneath the surface and tackle the social issues that underpin crime," said Samara McPhedran, a senior research fellow at Griffith University's Violence Research and Prevention Program.

Sports shooters say they have been unfairly stigmatised by gun-related tragedies overseas. ( ABC News: Bridget Judd )

"The debate around firearms tends to be a bit immature, and that's sad because it means we miss a lot of opportunities to focus on the real issues."

Although high-profile attacks, such as the Texas and Las Vegas shootings, have created a political atmosphere for regulatory change, Dr McPhedran argues legislators would be better off investing that energy into addressing the underlying causes of day-to-day crime.

"What we tend to see in Australia in response to these tragedies is an almost very smug type of approach, and unfortunately we often seem to take the attitude of almost finger pointing or victim blaming," she said.

"Rather than framing our debate around [these incidents], why don't we look at them and other countries and say, well what are they doing well? What can we learn from them?"

Social agencies and law enforcement

The National Network for Safe Communities has dramatically reduced gun crime through community-based programs. ( Supplied: National Network for Safe Communities )

In the US, a nation gripped by gun-related homicides, one organisation is bucking the trend.

The National Network for Safe Communities, operating out of New York, Chicago and Los Angeles among other cities, is a community-led partnership bringing together social agencies and law enforcement in a bid to tackle gun crime.

Drawing upon on-the-ground networks, its Group Violence Intervention (GVI) analyses pockets of each city to determine who is driving gun crime, and who is most at risk of shooting or being shot.

Each 'target' group is then directed to a 'call-in', where a partnership of law enforcement, social service providers and community leaders extend an offer of help for those who want it.

"Law enforcement cannot be and does not want to be the only solution to addressing serious violence," the network's Jonathan Ben-Menachem told the ABC.

The Group Violence Initiative targets those most at risk of shooting or being shot. ( ABC News: Bridget Judd )

"[This] approach aims to strengthen communities' capacity to prevent violence while reducing arrest and incarceration."

Although simple enough in theory, the initiative has had a significant impact.

Gun homicides have fallen by 42 per cent in Stockton, California, while felony and misdemeanour arrests in Cincinnati dropped by 41.3 per cent and 32.7 per cent respectively.

The organisation is now looking to better implement 'customised visits', targeting at-risk groups in homes, hospitals or jails.

"They can be deployed quickly to help interrupt cycles of violence [and] address active disputes and impact players — including those who are not under court supervision and who are therefore difficult to reach," Mr Ben-Menachem said.

Gun owners 'being treated like Big Tobacco'

In recent weeks, anti-gun lobby groups have proposed new firearm regulatory reforms. ( ABC News: Bridget Judd )

Gun owners groups believe Australia too should follow suit, rather than consider new regulatory reforms.

In recent weeks, Lobby group Gun Control Australia has called for an immediate police gun-safe storage blitz for all licence holders who have 10 or more guns.

Such proposals are 'penalising' the wrong people, according to Jack Wegman, President of the Victorian Sports Shooters Association.

"Crime is crime, whether it involves a gun or a knife," he said.

"To own a gun here, we're vetted by police, you have to apply for a licence and we have stringent storage requirements. The community has nothing to worry about from legitimate sporting shooters."

Mr Wegman said moves to conflate high-profile mass-shootings overseas with Australia's gun laws had unfairly stigmatised the sports shooting community.

"I remember being made to feel like the rats under the house because I had an interest in shooting," he said.

"[Criminals] will always get illicit firearms. We as a society need to decide whether we're going to focus on targeting them, or heed the calls of anti-gun lobbies to restrict sports shooters' ability to own a firearm."