Tasmanian gun dealers and firearm enthusiasts say they want to be more consulted over proposed gun law changes.

They have vented their frustration at Hobart's annual gun show held over the weekend.

Changes proposed by the Liberal Government which came to light on the eve of last month's election were widely considered to be a softening of national gun laws introduced after the Port Arthur massacre in 1996.

They would allow some licence holders access to silencers and extend gun licence durations.

The proposal was circulated to some interest groups including farmers, but not gun dealers, according to the owner of Southeast Firearms, Robert Cairns.

He said Tasmania's 40,000-strong shooting community felt "a bit ostracised".

"If there's a gun lobby group, I'd like to know who they are because we have nothing to do with it," Mr Cairns said.

"We haven't been consulted at all. It'd be nice to be consulted and represented.

"It'd be good if they contacted all the businesses too and asked them about the laws, what they proposed to change."

Mr Cairns said he had made many changes over the years to tighten up gun safety in accordance with the laws, and supported proposed changes, such as silencers.

He said they would be welcome in built-up areas because "we don't want to disturb people".

Hundreds of orders for tactical-looking guns

Mr Cairns said tactical-looking firearms for sporting shooters were a popular item at the show.

Hundreds of Tasmanians have placed orders for the Ruger Precision Rimfire. ( Supplied: ruger.com )

"They fell foul of the lookalike laws quite recently and it's taken a little while for them to get put through and accepted," he said.

"They're nothing like a military rifle or a machine gun or anything like that, they're just a more tactical-looking firearm."

One of the weapons on display was a Ruger Precision Rimfire, for which Mr Cairns had hundreds on backorder and described as "a general firearm in a different chassis".

"So things have passed now, we can have the Ruger Precisions, the tactical rifles, they're all available now," he said.

"People are buying them now. There's long-distance shooting which people are buying them for, which is good."

The show was the 33rd in Hobart said organiser and the President of the Military Collectors of Tasmania organisation John Lennox.

"We've got members of our club that are a QC, we've got doctors, we've got scientists and we've got people in the working class who work in factories," Mr Lennox said.

"So like the rest of the community, we are a mixed bag."

Gun debate 'a media beat-up'

The Shooters and Fishers Tasmania Party who attended the show said there had been a lot of scaremongering in the latest debate.

"Recently there's been a lot of unnecessary scaremongering in relation to what some people call a watering down of the gun laws. It's nothing of the sort," firearms spokesman Carlo Di Falco said.

"Basically it's just a small number of changes that affect a very small minority of firearm owners. What's just happening at the moment is the media's just beating it up."

Collectors of all ages are on the look out for older-style firearms. ( ABC News: Peta Carlyon )

Mr Di Falco said his party was not a member of the Government's recent consultative committee.

"We would like the focus to move through from law-abiding citizens onto criminals. A minimum sentence for anybody who's caught stealing firearms for a start," he said.

"I see no good reason why the financial burden should be on law-abiding citizens to upgrade their storage laws.

"I see no reason why law-abiding citizens have to pay that where as people who steal firearms only get a slap on the wrist."

Premier Will Hodgman said he planned to "consult extensively" on the proposed changes, with the Government recently backing an Upper House inquiry.

Collectors and taxidermists ply their wares

As well as dealers showing current firearms, the show was a chance for collectors of older firearms and even taxidermists.

Neville Bannister of Elderslie was among the exhibitors.

Neville Bannister is one of a handful of full-time taxidermists in Tasmania. ( ABC News: Peta Carlyon )

Mr Bannister said every deer head represented about 20 hours of work.

But often, as one of only a very small handful of full-time taxidermists in the state's south, there is a big backlog of animals to treat, and that time can be spread over six to eight weeks.

A shooter from a young age, Mr Bannister was taught the basics of his craft by a friend of his father's.

"I sort of just took things from there. Most of my clientele would be hunters' trophies but not all of them are," he said.

Neville Bannister mounts head for deer hunters but his work is also in demand from local zoos. ( ABC News: Peta Carlyon )

"Quite often we'll do things for the local zoos, collectors, and in this day and age there's a bit more of a market for the non-hunters, like interior designers."

Mr Bannister said he liked to give his deer heads a less straight and more life-like shape, because "once people have a head or two on the wall, they want something different.".

He said although he had worked on thousands of animals and it was fiddly and time-consuming work, he could still remember some animals individually.

"Often I'll see a bit of my work and it'll bring back memories ... I think, I remember that one," he said.