National data on firearm deaths for 1978-87 were abstracted to identify all deaths categorized as unintentional, suicide, homicide, & undetermined intent. Over this period, there were an average of 91 firearm deaths annually, accounting for 0.3% of all deaths. Suicides accounted for 75.5% of these deaths. While deaths from firearms are not a major public health problem in New Zealand, there is still a need to identify strategies likely to lead to reductions in the current levels. (11 refs.)