A former bikie boss intends to fight a weapons charge by arguing he only possessed and used his father's rifle to defend himself against armed assailants who tried to kill him.
Peter Zdravkovic, 38, is due to stand trial later this year, charged with the unauthorised possession of a firearm and knuckledusters.
The former commander of Canberra's Comanchero outlaw motorcycle gang chapter also faces three summary charges.
He has pleaded not guilty to each of the alleged offences.
The charges follow a June 2018 incident in which four assailants launched an attack at Zdravkovic's Calwell home.
Two gun-wielding attackers shot at the man known as "Concrete Pete", who hopped out of the shower to confront them, with one of the bullets severing part of the 38-year-old's left middle finger.
The other two assailants poured petrol around Zdravkovic's property and set fire to his cars, carport and part of the house.
The attack took place in the context of a dispute that had divided current and former members of the local Comanchero chapter.
Only one person, Axel Sidaros, has been charged with carrying out the armed invasion. The 25-year-old, who maintains his innocence, is serving 14 years in jail after being found guilty of a raft of offences, including the attempted murder of Zdravkovic.
Zdravkovic's barrister, Jason Moffett, told the ACT Supreme Court on Friday there was no dispute that Zdravkovic had fired back at the attackers.
The gun "Concrete Pete" used was a Sako .270 bolt action rifle, which was registered to his father.
Police say they found the blood-stained rifle in a roof cavity in Zdravkovic's laundry following the shootout.
Mr Moffett told the court he intended to fight the gun possession charge at trial by arguing that Zdravkovic acted in self-defence when he possessed and used the rifle against his assailants.
There had been prior warning of such an attack, with Comanchero members posting on social media about a "hit squad" turning up to Zdravkovic's home.
Mr Moffett's comments came during a bail variation hearing that resulted in Justice David Mossop drastically altering the conditions Zdravkovic must abide by.
Zdravkovic had been subject to eight terms, including a nightly curfew and a ban on contacting or approaching any outlaw motorcycle gang members.
Mr Moffett sought to remove all but a few of the conditions, arguing the curfew was only in place because of a vague assertion by prosecutors that "bad things happen at night".
It was also difficult for Zdravkovic to know if a person was an outlaw motorcycle gang member unless he had prior knowledge of them, or if the person was wearing their gang "colours" when he encountered them.
Justice Mossop agreed it was not appropriate to maintain such conditions nearly two years after the incident in question, and when there had been no suggestion of offending since.
The judge deleted all eight bail conditions and ordered that they be replaced by just two.
Zdravkovic is required to live at his parents' house and is banned from possessing any guns or ammunition.
