Hayden Bonnici, 27, appeared in the Bendigo Magistrates' Court on Friday where he pleaded guilty to charges including using and possessing a firearm.

The court heard on October 2 last year, the Echo Taskforce started an investigation into Bonnici's firearm possession activities.

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On October 15, Bonnici was in bushland off Lockwood Road in Kangaroo Flat with an associate.

Investigators, who were stationed nearby, heard what sounded like a firearm being shot.

Bonnici and his associate then left the area in a Kia Rio and drove to the Bendigo Marketplace.

The court heard investigators arrested Bonnici in the shopping centre car park.

He was given the opportunity to declare any firearms before the police searched his car, but he denied having any in his possession.

The investigators then searched the vehicle and found a backpack with a double-barrel shotgun inside.

There was also a kitchen knife found in the driver's side door, three unspent rounds of ammunition in the glove box, and an unspent round of ammunition in the back seat.

Bonnici was also searched and investigators found a mobile phone and a black hard case containing seven grams of a white crystal substance.

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Bonnici's defence lawyer Liliana Dubroja conceded her client had relevant prior convictions, which meant a term of imprisonment was the only appropriate sentence.

Ms Dubroja told the court Bonnici's 225 days of pre-sentence detention had been particularly onerous because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The defence lawyer submitted that her client pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity, which showed his remorse and that he took responsibility for his offending.

Magistrate Megan Aumair said she was concerned Bonnici's "cycle of offending" would continue for the rest of his life.

But Ms Aumair said the protection of the community needed to be at the forefront of her mind during sentencing.

"You can make better choices," the magistrate told Bonnici. "It's time you thought long and hard about that."

Bonnici was sentenced to one year and 10 months in jail, with a non-parole period of 15 months.

His 225 days of pre-sentence detention were reckoned as already served.

Ms Aumair said if Bonnici did not plead guilty, she would have jailed him for three years with a non-parole period of two years and six months.

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