South African Plains Game Safari

[LIChris]

This is a place holding post... stay tuned.
This thread is going to be about my first South African safari.

(maybe one of the mods can delete / clean up this post as I populate this thread)

[brirodg]

Are you planning on shooting animals only in the face? If not, why not?

[DrBrianDDS]

Have a nice trip!

[Augustus]

We are now starting threads as holding places for our future plans. I plan on going back to Africa in the next 3 years. Should I start my thread now or wait 6 months?

BTW, South Africa is awesome.Are you going to Kruger Park? or should I ask again in 6 months?

[LIChris]

all animals will be shot in the face... except giraffe. those will be dispatched with a club.

[Augustus]

How long a club will they let you take on the plane? or will you make on in-country?

[LIChris]

We are now starting threads as holding places for our future plans. I plan on going back to Africa in the next 3 years. Should I start my thread now or wait 6 months?

BTW, South Africa is awesome.Are you going to Kruger Park? or should I ask again in 6 months?

You can ask me whenever you like. Hopefully I will have this thread completed with my mounts in six months or so. Now go scratch.

[det]

Are you hunting giraffes? I never hunted before but I won a trip to AK so I will be sheep hunting in August. You must be excited I am.

[FastPhil]

We are now starting threads as holding places for our future plans. I plan on going back to Africa in the next 3 years. Should I start my thread now or wait 6 months?

BTW, South Africa is awesome.Are you going to Kruger Park? or should I ask again in 6 months?

Wow. Good luck Chris. Be safe and stay away from those National Geographic women. Take lots of pics.

[Augustus]

i was just bustin' balls. No offense intended.

[disturbed0013]

Good luck Chris

[LIChris]

Bringing a firearm into South Africa

In order to bring a firearm into South Africa, you need a temporary permit issued by the South Africa Police. You are allowed to bring two firearms of different calibers and up to 200 rounds of ammunition for the permitted firearms. You may not import semiautomatic rifles. This process is continually evolving, as well... what was accurate last month has changed.

In order to import your rifle, you must provide the following:

• Invitation letter from Safari Company
• Proof of ownership (notarized US Customs form 4457)
• A notarized copy of your US Passport
• An outbound plane ticket
• a completed 8 page application (SAP520)

Upon landing in South Africa, you collect your luggage and head to the South Africa Police (SAP) firearm desk, where your rifle will be waiting for you. You will get in line and hand in your completed application package, where they will issue your temporary rifle permit. The process can take up to four hours, depending on the line and who is working the desk. There are expediting services (riflepermits.com) which are highly regarded... they will meet you at customs and walk you through the entire process, all while cutting the line and making it less then an hour long process. However, if you do not receive your supporting documentation (ie: invitation letter) at least two weeks prior to your trip, they will not help you... Which is the situation I find myself in.

You need a valid rifle permit for proof of ownership. Since we do not need that in this great country, SAP will accept US Customs form 4457 in lieu of your "registration". Additionally, you will need this form to re-import your rifle on your return trip. A copy of this form should be placed in your locked rifle case during transit. A recently added requirement is that this form must now must be notarized. In our area, this form can be obtained from the nearest port of entry (JFK). I will update this post on that process in the near future. What can wrong with bringing a rifle to the airport in Queens?

The actual packing of your rifle is pretty standard. I am packing mine in a soft case within a hard airline approved case. The exterior case is padlocked at the airport (after it is inspected) with NON-TSA padlocks. The ammunition (60 rounds, in my situation) are padlocked in an ammunition box in my checked luggage. I have placed two additional padlocks in my hard rifle case with a nice note to whoever feels the need to open the case to re-lock it when they are done.

They do not need medical histories, letters of reference or blood samples, and I'm pretty confident that they haven't called my boss or my wife... yet.

[VietVet]

Safe trip. Keep us posted.

[pandm]

Bringing a firearm into South Africa



You need a valid rifle permit for proof of ownership. Since we do not need that in this great country, SAP will accept US Customs form 4457 in lieu of your "registration". Additionally, you will need this form to re-import your rifle on your return trip. A copy of this form should be placed in your locked rifle case during transit. A recently added requirement is that this form must now must be notarized. In our area, this form can be obtained from the nearest port of entry (JFK). I will update this post on that process in the near future. What can wrong with bringing a rifle to the airport in Queens?
.

Chris, just for future reference, the form is available on line as a fillable form.

https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/documents/CBP%20Form%204457_0.pdf

[LIChris]

Chris, just for future reference, the form is available on line as a fillable form.

It is available online, but I'm told it needs a stamp... please correct me if I'm wrong - I would love not going to JFK for a "stamped form".

[Li02liberty]

That process sounds easier and faster than scpd pistol license.

[The Blur]

What is this costing you? I always wanted to hunt a plains animal. A fancy deer for something like that. Something with fancy antlers. Not anything dental that may go viral.