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I am going to January with Club Faune. For those that have gone give me some tips or horror stories. I was planning on bringing mine but reading older post I am now on the fence. I am using Iles & Voyages via Paris and Brussels and TWG. Also anyone who has filled out the visa application for Brussels, the English is so nonstandard I having difficulty understanding what they want. I want this application to be done correctly. What is "Stay Motivation"? Made in...____, the _____ What is that? Thanks, Roger I hunt, not to kill, but in order not to have played golf.... DRSS | ||
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Our embassy didn’t know how to issue a gun permit therefore I had to use the outfitters. The gentleman from France sharing camp with me brought his own gun with no issues. The clearance in Douala does take extremely long but the assistants from Iles & Voyages drop you off at the hotel and transport you back to the airport when the process is complete. Ngaoundere was far quicker as the outfitter was there to meet us. | |||
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I hunted Cameroon with Mayo Oldiri in 2020. Flew into Douala. I opted to use the camp Sako .375 H&H, which was the first time I ever used a camp rifle on a hunt. Got my animals but after that experience vowed I would always try to take and use my own rifle in future. The outfit's rep met me at Douala and would have assisted with rifle clearance which is a drawn out process but I would endure that to have my own rifle. At the hotel I met a group of American hunters who travelled in our convoy to their own hunt camps. They brought their own rifles which took around 2 to 3 hours to clear through Douala customs. Isles & Voyages obtained my Cameroon Visa. They were efficient and good to deal with. One tip: Double check the firearm and serial number details in your Visa. I've heard of guys striking grief with Cameroon Customs if some very minor Visa detail is incorrect and hunt starts delayed etc. My guess is "Stay Motivation" is asking what is your purpose in visiting Cameroon. You could get advice for Isles & Voyages but "hunting holiday" is probably sufficient. The "made in " question I don't understand, sorry. But check with Isles & Voyages, they will help. Hunting.... it's not everything, it's the only thing. | |||
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My experience was that gun clearance took forever, and it is rather involved. You likely will shoot enough on a savanna hunt to make it worthwhile to put up with it. Rain forest is much closer shooting. The travel services do have the “how to” down. The outfitters can work with the “completion” part. It is a colossal pain (compared to most of the southern countries) but doable- note you have to send your passport to the Cameroonian embassy to get it done- they put your firearm details in the passport… | |||
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I used the outfitter’s rifle when I hunted there. Flew into Yaoundé. Customs still was a mess and EVERYONE wanted a bribe or”tip”. Almost no one spoke English there either. Of the 8 countries in Africa I have hunted in, it was the most corrupt by far. Expect everything to take twice as long as it should. Vote Trump- Putin’s best friend… To quote a former AND CURRENT Trumpiteer - DUMP TRUMP | |||
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The two countries I will never take my own rifles to again are Cameroon and Australia. Cameroon is the most convoluted process imaginable. I had to send my passport to Paris. There someone got on a train with my passport and took it to Brussels to get the approval. As I recall the whole process cost something like $1000. Then when we got to Cameroon, Air France failed to deliver the firearms on the flight. Since our charter was the next morning, I had to leave my passport with someone from the outfitter and when the rifles were cleared they drove them to camp. That process cost another $1000 and by the time the rifles arrived, we had already shot the bongo. Never again. Use a camp rifle. Mike | |||
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Went June 2017 to the forest. Father in law's rifle didn't show up until the next day, which was fine as our charter didn't show ... never did. Spent 4 nights in hotel in Douala waiting. I was taking my .458 B&M/300 RUM rifle. Didn't see the /300 RUM was excluded on my permit page from Belgium (I too used Isles de Voyages). Cam police confiscated my ammo, which was fine, as my father in law was using the same caliber. Went back to savannah in Feb 2018. Brought the .458 again, properly documented this time. Both times, it took north of 2.5 hours upon arrival in Douala. Coming home was worse, as you had to go down to a small office in the baggage area to confirm your file against some hand written register, all the while leaving your passport with some other dude. Ngaoundere was much easier. Your PH is with you throughout the process. The drive from there to Club Faune's camp in 4.5 hours. Expect many "road blocks." That being said, that safari was one of my most enjoyable. Like someone said, I found taking my own rifle to the savannah was worthwhile. Took tons of game, including LDE. Beau | |||
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Interesting information. I can handle waits and paperwork for the sake of using my own rifle. RAC, I will be there in February, right behind you. If it's not too much trouble, please let me know how you end up working this out. Thanks. Mike Wilderness is my cathedral, and hunting is my prayer. | |||
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Take plenty of bribe money, every time you go into a small room they want more, then you check it in and they take you back to where they handle the baggage, you open it up again and they want more. | |||
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Hunted Cameroon twice. Brought my guns both times. It was a nightmare. Would not do it again. Good Hunting Carl Frederik | |||
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No way in hell would go to a country where they treat me like a criminal! | |||
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Too late, Saeed. I already paid for the trip!  I hunt, not to kill, but in order not to have played golf.... DRSS | |||
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So for the sake of entertainment, you have heard the story of getting the rifles into Cameroon for our hunt, now I will share the story of getting the rifles out. So we check in for departure in Douala. First, the counter agent was troubled by the fact that the unused ammo rattled in the boxes. So he made us stuff the boxes with socks and other items to prevent the ammo from rattling in the boxes. I guess he thought that the rounds hitting each other might cause them to go off or something. We make it through that ordeal and are now seated uncomfortably in the hot, humid, un-air conditioned waiting area, when I hear my name being announced on the loud speaker. I go up to the desk and I am told in pidgin English that I need to go with security. Of course all of these conversations are between non-French speaking me and non-English speaking them. Security escorts me into the bowels of the Douala airport that are even more dank and oppressive than the waiting area. I end up in a small room with three French speaking only military personnel where they have one of my rifles in an x-ray machine. On the screen is a shot of the butt stock of the rifle with what appears to be a stick of dynamite in the buttstock . . . although the stick of dynamite is actually a mercury recoil reducer. The buttstock is fiberglass and the reducer has been molded into the stock. Despite this, the female officer in charge hands me a screwdriver and through pantomime signals lets me know that I need to remove this offending stick-like object. Through pantomime signals I assure her that there is no way in hell I can remove that object since it is like a piece of rebar in concrete. This goes on for 15-20 minutes with she and I getting increasing frustrated with one another. Finally one of the other officers intervenes and sort of waves the whole issue off and I am allowed to leave without having to saw the stock open or spend time in jail in Douala. Never again. Use a camp rifle. Mike | |||
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 Note to myself...don't take rifle with mercury recoil reducer!  I hunt, not to kill, but in order not to have played golf.... DRSS | |||
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Better still, don't go hunting in very stupidly run countries. | |||
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Hoped you would tell the tale of our ordeal Mike. Always find it hilarious, now that it is over. Two words when hunting in Cameroon. Camp. Rifle.  On the plains of hesitation lie the bleached bones of ten thousand, who on the dawn of victory lay down their weary heads resting, and there resting, died. If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch... Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son! - Rudyard Kipling Life grows grim without senseless indulgence. | |||
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These sorts of events Russell just add to mosaic that is international hunting/fishing . . . although at the time the events can seem far less entertaining. Mike | |||
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Camp rifle. The hassle is beyond what you have seen elsewhere... Plus, the gun permit is/was $600 per gun.... | |||
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Not sure which part - arrival in or departure from Douala was worse from my own experience in 2018. As others have described, the permit process with trips between Paris and Brussels is time consuming and expensive. In my case, the agent had to do it twice because the dates on my first visa were incorrect. As a result, I have two large, very colorful Cameroon visas adorning my passport. Plus, someone decided it would be extra handy to write in ballpoint the details of my rifle on an additional page of my passport. On arrival, you're forced to wait for a Customs official to arrive in his office to examine your rifle in minute detail. In my case, that included detaching my scope from the rifle and then dropping it to the floor! Mustering all of my self control to keep from being thrown in jail, I then had to proceed to the police for a re-do of the whole process...The officials act like they've never handled a firearm of any kind, but insist on performing the inspection themselves rather than you showing them the various markings they need to verify. My arrival process took four hours. On departure, you surrender your passport to one guy, while another leads you to the baggage area in the bowels of the airport. It is hot and humid and stinks of diesel, Jet A and cigarettes. There, in a cramped little cubicle, you re-do the whole inspection deal with guys, who if anything are less friendly or efficient than the ones you deal with on the way in. The whole thing reminds you of a bad movie with all of the atmospherics for you to experience first hand. Makes a great story. To answer your question: Camp Rifle | |||
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David W., Been considering a Cameroon hunt. I've never hunted with a camp rifle, but you've about got me convinced. Nothing like the smell of diesel, jet fuel and cigarettes to make me feel perfectly comfortable! | |||
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This thread has been timely and interesting. I have a Savannah hunt booked for February of ‘24. I always figured I’d be taking my rifles, but now I’ll ask Alan Vincent what kind of camp guns they have for me. | |||
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Went with JDOLLAR back in 14 or 15, do not recommend the country. Damn sure don't drink the water. You can borrow money, but you can't borrow time. Don't wait, go now. Savannah Safaris Namibia Otjitambi Trails & Safaris DRSS NRA SCI DSC TSRA TMPA | |||
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Brain 1, your advice about not drinking the water pretty much goes anywhere. | |||
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Four trips. First was in 2004. In those days, you grabbed your case and walked out of the airport. No questions asked. Two trips in 2016, both of which included the trip into the bowels of the airport to check the serial numbers as described in other posts as well as the surrender of your passport before you get escorted to the shake down room. Fourth trip in 2022. Camp gun. Easy peasy. THE way to go. Will J. Parks, III | |||
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I have scans of VISA and Gun Permit paperwork. PM your e-mail and I'll send mine if you want a cheatsheet. Will J. Parks, III | |||
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THIS^^^ Vote Trump- Putin’s best friend… To quote a former AND CURRENT Trumpiteer - DUMP TRUMP | |||
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Thanks. PM sent. I hunt, not to kill, but in order not to have played golf.... DRSS | |||
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Another twist to the corruption when trying to get your gun through is the ammo count. I arrived with 50 rounds of .375. They count and check the head stamp of every round. The cop announced that there were only 49 cartridges and he couldn't posibly alter the paper work. Could I think of a way of making it right? Another big note changes hands on top of the ones for his birthday and his mate's wedding anniversary etc. I would imagine that cartridge got added to the next guy's cartridges. 51 rounds, how can we fix that? Use the camp rifle! | |||
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Cameroon and rifles . . . the gift that keeps on giving when it comes to stories. Yeah, I forgot about ammo. That was a whole story of its own. We took a lot of ammo. We left a lot of ammo. So the inquisition at the airport becomes where is all the ammo. How many animals did you shoot? Two. Where is the rest of the ammo. Well, we are really bad shots. Besides we had a shooting competition with the pygmies (which was true by the way and a helluva lot of fun). Use a camp gun. Mike | |||
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You think you’ve seen corruption in Southern Africa- you haven’t. Cameroon takes it to a whole new level. Use a camp gun.  Vote Trump- Putin’s best friend… To quote a former AND CURRENT Trumpiteer - DUMP TRUMP | |||
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I have been arranging hunts in Cameroon for many years both in the Savannah and in the forest. None of my clients or I have ever had a problem. Touch wood. BUT you have to follow the rules and make sure everything is in black & white and give them no excuses to exhort a few bucks! Travelling to Cameroon with a rifle is a bit of a pain but it can be done. Arjun Reddy Hunters Networks LLC www.huntersnetworks.com 30 Ivy Hill Road Brewster, NY 10509 Tel: +1 845 259 3628 | |||
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You don’t need to give them an excuse. They’ll make one up on the spot, then tell you what’s going to happen, bribe or no bribe. If you’re in Yaoundé and don’t speak French, forget about it. Vote Trump- Putin’s best friend… To quote a former AND CURRENT Trumpiteer - DUMP TRUMP | |||
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Got put in airport jail in yaounde. Military ammunition where the charges. Thanks God after 12 hours and seen a pygmy recive a terrible beating just to frighten us, I could contact the spanish embassy. Took them 30 minutes of screaming to everyone for them to apologize. I could have kissed the embassy woman when she took us out. Since then I know what embassy’s are for. diego | |||
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This doesn’t surprise me in the least, especially in Yaoundé. Vote Trump- Putin’s best friend… To quote a former AND CURRENT Trumpiteer - DUMP TRUMP | |||
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Just say the hell with Cameroon. DRSS NRA Life Member VDD-GNA | |||
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I will be taking my Blaser in .375, or my Winchester in .375, or my Winchester in .416, TBD, and 60 rounds of ammunition. They put too many bullets into the same holes at any useful range every time to leave any of them at home. Come what may, be it Hell or high water, I will be taking one of them along. It may help that I do speak a passable French. I'll be sure to let everyone know how it goes, as I do every time, whether good, bad or ugly, or some variation of all three. Mike Wilderness is my cathedral, and hunting is my prayer. | |||
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The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Hunting African Big Game Hunting Cameroon...gun or no gun
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