My buddy is taking his bow to Namibia, our hunt being Aug 11-20. He is a very accomplished hunter, having taken well over 150 deer with his bow alone.

Qustion: Namibia has a restrictions on the weight your arrow/broadhead combo, depending on whether you're hunting big game, medium game, etc. Have any of you guys ever been checked by the authorities to see if your weights are within spec?

I have been under the impression that bows/arrows in hard cases are treated as luggage and not anywhere near as restrictive as bringing firearms and ammo.

I have not hunted in the country where your friend is going, but I have in Zimbabwe and South Africa, with a bow.
That included cape buffalo and numerous plains game.
I was never checked or asked about anything on my bow, broadheads, arrows, etc.
And I have taken a rifle once to Africa. It is much easier to take archery gear in than a gun, at least in the two countries that I hunted.

bow hunted in Namibia 5 times in the past and never questioned about my bow by anyone except my Ph. He wanted to make sure my equipment was up to the task. They do have minimum requirements but they never checked. They do treat the bow case usually like luggage but sometimes it is put with the gun cases. They almost always made me open the case and prove it was a bow and not a gun. Jobergh where you are hassled the most, in Windhoek the process was easy. Once my bow went out on an earlier flight, I didn't know but when I got there it was sitting in baggage claim in a unrestricted area where anyone could have picked it up and walked out

I have never heard of the govt. checking anybody.

The requirement's are there for a reason though. I would recommend your buddy look at the requirement's closely. If his equipment dosent meet them, he needs to discuss it with the outfitter. Lets face it, a lot of the animals are big and heavy. A lot of peoples whitetail setups are not realy heavy enough.

The only thing worse than loosing a poorly hit animal is having to pay an expensive trophy fee to boot.

quote:

Originally posted by Thunder Head:
I have never heard of the govt. checking anybody.

The requirement's are there for a reason though. I would recommend your buddy look at the requirement's closely. If his equipment dosent meet them, he needs to discuss it with the outfitter. Lets face it, a lot of the animals are big and heavy. A lot of peoples whitetail setups are not realy heavy enough.

The only thing worse than loosing a poorly hit animal is having to pay an expensive trophy fee to boot.

Thanks, and we both understand all of that. We were wondering if there is some sort of check/checkpoint for his archery equip much like the rifle system. Like I said, he's got mucho archery experience including aoudad sheep and a few elk with the same setup.

quote:

Originally posted by Thunder Head:
I have never heard of the govt. checking anybody.

The requirement's are there for a reason though. I would recommend your buddy look at the requirement's closely. If his equipment dosent meet them, he needs to discuss it with the outfitter. Lets face it, a lot of the animals are big and heavy. A lot of peoples whitetail setups are not realy heavy enough.

The only thing worse than loosing a poorly hit animal is having to pay an expensive trophy fee to boot.

This^

Consult with your PH. The PH/Safari operator will likely have experience with bowhunters and have preferences on equipment. If your buddy brings gear pre-approved by the PH, the PH will likely be pleased.

Hunted with my bow both in Namibia and Mozambique. Never had anyone check the equipment other than open the case to prove it was a bow. In order to verify your foot lbs of energy they would have to have an arrow scale and a chronograph, and then you would have to shoot it to verify your arrow speed. I don't think that will be happening in an airport! The case does often end up with the rifle cases.

I use a Cabelas hard bottom duffel. Mine was came out with the rest of the luggage. No one ever asked me a thing.

Most likely you will not get checked. Second on the hard bottom duffle from Cabelas. You do need enough speed if you are going after a Wildabeast. Most PH's do not like mechanicals and prefer three blade broad heads.

Just got back from a bow hunt in South Africa. Only time I had to open the bowcase was in Atlanta on the way back. Long delay, by the way, for the US agents to process the passengers with "weapons". Took 90 minutes from touchdown until we were cleared, even with no guns. And we were not at the end of the line. So keep smiling when they show up late, go slow, and ask you to prove it's only a bow.

By the way, our PH did discourage mechanicals, so among the 4 of us, we used Montec G5, Slick Trick, and (my favorite) Solid Broadheads 2 blade with bleeders. Got exits on all animals except Waterbuck. Kudu & Blue Wildebeest, no problem. Warthogs also no problem. Waterbuck went down within 100 yards. And I'm only pulling 54#, so that was particularly impressive performance. But in any case, the mechanicals might work OK, but the PHs generally don't trust them too much. So fixed broadheads with two blade, three blade, or four blade will all work.

Hunted Namibia last summer. You should have a fabulous trip !!

i use a hard bottom duffle as well with no issues. i have the badlands rolling duffle. just make sure your bow will fit, some of the longer axle to axle bows will not. mine barely fit. and remember to measure tip of your cams not just a-to-a.

my PH asked me not to bring any mechanical heads. they will work, as all things, shot placement is everything. but they preferred fixed only. i used a 2 blade single bevel strickland helix; zipped through the offside shoulder of a blue wildebeest. i also shoot heavy arrows, heavy draw, and a fast bow, so that helps.

my pops used his 63# mathews outback with 3 blade muzzys and got complete pass throughs on everything but a blue wildebeest he stuck high in the shoulder. that was an expensive bad shot with about 2" of penetration and no found bull. zipped straight through his kudu no problem.

Thanks for the replies. My bud pulls 65lbs, which is the minimum in Namibia if I'm not mistaken. He also uses fixed blade broadheads already.

When back in Atlanta, do the bow cases wind up behind closed doors with the rifle cases?

When back in Atlanta, Yes, the bows are put with the firearms. Takes a while.....

The suggested minimums for archery equipment in Namibia are based on
Kinetic energy (not draw weight) and total arrow weight in relation to the particular type of game to be hunted.

Any competent hunting guide, master hunting guide, or PH with additional qualifications for bowhunting in Namibia should be able to answer any of these questions. Which begs the question?

The wife and I took our crossbows to RSA in 2014. They were broken down and placed in a SKB double rifle case. No issues going. On leaving RSA they wanted the typical "gift of $" but, our PH put a stop to it.

Now our PH liked mechanical broadheads. He was a big Rage fan. Wife and I used G5 T3. No problems (Zebra, Bush pig, Sable) except for the wife's wildebeest. Low front leg. It did enough damage to break part of the bone causing the animal to limp. We would catch a glimpse of him the next few days but, would lose him. The leg had become stiff but, as soon as he started to trot or run with the herd it was impossible to clearly identify him as he would work the stiffness out. The last night our PH caught him crossing the road and was able to seal the deal.

quote:

Originally posted by Highlander7:
On leaving RSA they wanted the typical "gift of $" but, our PH put a stop to it.

Does that still go on? Glad your PH was on hand at the time.

quote:

Originally posted by PD999:

quote:

Originally posted by Highlander7:
On leaving RSA they wanted the typical "gift of $" but, our PH put a stop to it.

Does that still go on? Glad your PH was on hand at the time.

PD999... We tried to explain at the ticket counter that there was no rifles in the case. It didn't matter and still had to go to firearm check-in. I opened the case to the respective members to verify contents. Upon closing the case they actually made the suggestion with our PH standing right there. He was pissed and in so many words he told them to shove off.

I'm just back from Namibia. Your bow case will end up with the firearms in Windhoek. Not a big deal. As usual, the biggest hassle of the trip is Atlanta coming home. I have done the Frankfurt route and kick myself for not doing so this time. Never had any questions about bow specifics asked by other than PH. Have a great trip! You might save a little hassle by adding to the outside of the case with a silver Sharpie-"No Firearms. Case contains archery equipment." Could save you serious time in Atlanta if that is your route.