Let's look at what you really need to do.

I just finished filling out the SAPS 520 for the 3rd time. You know it took me all of 15 minutes after an e-mail to Air 2000 asking for their SAPS 520 packet. That took 5 miuntes. I already had a Letter of Invitation. That took one short e-mail to my safari operator 5 minutes. I got notorized copies of my 4457's and Passport. That took 15 minutes at the local bank. Tomorrow I'll UPS the packet to Air 2000. Should be another 10 minutes. Now all I have to do is just relax about guns in RSA.

People that have not done any of this must have the idea the whole process is an extremely daunting task when in fact you can complete the whole thing in less than an hour.

Contact Air 2000 or one of the other meet/greet/gun permit services and save yoursef some hassle. They will walk you through the whole process, acquire your permit for you and deliver you to your safari operator or commuter flight hassle free. This maybe the best $160 you ever spent.

Mark

Unfortunately, Mark, you can fill out the Namibia form in 30 seconds and be done. Then there is 15 minutes of pleasant conversation with the Namib Police officer in the airport upon arrival, while waiting for you guncase to be delivered. Says a lot for peoples destinations in the future!

Blank,

I couldn't agree more that much less is involved in going to other countries with guns including Namibia than RSA. The BUT is if you want a great nyala, mountain reedbuck, Vaal rhebok, Cape bushbuck, Cape kudu and some of the little guys you can't find them in Namibia or other countries. Yes the Nyala occurs elsewhere but they are much more readily available in RSA than anywhere else. That means you have to hunt RSA for these species and my point was that the paper work and gun hassles are really not very difficult at all and definitely should not make a person decide against a safari in RSA.

Mark

Mark,

I am curious as to whether or not you would continue to use one of the meet & greet services having been through the process more than once.

Doug

Mark: Have to agree that you can't have it all, and some give and take is necessary. I have to make a decision before my next trip to Reno as to what I really want to do, so bookings can be made.

Buffalo is high on the list along with Tommies and Grant's, but the attraction of nyala-bushbuck-reedbuck-lechwe is almost as addicting a draw as the big one's. I would go thru all the hoops now after a couple trips over, just not sure if it is the best trip for a first-timer anymore. I'm sure lots of people will weigh in on this subject.

Douglast,

Well I pay the same for the meet/greet/gun permit service as anyone else and I find it well worth the price. Of course you can do it yourself but it has worked so slick for me in the past I see no reason to do anything differently and it virtually eliminates my messing up the process.

Blank,

What tohunt next is always a difficult but delicious choice. If I can be of any assistance please let me know.
If you are referring to whether or not RSA is a good choice for a first timer as opposed to some other country I guess it depends onw hat the hunter wants out of his hunt. Like I said the SAPS 520 and gun permit procedure in RSA should not be a determining factor as it is just not that hard to deal with.

Mark

Mark,

Valid point if you go trough the paperwork which looks daunting but isnt so bad. Even your outfitter can help you get a pre approved permit for his clients.

Send the same details to your outfitter he will take it to CFR (Central firearm registry) in Pretoria and get a pre approved permit for you he will not be able to meet and greet you at the plane itself but get you at the SAP station and hand over your permit.

Crucial of this is that you give the outfitter an letter stating that you give him the right applying on behalf of yourself.

In this way you can save yourself the $150 odd on the permit. Just another way to get around the system.

I'm sick of hearing of how much hassle is involved in getting guns into RSA and now easy Namibia is.

1. In RSA, the paperwork is a little more complicated than in Namibia but not really that bad. I did my own and didn't have any undue delays in customs. That said, I plan to use Air2000 next time for extra insurance.

2. In RSA, I can use a handgun but not in Namibia; now that's important to me.

3. In RSA, I can pretty much use any bullet or caliber if my PH agrees. In Namibia, I can't legally use solids on anything except the really big stuff. Logically, if I wanted to take out a hyena with a 300 Weatherby Mag, a solid might be a good choice. Having a choice in the bullet/caliber I shoot is also worth more to me than a little extra paperwork.

I am heading to SA on next saturday for my 3rd time in the last five years. Both times I did the paperwork myself and was in and out of the SAPS office in less then 15 minutes, and last year we had a group of 6.

This year I filled out the SAPS ahead of time, mailed it to the outfitter and he had it processed for myself and my buddies for no cost. I get off the plane and the paperwork is done for me. I'm sure people have had problems, just giving my experience.

Want to deal with paperwork and firearms, try getting paperwork for a rifle to hunt here in the US if you're from another country.

quote:

Originally posted by Hutty:
Want to deal with paperwork and firearms, try getting paperwork for a rifle to hunt here in the US if you're from another country.

Amen! The United States is just about the most hunter-phobic of any country in the world in regard to visiting hunters. I advise hunters coming here from other countries to simply leave their guns at home and do as we Americans do -- just buy your guns off of the street after you arrive .

I did my paperwork myself, and send copies to my outfitter. It took an hour plus at SAPS, but my PH said it was not the usual crew - it was Sunday - during the week it is much quicker.

I think the answer is simple, use Air2000, or another meet and greet service for the RSA. Sure Namibia is simple, but if I had Not had Air2000 in May, 2007, I probably would not have found my "lost guns" so readily. (They didn't get on the plane in Dulles) Meet and Greet service is the best insurance I have ever spent, and I'll use it again on my next safari.

LLS

That seems reasonable. Thanks for the industry info Mark.

It seems like there is a fair amount of bad info flowing around in regards to the safari industry. That's what makes this website so valuable...sooner or later the good info will come to light.

Not to cause shite but....any non-US citizens taken guns into the US and had a bit of a hassle, run around at all?

I think ALF posted some stories of fun-times going from Canada into the US with guns, ones of the worlds 'easiest' borders for the respective citizens.

I went in May to Namibia through Johannesburg then back to Johannesburg and on to Kimberley for a hunt. I only had a 2 hour window to clear customs and SAPS and go to the another terminal to catch my flight to Kimberley. Well I hired Rifle Permits to handle the permits and sent my package express mail on 12 April 07 and I needed to go through SAPS on 21 May. The cost would be $90 to be paid in Johannesburg. Well, my paperwork never arrived and was returned this week to my home. Saved me $90 and I still make my flight with 45 minutes to spare. Of course coming from Namibia in the early afternoon I was first in line even ahead of people with Air 2000 type services. I still had to wait for SAPS to do all their dancing around and drinking coffee before they finished my paperwork which took about 30 minutes but felt like an hour. I had two porters waiting outside and they knew what I needed to make my flight. I had to run to keep up with them. Worth the $20 tip I gave them and I hope that was about the right amount. It seems like the price keeps going up every month for this Air 2000 type of service. At what point does the cost become too high? Namibia was very easy and some people had their form filled out before they arrived.

Army Aviator,

Personally I don't trust any African postal system so I send my info to Air 2000 via UPS. It is expensive but it gets there. You asked when does the price get too high for Air 2000 and other similiar services. I guess to me the answer all depends on when you are ready to deal with all the permit business yourself and if there is a screw up at the airport do you feel confident in sorting it out yourself. To me the $160 is a small price to pay for the peice of mind it gives me.

Mark

DHL global express. My package got to Riflepermits.com very quickly, albeit not cheaply.

quote:

Originally posted by Blank:
Unfortunately, Mark, you can fill out the Namibia form in 30 seconds and be done. Then there is 15 minutes of pleasant conversation with the Namib Police officer in the airport upon arrival, while waiting for you guncase to be delivered. Says a lot for peoples destinations in the future!

My sentiments exactly! After traveling and hunting different countries for nearly 40 years I absolutely refuse to allow the intrusion into my peacefull existance. I go where I am respected and wanted. Screw these third rate political destinations, and those that serve them.

Couple that with the baggage problems with SAA and it seems that the RSA is earning itself a bad reputation. You would think that the powers that be or those in the country that have vested interests in foreign dollars generated by us hunters would seriously look into this. After all, there are alternatives and they are looking better all of the time.