I know this subject's come up before, and our tendencies in general is to take too much. Accordingly, for my upcoming buffalo, plains game and possibly leopard hunt this June, how much ammo should I take for my 416 Rigby (soft/solids) and my 300 Weatherby?. Since my wife's going with me, I can up my payload to 22lb (10kg for you foreign types), so right now I have 60rounds for the 300 (180 Partitions) and 65 for the 416 (40 softs/25 solids).

Also, has anybody experienced any hassles if the ammo is packed in plastic boxes (properly labeled) instead of the original cartons? Thanks, jorge

Never had any problems with plastic unlocked ammo boxes.I believe they just like to see the ammo in some secure hold rather than in a bag.
Your 60 round ammo allocation should be plenty,you will bring back at least 40.I also carry more than I will need just for the occasion were I have to sight in my scope again- or other unforeseen debacles.You are far from replenishment and ammo is vital

Jorge, on my recent trip through RSA to Moz., I had no problems w/ my ammo in 20rd plastic boxes. I would think you are fine w/ 20rds softs/solids mixed for the buff. & 40rds for the .300wby, depending on how many PG species you're after. I took 40rds for my .404 & brought back more than 25rds. Then again, I only shot (4) animals, and that included the sighters after assemblying my rifle twice (I used a takedown case). Good hunting!

Ammo is required to be in seperator boxes and no more that 11 lbs. per person...Take 15 solids for buffalo and the rest softs. I would certainly take as much ammo as I could simply because you never know when something can go wrong with you gun and it may take some ammo to get it shooting again...Bring back the excess or just shoot it up before you come home, practice is good even in Africa...

They seem to want the ammo to be secure. I had mine in an old shotshell carrier that I used to use for trapshooting, the airline people zip stripped it shut after looking it over. On the way back from Africa, no one looked at it period. 60 rounds per gun is what I took, of course had a lot left over, as I took my 7x57 and ,375 that almost never require sight changes from year to year.. better to have too much than not enough.

AND your ammo must be in a locked metal box! My father in law saw a hunter have his ammo confinscated in Johannesburg for not being in a locked metal container. Go figure, it had already been transported.

We use the locked metal box you can see behind my daughter. I normally take 140 rounds with me, as most of my friends don't bring rifles, so they use my second gun to hunt with.

This is more than 11 pounds of ammo, but, it has a label that says "AIRLINE APPROVED". And they seem to let it go.

The box has a padded interior, and I use MTM 20 round boxes for the ammo.

Jorge,

Both you and your wife should take 11 pounds each. If you don't need it, no harm done. Just let the trackers shoot up the extra ammo. They don't get much shooting practice but they sure seem to enjoy it.

yup.....11 pounds and forget about bring any back. Why suffer that hassle again.....leave it with your PH as a gift.....or, yes, let the trackers shoot it up.....

I take about 1,400 cases of each caliber. Pack it in wooden crates and ship it over 6 months ahead of time. Any left over I give to the insurgents-of-the-day.

What I can't figure out, and need help and advice, is how much underwear to take. I am not be facetious about this! Should I also leave this with the insurgents?

Saeed,

Who makes the metal ammo box you are using? I'd like to get a closer look at one.

Thanks,
Dave

Jorge, I'd take a box of solids and a box of softs for the .416 Rigby, and three boxes of ammo for the .300. That'll be more than you'll likely need, but a source of resupply isn't exactly around the corner, either. I always take 100 rounds of ammunition, total, and I haven't come to regret it yet,

I stick my ammo in 20-round plastic boxes, and place those in a lockable Plano plastic shooting box, the kind with a tray on top. I stick gun repair, cleaning stuff, and knives in the tray, and the ammo underneath. This is a great system, the best i've used to date, and I place this plastic box right in the middle of the dufflebag.

Jorge, I'm going to send you one of these boxes as a gift, and just send it back if you don't like it or else use it for something else.

AD

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
Ammo is required to be in seperator boxes and no more that 11 lbs. per person...

Ray,
Is that 11/lbs including the weight of the case, i.e.: total wieght of checked bag?

Is that a box that has separators, or a separate box?

I brought a related question up on another post, and no one contributing can produce a document (from airline/NTSA/ICAO/IATA,etc web pages) that tells me wheter or not ammo can be packed in a checked gun case.

Do you know?

PS - to the point of the thread, ammo left behind (assuming common caliber) is really appreciated by the PH - especially in Zim, where it's not only tough to get, but also expensive.

Allen: Thank you for your kindness! I will put it to good use! I realized before posting this that I was probably taking too much ammo, but what the heck, since my wife's going I can double the weight allotment and maybe spread the ammo around, one in my duffle and one in hers just in case one of them arrives late or worse, gets lost. To the rest of you, thank you for your insights. The idea of leaving excess ammo with the PH is true, on my 01 safari, I left my PH a couple of boxes of 375 H&H and 300 WBY. Thanks again to all and espcailly you Allen. jorge

I suspect that the confiscated ammo in RSA has some other story behind it. No one else I know has ever had any problem with plastic. The last trip we took I took 30 rouns of soft for the .404 + 10 solids, if I remember correctly, it may have been 20+20. I also took around 40-60 rounds of .318. All these in 20 round plastic boxes taped shut with my signature "SoCal Ammo Works" labels all over them. These I put into a heavy plastic camera box. Worked great. The TSA guys opened the camera box, looked at the sealed ammo then sealed the camera box. SAPS didn't even look into the box because we were at the end of a FOUR HOUR line and they wanted to go home, too.

New Guy,l
Take 11 lbs. in factory type boxes (thus the seperators) and put ammo in your luggage with your clothes, not in your gun case...

Be polite, act very innocent, smile, and they will send you on your way...Play cutsie games as sometimes recommended on these forums, interpet the rules to your thinking, act rude, and I assure you that you will come out on the short end of the stick...Follow the rules, that is all you have to do..

I do the above, been there many times, over many years and never a hint of a problem...

Following advice I got on AR, I bought a $10 locking metal cash box from Office Depot. Everybody checking ammo seemed to like the locked case, and the rounds packed in plastic boxes with 'made up' custom ammo labels passed muster. I packed separate from gun case. Bob

Jorge,

We all have an opinion so I might as well weigh in on this. Unlike Ray I seem to take less ammo each time I go. As Allen said a total of 100 rounds should cover any eventuality. Regardless of how many people have successfully used the plastic boxes I use original factory boxes. I have been asked a couple of times if my ammo was packed in these factory boxes and Alaska Airlines actually has a blurb on its firearms declaration telling you that the ammo has to be in "Factory Original Boxes". We all know that this is a lot of BS but I don't want to be arguing with some uninformed airline person at the outset of my safari so I just do anything they ask. Make your life simple and just play the game by the rules that particular day.

Regards,

Mark

I was talking to a guy over the weekend who had a problem with ammo on a domestic flight within the States last year.

He was using a 12" plastic tool box locked with a small padlock to hold his ammo, which was in "original" factory carboard boxes...

The people at check-in refused to allow him to carry the ammo unless it was in a metal case...
He was told that had he been using hard sided cases and the plastic box was with in that, they would have turned a blind eye, but as the box was going in a soft duffle type bag they needed something more secure...

He eventually managed to buy some yuppie style aluminium briefcase for $90 from a shop with in the airport and they were fine with that...

When he later complained to the airline, he was told that the check in staff were infact a different company and he would have to pursue his complaint with them, at which point he simply gave up bothering...

Regards,

Last August in JoBurg Airport, my son and I were held up for five hours to clear the police. A couple of jokers from Spain had over 1000 rounds of 30 something ammo in their suitcases that they tried to get through.
Evidently, the weight of the luggage gave them away So, I'm told that in front of everyone, they tried to bribe the police with a pocket full of bills

I was too far back in line, otherwise I would ask them what they are hunting, anyway they don't know much about "backshees etiquette"

All the serious reponders were on track, especially Saeed, He has the strongest locking gun cases made.

Dak

quote:

Originally posted by new_guy:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Atkinson:
Ammo is required to be in seperator boxes and no more that 11 lbs. per person...

Ray,
Is that 11/lbs including the weight of the case, i.e.: total wieght of checked bag?


The following is directly from SAA's website: The following articles irrespective of their actual dimensions may be considered as a piece of baggage at 158 cm's (62 INS): Sporting firearms consisting of not more than: One rifle case containing not more than two rifles, 5 Kg (10 LB) of ammunition, o0ne shooting mat, noise suppressers and small rifle tools; Two shotguns and two shotgun cases, or One pistol case containing not more than five pistols, 5 Kg (10 LB) of ammunition, noise suppressers, one pistol telescope and small pistol tools.

Well gents, I'm almost there. I just received some real nice-looking smoked-plastic boxes from Midway that hold 22rounds each. I cut and pasted parts of a Federal ammo box to make them look "original" and those will be placed in a box that Allen kindly offered. I aslo went to the Delta, TSA and SAA websites and all say that you can pack the ammo WITH the rifles in the same case. Regardless, I plan to pack them separately like I always have but I'm also carrying copies of the airlines and TSA's regulations with me. I guess that's "anal" enough. jorge

quote:

Originally posted by bobc:
Following advice I got on AR, I bought a $10 locking metal cash box from Office Depot. Everybody checking ammo seemed to like the locked case, and the rounds packed in plastic boxes with 'made up' custom ammo labels passed muster. I packed separate from gun case. Bob

Pretty much what I'm figuring on doing, with the fake labels. Hadn't thought about the metal lockbox, but that's a good idea too.

Eleven pounds of .416 Remington Magnum??? WOW!!!

Russ

My son-in-law's company makes aluminum cases that can be used for ammo and can be locked. Here is a website address for the company, APX Enclosures:
http://www.apx-enclosures.com/products/new.php

The photos on the webpage are of gun cases, but they also make safes and bow cases. The handgun case they make would be ideal for transporting ammo. If interested, email my son-in-law for information:
Crawford Peters
E-mail Address(:
cpeters@apx-enclosures.com

quote:

Originally posted by MARK H. YOUNG:
Jorge,

We all have an opinion so I might as well weigh in on this. Unlike Ray I seem to take less ammo each time I go. As Allen said a total of 100 rounds should cover any eventuality. Regardless of how many people have successfully used the plastic boxes I use original factory boxes. I have been asked a couple of times if my ammo was packed in these factory boxes and Alaska Airlines actually has a blurb on its firearms declaration telling you that the ammo has to be in "Factory Original Boxes". We all know that this is a lot of BS but I don't want to be arguing with some uninformed airline person at the outset of my safari so I just do anything they ask. Make your life simple and just play the game by the rules that particular day.

Regards,

Mark

If it is "custom made" ammo with makers label and etc. on it. It will be in a plastic box. At least all I ever saw was so packed. Some calibers you cannot get cardboard if you wanted to do so. I've used both and every body has been happy when they saw it.

For a buffalo, tuskless elephant and plains game hunt (including a giraffe), I plan on taking; 20 softs and 20 solids for the .416 and 50 softs and 10 solids for the .375.

I use a pistol case for the ammo.





I've been interested in you guys talking about a metal cash box.

Here a few I found on the web (haven't checked them out in person re: size and construction) but some of these look like they may also be good idea.

Office Depot

Regards,

Terry

Thanks Terry. Tht looks like a lot more than the alloted 11lb though! jorge

Jorge,

You are correct. That is way too much ammo. I fill in the space (when I take less ammo) with foam rubber. It's the only pistol case I have (I probably could use a smaller one).

If the airlines ever say anything, then I can honestly say it is an airline approved case for transporting pistols, so it should also meet their requirements for transporting ammunition.

Regards,

Terry

Terry: Since my wife's coming along, I plan to double my ammo allotment since the 416s are so heavy. I'll just say we're both hunting so I can take 10kg (22lb). jorge

Terry,

I've just bought a 10" (x7"x 3") Helix Premium cashbox as an ammo carrier and that will hold 4 of those cheap mtm j-20 20 round plastic boxes with a little room to spare...i would imagine you would get 4 of those factory ammo boxes in as well...

You do have to watch which box you get as removing the plastic coin tray on some can leave a 1/4 gap between the two halves when the lid is closed...

While I was buying it i noticed they also sold a metal document boxes designed to take A4 papers...it was about 4 inches deep...That looked like a good buy for someone wanting a bit more carrying capacity although perhaps two smaller cash boxes split between different bags in the luggage might be safer than one larger one?

Regards,

Pete

Checking out the internet:

Cabelas

Doskocil

Americase

Gun Accessories Type in "pistol case" in the search box.
Several different makers like Plano and GuardForce.

Regards,

Terry

for my elephant hunt i brought 20 rounds of 700 nitro 16 solid 4 softs. and 10 rounds of 500 nitro all solids

and it was way more than enough.

Good gawd, dakota, were you in that line, too? That a******* not only had the entire line behind him (and I was at the end, behind you!) ready to consider a consultation with Judge Lynch but he didn't exactly make the sergeant behind the desk happy with life either. By the time I finally got up there, nobody inspected anything, just took my word for the serial number and gave me the license so they could go to dinner. Man, were we ready to go drinking after that! Didn't stay at Afton House that night, did you and go to the steakhouse? I was the guy near the end of the table with the beard and glasses sitting across from my partner in beard and glasses. You'd think we were actors in a bad spy movie!

One of the cases I have used in the past is the Pelican #1400. If memory serves it will hold 12 boxes of standard magnum size ammo(7mm Rem, 300 Win size) yet is not overly bulky. It is a very durable case and well made throughout.

pelican 1400 click on "small cases" to view ammo sized pieces.

Regards,
Dave