OK here we throw the cat amongs the pigeons again,

All and sundry are always talking about the latest whizbang calibre coming too Africa,
and we know as someone politely put it another thread, the fuckup fairy is always with us,

What will happen when U arrive with your 375 Ruger, or 416 Remington or 470 NE or s last weekend a 577 NE and your ammo is not with U

Question:
Which of the following calibres are available off the shelf in South Africa ?

375 RUM

Choices:
NO SMALL CHANCE
Yes Should Have

Question:
375 Ruger

Choices:
Yes
No

Question:
416 Remington

Choices:
Yes
No

Question:
470 NE

Choices:
Yes
No

Question:
404 Jeffery

Choices:
Yes
No

Question:
500 NE

Choices:
YES
NO

 

Walter

I know none is on the shelf of an average gun shop in South Africa. If you know where to look for some odd ammo you maybe get some 416 Rigby, 416 Rem, 404, 470 and 500. maybe even a box or two of 375 RUM but, how many days it takes you to locate it and get in to your hand? No shipping of ammo by not licensed carrier never mind the license issues etc. if you in JHB and found ammo in Cape Town you have to fly there and collect if the dealer will sell based on the SA import permit if you in transit you out of luck!
You most properly you will not find the bullet type / weight your gun is regulated for etc. if you have to check your rifle and sight it in new how many round you will be left for hunting?? Problems!

ÃMO your best chance is to find a local hunter / gun nut that shoot the same caliber and get some / borrow from him.(Legal?)

All depends in those cases on the knowledge and connection of your PH.

One thing is for sure you will waist time, and there are no guaranties you will get the right ammo in sufficient quantities.

Last time I ask about factory ammo in 416 Remington and Rigby and that was 3 or 4 years ago you looking at 1700 to 2100 Rand a box of 20.

404Jeff RWS 1400 Rand for 10 rounds.

The good side is it could be worst and your ammo arrives and not your guns.


Cheers

FWIW, I haven't called then to ask, but you'd probably find Sabi Rifles in Nelspruit would have all of those mentioned in stock. - What they didn't have on the shelf and ready to go, they'd have in components and they'd load them for you while you waited..........

Would one find 30-06 with any trouble?

Most good gun shops in SA would carry 3006 - in fact, 3006 & 375 H&H would be the most easily obtainable calibres in most, if not all parts of Africa.

Steve,
I must admit I answered NO to every calibre but I do agree with you re Sabi Nelspruit.

I answered on the basis that we are talking about a tourist that needs to go into an "average" gunshop with little time to travel the country on an ammo shopping mission.

In my opinion our local gunshops (in general) are pathetic with their stock holdings. In recent times I have struggled to find variety in common calibres like .308 even at so called "agents" of top international brands. This problem extends to bullets too. Try get your choice of Nosler bullets at an average gun store! There are exeptions such as Sabi.

I really think that South African gun shops could do substantially better if they were prepared to invest in stock. Although gun sales were severly harmed by the implementation of our new legislation, ammo and component sales actually benefitted. Every South African gun owner has been forced to become to a greater or lesser extent an active "user" of that gun. The dealers have failed to capitalise on that side of the issue. Hunting is especially more active than ever, and more ordinary hunters are actually doing some range practice nowdays.

Back to the main question though; I think if a guy lands here sans his ammo and it's a rare type, your best option is get to the internet and make a HUGE appeal on this site for help. There is a fantastic network, starting here on AR but which extends to other networks such as the BASA family, which in particular can help with large or unusual calibre ammo sourcing.

Our contact details are there for all to see, down to mobile phone numbers on our host sites.

Whether it's me in the west rand, Shakari in the lowveld, Katte in Kimberly, Pierre in Joburg etc etc. someone will have, or know who has the ammo, or an alternative plan. Just don't despair.....

Stephen,

I agree completely, but would add that the 'good guy network' extends well beyond South African borders. 2 years ago I had a client arrive in Arusha with 3 unusual calibre rifles and no ammo.......... a quick phone call to Bwana Mich and he very kindly told me he had ammo in all 3 calibres in his armoury and we could take what we needed and sort out payment later if necessary.

Last year, I was in the middle of bloody no-where in Mto Wa Mbu with a very 'eccentric' client who had previously assured me he had PLENTY of ammo for his 21 day safari, when on the afternoon of day 1, he very calmly announced he'd just shot his last round...........

Again a quick call to BwanaMich and another friend, and between us, we had a few boxes of ammo on the road just two hours later. A few hours after that, I met the vehicle as he drove past and collected it. - We didn't even lose any hunting time. - Remember also that Tanzania must have some of the highest prices for ammo anywhere in Africa and probably the world............

It works the other way too...... Earlier this year, I bought a GPS on e-bay and saved a fortune compared to SA prices. To cut a long story short(er) - A kind fellow AR member bought it over to Joburg where it was collected by our friend Bahati, who bought it up to the lowveld the following day. - Not only do I owe a big thank you to the guys who did all that for me, I also owe a big thank you to Saeed for making it all possible by creating AR.

I'm also pleased to say, I've managed to do favours for fellow AR'ers from time to time.

Well as Steve said Someone will help, we could not find him last weekend ?

As South African I admit, we have some of the worst stocked gunshops ,

And now the reason for this poll,

Guys and girls, stick too known commrcial calibres and U will not have a problem, any of the abovementioned you are not going too find easily ,

SO STICK TOO THE better known ones

I just had an american client who arrived in JHB without his luggage which contained all his ammo, none the less he had to go with his gun and without his ammo down to the eastern cape and use the PH's rifle. If I am not mistaken he brought a .340 needless to say I had to get the airline to speed things up rather rapidly.

A 30-06 is a fine choice for PG as there is plenty of ammo avialable in South Africa for it. The more common the rifle the better.