I am staying 2 days in SA enroute to Zim.
Does an American need any type of export letter, or is form 4457 good enough for the SAPS?

If you don't need the rifle whilst you're in SA why not arrange for Air 2000 to collect it from you at the airport and store it for you until you leave?

That way, they'll do all the necessary paperwork for you. I'm not sure of the cost but I reckon it'll be worth it!

You can contact them at air2000@global.co.za

Tony, yes, it's a hassle to go thru the SAPS paperwork, etc. for the layover. To answer your questions, the 4457 suffices for the ownership 'license'. However, you will need to have the "letter of invitation" from the outfitter and a "letter of motivation" that you write yourself. If you have those letters and a pre-filled, unsigned SAPS520 form, you should be good to go.

However, if you use a service like Air2000 or Optima they can make the hassle pretty much go away. I used Optima and had super results.

OTOH, I would be concerned about having a service collect and store a firearm while I'm looking around Cape Town or whereever. I think I'd much rather have the items with me, or at the very least I'd want to particiapte in the collection of the items prior to storage instead of trusting someone else to handle the whole thing. I'd definately want to have my hot little hands on the case before entrusting it to someone else; even then, I'll hang on to it myself, thank you.

Just send both Optima and Air2000 an email and ask them the same question! Also, if you're using a travel agency like Gracey they prob can give you some good guidance about RSA as well.

Thanks for the info.