While on Safari last July in Mozambique I promised a young aspiring ph I would gift him a rifle I had back in the states. No, I did not leave him my rifle I took to Moz. They have been working on a permit to recieve the rifle in South Africa for a year. The question is will there be any paper work I need to do on my end here in the states??? I have sent them everything that SA requires.I contacted my local customs port and they did not require anything or better still, knew not of anything required. Anyone out there with experinece in this?

I can tell how to do everything, but suffice to say - it is involved and a lot of work and for a PH in Moz half the year, more than likely impossible - unless he has someone driving the process for him that is available every day. Also note that all paperwork (permits) have expiry dates, which adds to the fun as it adds some urgency to everything. Urgency & government? Yeah, right ...

Send him money to buy his own ... or I can document the procedure for you when I find time. Just not now!

Who is the PH?

Better check with the US ATF and Customs service to see what paper work has to be done on this side of the pond as well. Not sure, but I think you'll need a permit from the US Gov't. to export a firearm. Bahati gave you the best advice - give him the $$ and let him buy the gun. Keeps you out of trouble.

First hand experience here. I just finished exporting a rifle to SA last month. In a nut shell, you need permission from the U.S. Department of State to export a firearm to a forign country. A firearm, even a hunting rifle, is considered a defense article. Very bad news if you export a defense article out of the us without the proper paperwork.

Here is what you should do.

Copied from a previous post on this topic:

A while back we were talking about exporting a rifle from the U.S. to S.A., something that I was attempting to do myself. Well, I am now finished with the process of obtaining the legal documentation to do just that. I will be exporting a 458 Lott to S.A. this summer and giving it to my PH.

The hardest part was initially contacting the right person in the U.S. Department of State to get details on the process. It is not easy to find phone numbers and it is really not easy to get someone to pick up a phone there. Mostly you get voice mail.

Step one is to download government form DSP-5. A downloader is needed for this which can be obtained from the same website as the form. Also a ten page booklet on how to fill out the DSP-5 can be downloaded at the same time.

Step two is to fill in all the info and then print out the form.

Step three is to get whom ever is going to receive the rifle in S.A. to obtain an import form from S.A. stating they can import the rifle and have them send the form to you.

Step four is to mail the DSP-5, the S.A. import document, and a letter explaining in detail why you want to export the rifle and who will receive the rifle and for what purpose to the State Department. You are actually requesting a one time exemption from regestering as an arms dealer inorder to export one rifle one time.

Step five is you wait for the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls U.S. Department of State to review your request and sent the DSP-5 form back with an approval stamp and number.

I received mine back yesterday approved. The entire process took me about three months.



ATF deals with buying and selling firearms in the United States not exporting firearms to forign countries.

US Customs deals with importing goods and services into the United States and collecting taxes on the goods and services.

US Department of State, Directorate of Defense Trade Controls deals with exporting guns, ammo, tanks, night vision, fighter jets etc. to a forign country. It does not matter if your gun is a military gun or a sporting firearm, it falls under their jurisdiction.

Before it's over, both the PH and you will be wishing that you had just given him a big tip.

If Africa will let him import it -- this you might not know for a year or two -- the US Government will stop you. And, vice versa. I know a PH that worked on this problem for three years and just after he and the hunter got it all worked out, the hunter died. You guessed it -- they had to start all over again with the hunter's heirs. He gave up.

Good luck.

[Muletrain,
Thank you for your info. I knew there must be someone with first hand experience out there. I really appreciate you sharing the experience here. I am sure a 10 page booklet to instruct you on how to fill out a gov. form is a bit daunting. I will get right to it however and see what it is about. Still no import permit from SA. QUOTE]Originally posted by Muletrain:
First hand experience here. I just finished exporting a rifle to SA last month. In a nut shell, you need permission from the U.S. Department of State to export a firearm to a forign country. A firearm, even a hunting rifle, is considered a defense article. Very bad news if you export a defense article out of the us without the proper paperwork.

Here is what you should do.

Copied from a previous post on this topic:

A while back we were talking about exporting a rifle from the U.S. to S.A., something that I was attempting to do myself. Well, I am now finished with the process of obtaining the legal documentation to do just that. I will be exporting a 458 Lott to S.A. this summer and giving it to my PH.

The hardest part was initially contacting the right person in the U.S. Department of State to get details on the process. It is not easy to find phone numbers and it is really not easy to get someone to pick up a phone there. Mostly you get voice mail.

Step one is to download government form DSP-5. A downloader is needed for this which can be obtained from the same website as the form. Also a ten page booklet on how to fill out the DSP-5 can be downloaded at the same time.

Step two is to fill in all the info and then print out the form.

Step three is to get whom ever is going to receive the rifle in S.A. to obtain an import form from S.A. stating they can import the rifle and have them send the form to you.

Step four is to mail the DSP-5, the S.A. import document, and a letter explaining in detail why you want to export the rifle and who will receive the rifle and for what purpose to the State Department. You are actually requesting a one time exemption from regestering as an arms dealer inorder to export one rifle one time.

Step five is you wait for the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls U.S. Department of State to review your request and sent the DSP-5 form back with an approval stamp and number.

I received mine back yesterday approved. The entire process took me about three months.



ATF deals with buying and selling firearms in the United States not exporting firearms to forign countries.

US Customs deals with importing goods and services into the United States and collecting taxes on the goods and services.

US Department of State, Directorate of Defense Trade Controls deals with exporting guns, ammo, tanks, night vision, fighter jets etc. to a forign country. It does not matter if your gun is a military gun or a sporting firearm, it falls under their jurisdiction.[/QUOTE]