Hello All,

We are prepping for a hunt @Huntershill (Eastern Cape) in late May 2018.

I am planning to take 2 Contender's with me and would like to hear who y'all recommend for gun permits when taking handguns into South Africa.

This will be our first time hunting Africa and this is one of the few things that has me nervous due to the pistol complication.

Also, my wife and I would like to spend a few days in Cape Town after our 10 days of hunting but I've not been able to figure out an easy way to do this with our guns. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Adam

I have used Gracy Travel last 3 times to SA for meet and greet, gun clearance, flight booking. The police at the check in always try to get a bribe for something, but the Gracy employees at OR Tambo always put a stop to it.
I recently saw something about possible problems with handguns going from Joberg to East Cape. SA has a lot of stupid rules that differ from region to region.
I always started my gun clearance process in Dec. to stay ahead of problems.
If you go with Gracy, PM me for additional info about the "experience" you'll be getting in to.
Larry

Adam,

Take Larry's advise. Gracy will handle everything for you with minimal angst on your part. I used Mark Heck with Afrca4real www.africa4real.net for a Garden Route and Cape Town tour. You'll not find better.

Mark

My friends from the US have done it themselves when coming over here. Maybe they were fortunate but no bad experiences. YMMD....

I frequently fly with firearms both for sport and hunting. I don't follow Larry's comment that rules differ by region but I don't doubt he has a reason for this observation. Minimum DG calibres do as hunting is governed by provincial ordnance for example but your outfitter must guide you regarding what is legal. Also not all routes fly firearms or hamdguns but that is on the airlines' website under baggage policy. You need to fly SAA or related airlines; Airlink and Express within SA and check the routes. You should also call and pre book firearms although I have not always done so and have never had issues.

As a local I cannot reommend a service, although I frequently export my firearms for hunting elsewhere. You may choose to pay for assistance with guidance and advice.

I've used Air 2000 hunters Support about 15 times, I also have had them store my firearms after my hunt while we did touristy stuff. Not expensive, either.

Another vote for Air 2000.

Thanks for all of the info guys. I've reached out to Gracy and will check in with Air2000 as well.

I also had a great conversation with Larry the other night and discovered a connection with my dad going back 20+ years. He's partly responsible for my dad's Contender addiction that dad passed on to me at a young age.

Its amazing just how small the world is sometimes.