For anyone who has brought a handgun into South Africa for hunting purposes, what are the extra administrative steps that one must take to get things off on the right foot? I have a scoped .44 mag I want to use on my next trip out there and, obviously, it would be wise to ensure everything is perfect before I set foot in the country.

Thanks for your help.

I would suggest you contact Anne Gaines-Burrell at Air 2000/Hunters Support (www.hunterssupport.com) or one of the other permit services...I'm sure all of them are good but only have experience with Air 2000, having used them 7 or 8 times with absolutely no problems.

Myself and a friend both took in handguns which were revolvers and T/C Encores. We used PHASA.ora to help set up the permits so we'd be ready when we arrived. Things worked out great. We were met after we got our luggage and went to the head of the line to get our guns checked. No problems in the least. It was the best $100 spent in unknown territory for our first RSA trip.

458.Aubs who posts here could tell you he has a vip customs service

Thanks a lot for the responses, guys, especially for the references. I'll do some more asking around and follow up on this so we can let everybody in on how to go about this.

My buddy and I both took Glock 9mm pistols in this year. It can be done. Its important to have the permits pre-approved in order to avoid any issues with rules interpretations at the SAPS office when you get your permits. If anyone is interested in how we did it you can PM me for details.

Rob, why the Glocks? Personal protection, I assume?

quote:

Originally posted by Luis L.:
For anyone who has brought a handgun into South Africa for hunting purposes, what are the extra administrative steps that one must take to get things off on the right foot? I have a scoped .44 mag I want to use on my next trip out there and, obviously, it would be wise to ensure everything is perfect before I set foot in the country.

Thanks for your help.

I hunt Africa with handguns exclusively and have passed through Jo'burg many times with both revolvers and single shot handguns -- and have never had a problem.

That said, I always use Anne Gaines-Burrill of Air-2000 to handle the SAPS requirements and always use her "meet and greet service", both coming and going, to ensure that I have no problems with the guns at the airport. The cost is insignificant -- especially when balanced against the potential hunting time lost if there was ever a problem -- and is cheap insurance.

I've met too many hunters in the SAPS area wrestling with problems that they could have avoided at minimal cost with Air-2000 or one of the other reputable services. I've always felt bad for the unfortunate hunters, but at that point, little can be done. Better just to never let it happen to you in the first place.

Thanks for the info, OldHandgunHunter. I absolutely plan on using a permit service - Afton house is who I used last time and will probably go that route again, but my business partner also uses Air-2000 so I know they are good, too. I'll have to give them a try one of these times, I'm just a creature of habit.

quote:

Originally posted by Luis L.:
Thanks for the info, OldHandgunHunter. I absolutely plan on using a permit service - Afton house is who I used last time and will probably go that route again, but my business partner also uses Air-2000 so I know they are good, too. I'll have to give them a try one of these times, I'm just a creature of habit.

More often than not, I use Anne's charter service both coming and going in Africa, so Air 2000 is a natural for me.

That said, I've heard good things about Afton House and wouldn't hesitate to use them if the occasion should arise. But, I've used Air 2000 numerous times and have never once had the slightest disappointment about anything.

DCS;

Thats correct.

Rob