Going today to customs to do firearms forms for trip to Namibia. I'm taking two rifles, other two guys are each taking one gun and intend to carry them in one case. Is that a problem? Should one guy list both guns as his or each fill out a form and have both forms present with case at check in? Thanks for any info.

CKR

I don't see a problem as long as both of them have a custom form. Problem will be if the rifles are the same Cal.

I don't think it would be a problem with two rifles in one case. I list all my rifles on separate custom forms. Last month on a trip to South Africa I took two rifles. When arriving into Jo'berg I just gave them the custom forms with the appropriate rifles. No problems or delays.

Is it customary or even OK to put binos, range finders, watches, cameras on the same form as your rifles?

I would put them on a seperate form.

muygrande,
I put my fifle with scope on one form and range finder, camera, cell phone, spare scope, etc., on a separate form. The custom agent told me that they are mostly concerned about the rifle. When I returned, no one looked at any items other than the rifle.

Fill out your Namibian firearm forms before you arrive there. It will save you a ton of time in Windhoek.

quote:

Originally posted by ckr:
Going today to customs to do firearms forms for trip to Namibia. I'm taking two rifles, other two guys are each taking one gun and intend to carry them in one case. Is that a problem? Should one guy list both guns as his or each fill out a form and have both forms present with case at check in? Thanks for any info.

CKR

This describes the identical situation of our party of three going to Namibia year before last. We only took one rifle each, but took a fourth rifle as a backup for any of the three of us who might have a problem with his gun.

We had the person who was going to check the rifle case in his name take both his rifle and the other hunter's rifle to the customs office to list them as his guns on the 4457. One was a .30-06 and the other was a .300 Win, so there was no problem with Namibia's restriction of one gun of a caliber per hunter. By doing it this way, the third hunter only had his one clothing bag to check on the way over, leaving room for him to check a second bag on the return holding the odds and ends we had purchased.

Customs has no problem with you declaring a gun on you 4457 which isn't actually yours -- after all, you could well be carrying a borrowed rifle to Africa. All they want with the 4457 is to assure that it came FROM the U.S. and was not purchased abroad, thus triggering import duties (as well as firearms import restrictions).

You might very well fill out two 4457's, one in the name of each hunter listing his personal gun, then carry both in one case. But the potential problem this causes is the confusion of two persons claiming the single gun case and filling out two forms for the Namibian Firearms permits. It is far simpler to just let one guy handle both guns as his own, then "lend" the second guy the second gun when they get to the hunting location.