Travelling with Rifles & Bows | John X Safaris

Links to Assist

Helpful resources and essential information to assist with travelling with your rifle.

Hiring a Rifle?

Those hunters traveling to South Africa without their personal rifle/s, wishing to hire a rifle from John X Safaris, can do so on a first come first serve basis.

IF you are hiring a rifle from John X Safaris then ignore the below information, BUT be sure to notify John X Safaris prior to your arrival on safari.

We offer a wide selection of rifles available for hire, all fitted with known and proven brands of telescopes. Most calibers have more than one rifle available to hire per caliber, with the traditional calibers ranging from 22, 222, 243, 270, 300 Win Mag. For the Long Range enthusiasts we offer 6.5 Creedmoor, 7 mm LRM, 7 mm PRC and 300 PRC by Gunwerks. For Dangerous Game we can offer 375 H&H, 416 Rigby and 416 Ruger. For the bird hunters we have Over & Under 12 Gauge Red Head CZ's or Beretta semi-auto's available.

Rifles can be hired @ $300 / Per Rifle / Per Safari and Shotguns @ $50 / Per Shotgun / Per Shoot. Ammunition will be charged at cost per round, while shotgun shells will be charged on the basis of an opened box is a used box.

Rules & Regulations

What to know before embarking on your safari

Rules & Regulations for the import/export/transit of Firearm/s to/from South Africa

You may temporarily import a maximum of four firearms per hunter, but not more than one of the same calibre.
ONLY Flysafair and SA Airlink allow the transportation of firearms domestically within South Africa. Ensure your domestic flight/s you are booked on indicate it is an Flysafair/SA Airlink flight AND NOT a SHARED CARRIER flight. The shared carrier will not honour or permit the carry of firearms. Even if your flight indicates it’s an Flysafair/SA Airlink flight, double check it is not a shared carrier flight. Please note there will be an extra baggage charge for both rifle case and ammunition case. Ammunition case to not exceed 5kg/11lbs.
Rifles and shotguns will not be accepted as Checked Baggage, unless approved no less than three (3) working days prior to departure through Airlink Reservations Control Tel +27 11 451 7350/ Your Travel Agent. Ensure your rifle is registered/listed/noted on your ticker at time of purchase. Rifles must be unloaded with the safety catch on, and suitably packed and accompanied by all documents legally required by the countries of departure, destination and any stopovers.
You may only bring ammunition applicable to the firearms that you will be carrying.
No person under the age of 21 may bring firearm/s into South Africa or apply for a temporary import permit in his / her name.
The barrel, frame or action is to be marked with the same serial number.
Semi-automatic shotguns for bird hunting or a custom-made handgun/s can be bought into South Africa for hunting purposes only.
No self-protection firearm/s allowed.
If in transit, permits are required by any passenger spending the night in South Africa while in transit to a third country. The same pre-requisites apply as to obtain the standard temporary import permit.

Rules & Regulations for traveling with ammunition for your firearm/s to/from South Africa

ALL ammunition you are travelling with, internationally arriving/departing in/out of South Africa and within South Africa / regionally within Southern Africa on SA Airlink/Flysafair must be in a separate locked hard metal/plastic ammunition case. (No tapped cardboard boxes allowed) Ammunition is no longer allowed to be checked within checked luggage arriving in South Africa.
Ammunition will never be carried in the cabin or flight deck of the aircraft. Ammunition must be packed separately and securely from the firearm case and not in the checked bag onto final destination (Port Elizabeth/Home).
Also note a maximum of 200 rounds of ammunition is allowed per firearm/per calibre. Most airlines have a weight limit on ammunition of 5KG/11 LBS, which is approximately 140 rounds of 243 / 120 rounds of 300 Win Mag / 100 rounds of 375. From past experience we would recommend no more than 80 rounds per calibre.

We strongly recommend using Air 2000 / Hunters Support to assist you with the firearm import/export process. By sending Air 2000 Hunters Support the required details, they will apply for the required import/export permit on your behalf, meet you at the airport and walk you through customs onto your connecting flight to your final destination.

For Air 2000 Hunters support services

When dealing with Air 2000 Hunters Support and acquiring their service/s, be sure to specify if you would like to be met upon international arrival only OR upon arrival and departure into/from South Africa.

Contact them at air2000@global.co.za or Southern African Business Hours # +27 (0) 11 659 26 49 .

Please note Air 2000 Hunters Support does charge a minimal fee for this service. Be sure to double check rates with them at the time of the service.

NB: No applications will be accepted by Air 2000 Hunters Support if the lead time is less than 4-6 weeks prior to your arrival in South Africa. If you have any queries or questions, please feel free to email Air 2000 Hunters Support directly on air2000@global.co.za as they will gladly assist.

IF you would prefer to handle the customs clearing process with rifle/s entirely on your own, then you will require the following documents.

John X Safaris Letter of Invitation – Complete two, the first to be presented to custom officials in Johannesburg, and the second as a spare.
SAPS 520.
Notarized copy of your passport.
Notarized copy of the US Customs form 4457 or Rifle License (Whichever is applicable to proof ownership).
Hard copy of your flight itinerary.

Traveling with Rifle/Bow