I will be taking 1 rifle my .338-06 to SA this Sept. I will be hunting plains game Kudu,Zebra,Gemsbok,Impala, Wart Hog probably Wildebeest and Red Hartebeest also...how many rounds of ammo should I bring? In this caliber it's not likely I will find any in SA. Figure I'll pack half in my luggage and half in my future wife's luggage so it's split in case one of our bags is lost. I'm filling out the 520 form and need to specify how many rounds of ammo

40 rounds? Worked for me in Namibia for a 2009 plains game hunt. Came home with lots of ammunition. GRF

You are allowed 60 rounds per firearm. That should be more than enough if you do your part. MTG

Two boxes (40 rounds) should be more than enough and hopefully you'll bring home a box and a half. A third box only weighs a couple of lbs and would provide a lot of peace of mind.

Two boxes is more than enough. I took that and came home with 30 rounds.

I agree 40 rounds should be plenty.

I guess I'll go with 60 rounds...30 rounds in each bag

I always bring 60 just in case I would have a scope malfunction and have to burn some sighting in.

Mike

You think like I do Mike

I took 40 also....it was plenty.....

40 is plenty, but I am worried about your choce of caliber for this BIG reason.... Do you have ammunition whose headstamp matches the barrel markings on your rifle? I thought the 338/06 was a handloading wildcat round only? Not a problem in Zim, (Just attatch a $20 spot to your paperwork and you could sneak in with a Barret semi auto Model 81 in 50BMG) but if you are hunting in RSA or Namibia you could easily bring 60 rounds and end up having ZERO when you leave the airport.

Rather than worry about how many rounds, and 40 is more than enough, I would advise you to not only make sure that the headstamp and rifle markings match, but that you had ammo for this rifle in SEVERAL DIFFERENT pieces of luggage. Contrary to some unknowing TSA turds, there is no law prohibiting ammo being in the rifle case, and African Regs as well as those in Europe mostly require that this be where the ammo is carried. Usually it is not that big of a deal, but for me it has saved many a hunt to have ammo in the rifle case, in my primary suitcase, in my second suitcase and if travelling with freinds some in thier suitcases as well and some of thiers in mine. This way, when one suitcase does not make a connection, you do not have all of your eggs (ammuition) in one basket (suitcase) and can hunt on.

What country and outfitter are you hunting with?

All Brass is head stamped .338-06 no problems

South Africa with Wintershoek/Johnny Vivier Safaris

we brought 40 rounds for each rifle. my son's scope got out of zero, and we bought some more Hornets in Thimbalezi, but ended up not using them.

Iffn ya'll switch to Burris Posi Lock scopes, they won't ever go out of zero again. I quit bringing back up scopes when I switced my big guns to all posi locks. Just sayin......

Four rounds per animal is the minimum I would recommend and that includes spares for re-sighting if required. Then round it up to the nearest box.

Some airlines may have their own regulations in regard to the carriage of ammunition. Make sure you check with your carrier. I know that sometimes with a SAA ticket you end up on a Qantas plane and vica versa.

Edit: Does your wife have a firearms license ? I would also check that it is permited for a non licensed person to carry ammunition. The .338-06 will be great for your PG hunt as it duplicates the great .318WR and .333 Jeffery ballistics. Proven performers on PG.

I'm with the guys who bring the legal limit, since my wife and I have had three scopes go bonkers in Africa. It's a lot easier to take more than enough ammo than not enough.

I'd also check out the airline regs before splitting the ammo into two pieces of luggage.

I took 60 rounds for my primary rifle and 40 for the backup rifle. Ya ammo needs to be in one hard case that is TSA lockable and in luggage that is also TSA locked.

Three, eh? Leopolds, by any chance? I quit using them on big game rifles myself excepting my 257WBY, but had three clients lose trophy animals shot at due to Leopold scopes going bad (erector Assemblies in each case) mid hunt after a fall. Leopold fixed them once they got home, but that did not bring back the missed opprotunities. Oops, I am getting the cart before the horse a bit, did not wait for an answer back RE what kinds of scopes went bad on you. I am very curious about it, though. Especially since your experiences in Africa far outwight mine, even if one counts the hunts I have been on vicariously through my business.

I don't want to start a pissing match but you can keep your Burris and I'll keep my Leupold and not lose a wink of sleep worrying about it failing

safariman,

I won't go into the brands because both Eileen and I are apparently bad-scope magnets. I constantly have to tell scope manufacturers that if they want to upgrade their quality control, they should just pick any scope at random and send it to me--especially if it's the first one they've ever sent.

The same thing happened to Eileen when she was the optics columnist for the two years the NRA published a women's magazine. She had six defective scopes.

I will say that only one of the three that went bonkers in Africa was a Leupold--and that turned out to be due to the rings being tightened too much. The owner of the custom rifle company that built Eileen's rifle turned out to be a "farmer tight" guy. On the hunt Eileen replaced the 2.5-8x with a 1.5-5x Leupold I'd brought along as a spare, and as she finished up the same guy told her to "now, really tighten those screws." She refused, and he tried to take the screwdriver away from her. She almost stabbed him with it.

When we got home, she sent the 2.5-8x to Leupold, and they couldn't find anything wrong with it. It's worked fine ever since on more than one rifle. It may be worth noting that the guy who tried to take her screwdriver away claimed that most Leupolds are "bad out of the box."

The other two scopes were a high-priced Euro-scope and a top-notch Japanese-made brand.

http://www.sportsafield.com/posts/craig-boddington?page=6

If you do a pre-clearance on your rifles chances of having the ammo checked is just shy of zip. They just go with making sure the serial numbers match.

I have never seen anyone of those people at the SAPS office check 60 rounds to make sure all the head stamps correspond. Make sure theones on the corners and the sides are the real deal.

Some airlines only allow ammo in a locked case. Confirm with who you will be flying with what they want, and you will have a connecting flight also.

When we went to Tanzania we booked with North West, when we got to the airport we found out we were going to be flying Lufthansa all the way.Originally it was Noth West to Amsterdam then Lufthansa to Dar Es Salaam. NW regs at the time were ammo packed in with the rifle,a no no with Lufthansa. If we had assumed the NW regs we would have had a real problem in Amsterdam. Our gun cases would have been prevented from going on and they don't give the hunter access to the gun cases in Holland. If you are transfering to another airline in another country be sure you know their regs too.

Got to agree with the boys that said 60 rds. Ya never know when a scope may go south. Helluva lot easier to bring it home, then not have it, when ya need it.


maddog

I took 40rds of 30-06 for my trip.
Had a box and a half left over. Left it with the PH.

Carry as much as you can. You may need it and there will not be a gunshop behind every bush over there. If you do manage to find ammo in your caliber, it will be VERY expensive, and won't shoot as well in your rifle as your own ammo.

Get your rifles pre cleared. Air 2000 has done it for me on each of 3 trips to RSA. I made the mistake of putting my ammo in the guncase with the rifle on my first trip, and it created a hell of a dust up with the SAPS people when I arrived. Had it not been for Air 2000 I could have easily had my rifle and ammo comfiscated and done jail time.

Bottom line is regulations vary from country to country, sometimes day to day, and you need to be up to speed on the requirements in your particular location AT THE TIME YOU WILL BE THERE.

DO NOT pack your ammo in your guncase if you are going to RSA. BTDT, and it was not a pleasant experience. Just sayin...

Bingo. You are allowed 11.2lb and that's what you should take. Why not? it's like in the flying business, ammo left home is like runway behind you or altitude above you. Either one is not much help

Yep good point!

That includes the separate case with TSA locks. Buy the hard case, foam, and 60 rounds for each rifle. Put all on a scale and see what it weighs. If over limit, taks out a box of ammo from the spare rifle. Use the foam to keep ammo from moving around in the lockable case. This is not difficult!

TBREW401,

As a good friend of mine often points out, examples of one don't prove a thing.

I keep hearing conflicting reports
I thought it was a lockable ammo box but didn't see anything about having to be TSA locks on the box
I have these that I'm planning on using Tecnoframe ammo box

Mule dear-- wasn't tryig to prove anything.
That's what I did, others can do as they please
40 rds was plenty for me.

This is directly from SAA regulations
It says ammunition weight is 5kg... says nothing about box holding it just the ammo must weight no more than 5kg

Check your TSA regs as it goes through TSA screening first. If you want flimsy locks OK, TSA will break them if they need to inspect case contents. With TSA locks they can easily unlock, inspect the contents and relock. In any case do what you want, but show up with extra key locks and extra TSA locks, you will need them.

Checked baggage must have TSA locks or TSA will cut/break any other lock off. This also includes any container that is inside your baggage -- TSA locks only.

Your firearms need to be in a hard case that is lockable and locked. DO NOT use TSA locks on guncases.


Also be aware that your ammunition must be the original boxes (which can be the plastic boxes like MTM makes). Ammo cannot be loose in a bag or in belt carriers.

Spot on advice. jorge

Ya, lot of info here based upon firsthand experience. How well is it being received, don't know.

I If you are refering to me I take in all that I read ...including actual TSA Regulations as well as specific airline rules

TSA Regulations for ammo

My son and I each used a foam lined, hard plastic, handgun case. We pulled part of the foam out, and packed 3 boxes of ammo, in each case[inside the original ammo boxes]. We locked each case with a TSA lock, then placed that case in our checked baggage. The checked bag also had a TSA lock. On our firearm case we used a NON-TSA lock. Since we were both using the same caliber rifle[375 H&H], we weren't too concerned about mixing the ammo. We flew out of Indianapolis, on our way to Atlanta/Joberg. We had zero problems with TSA/Customs/SAPS, going or returning home. YMMV.


maddog

Last Oct, I flew SAA to JNB and had a follow-on flight to Richards Bay on SAA Express. I packed my ammo in a hard plastic lockable box with a TSA lock and packed it in my TSA locked checked bag. I also printed a copy of SAA's baggage/ammo policy posted on-line as well as SAA Express's posted policy.

Cleared SAPS in JNB with no issues. I had completed my 520 before I flew and had certified copies of my Passport and 4457's. Five minutes and I was done. The fun began when I tried to check in with SAA Express.

Per the published instructions, I declared my cased firearms to the agent, I declared the one checked bag had ammo it in a locked case. The agent said she couldn't accept the ammo or firearms and that both the checked bag and the rifle case had to be checked in with the "Domestic SAPS" office. I pulled the copies of the SAA Express web pages out and showed her that per those instructions they could. She called her supervisor over and she said the web pages where wrong and they had to go through Domestic SAPS - it is on the opposite side of the main check-in hall. No problem drug my stuff to them.

Domestic SAPS said they couldn't take either one without the "checked bag tag" and that I had to go back to the check-in desk and check them. They did send a SAPS Officer with me to make sure SAA Express got it right. No problem, pulled the locked ammo box out of the checked bag and the SAPS Officer carried it and my rifle case back to the SAA Express desk.

Got to the same agent and the SAPS Officer explained to her to print the baggage tags. This time she said that since I was now checking a "third" bag (rifle case, checked bag and now the ammo case) I would have to pay the extra bag fee. OK, I pull my CC out and she says she can't take it. I have to now drag all my crap over to the SAA Express ticket counter to pay the extra bag fee.

I get over there and I show the agent the SAA and SAA Express pages and that I just transiting and that neither the SAA or SAA Express published policies say anything about ammo traveling separately and ask to talk to her supervisor. She says she doesn't have one and I can either pay the fee or leave the ammo behind. I decide it is not going to be that much because the SAA Express web site says it should have been just a few ND per kilo. Instead she hits me with FULL extra bag fee that converted to $90USD.

I decided to just go ahead and pay it and put it on my CC and figure I'll contest the charge through them when I get home. Pay the few, get the receipt and drag all my crap back the SAA Express que, get the bag tags, leave the checked bag there and the SAA Officer and I drag the gun case and ammo back to their office, check the stuff in with them. Surprisingly, everything arrived in Richards Bay just fine.

Next surprise was on the way back. Checked in with Richards Bay and was told that I had to pay a $100ND inspection fee for the rifle. I asked why and they said they were under a separate contract with SAA Express. I said I wanted a receipt with the agents name on it - thought that would call their "bluff" if they where shaking me down but, I got the receipt with the agents name on it (and it matched the name on his photo security badge ID). I didn't bring any loaded ammo back, just shot it all up there and brought back the empties in the same lock box in my checked bag.

To wrap it up - once I got home I did contest the SAA Express charge and provided copies of the SAA Express web pages and they did reverse the charge.

Forgot to add that this was my fourth fourth trip via JNB and first time I had any...issues. I will add that the SAPS personnel in JNB were friendly and helpful and didn't...have their "hands out". The issues where making the transfer from SAA to SAA Express.

Travels in Africa with guns
What the experience!
No two trips ever the same.
It's good to know the rules even better to know when to open your mouth and when to keep quite. Smile allot and stay calm. Sometimes it is better to play dumb which cone natural for me

That's why I'll never hunt in RSA and if I have to go through there, I enlist the Services or either Air 2000 or Optima to take care of this crap for me. jorge

Air 2000 knows their stuff and are worth the price. They know the prople and how to deal with them in their language.

My beef with SA is the people at the airline counter. A person that earns a there job typically is a better employee than those given a job.
I have had better luck taking a charter out of Joberg and not dealing with the extra hassle with the comercial airline. I was in and back on another plane quickly

I'll be using African Sky for firearm clearance(pre approval, I already have the SAP 520 form filled out as well as the 4457 form) and meet and greet service

40 is probably plenty, but the weight limit will probably allow you 60, so that is what I would take, they can always come home with you.