Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Suppressors in Africa

I read where using suppressors is highly recommended. 5/8-24 a common thread pattern? If a guy went with a threaded rifle 5/8-24, would suppressors be available? Or would the hunter need to their own suppressor?

Bugger:

Yes, local use of suspensors is very common, Anyone (local or foreign) can walk into a gun shop and walk out with a can and very inexpensively (sub $250 US or so). The best thing to do is to provide your PH/Outfitter where you are going to hunt with your caliber and threading requirements so he can organize/sort one out before you arrive. He may also have a friend with one who'd be willing to loan/rent one for the duration of your hunt. DO NOT try to bring it back with you. We're talking FELONEY if caught. Just leave it there as part of the "tip" for him. Even it he doesn't have a rifle it will fit on, he can trade it for something he needs. Lots of trading of "tip" scopes, knives, binos and whatnots between them.

THEORETICALLY, as in I have not personally done it, if you have your US ATF form and you declare it along with your rifle when you return thru US Customs, you should be able to take your own. Big word of CAUTION is, you could get jammed up with US Customs coming back as they may not have any idea what to do. Maybe someone who's actually done so RECENTLY, can provide better info. My personal advice would be to just pre-coordinate one there and leave it.

Edited to Add: If you do have your PH/Outfitter organize a can for you, be sure to take some extra ammo (most countries allow 100 rds per rifle) as putting the can on WILL change your POI a bit so you'll need to spend a little extra time/ammo re-zeroing and plan to leave it on the entire trip.

I would appreciate any responses from those who have brought their own cans over and didn't have any issues on the return. I theory it should be straight forward, but some customs guys are real ignorant pricks.


Bugger - Just an FYI, most cans in Africa are probably 2x the size and weight as our more common cans over here and I believe the threads are typically different than ours. Maybe ask, if they know and get the appropriate adapter.

Thanks guys!
My cousin is trying to get a group of friends together to shoot Cape - #1 item on my bucket list. Two of the guys are doctors/surgeons so I feel a little better about going. I know I’d pay the price ahead of time for emergency health care/helicopter rides etc. I’d be the oldest in the group (and the least affluent.)
I have a 375H&H AI that’s threaded for a muzzle break. Its threads are different than I need for my suppressor. There’s adaptors available to convert one thread pattern/diameter to another and I have such an adaptor so I can screw on my suppressor. I do not like the muzzle break and I am very pleased with the suppressor. Possibly I could buy such an adaptor for the thread pattern I’d need. The adaptors are inexpensive.
I worry about dealing with authorities and their lack of knowledge with a their great appreciation of being the authority - too many experiences that reinforce that concern.
My cousin thinks I should buy a 416. I’m thinking a well put together heavy bullet in 375 would work. The Rigby I had gave me recoil head aches. (I was loading to near 416 Weatherby energy levels). If I did buy another 416, which I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t, it would likely be a 416 Remington, though I’d prefer a Taylor except for non available factory ammo if needed.

A .375 will kill buffalo just fine as long as you use a good bullet and it goes in the right place. On my last trip to a Africa my son and I both had one shot kills on good sized bulls using a .375 H&H and the 270 grain TTSX. If you want a .416 that's great but it's not needed.

I have a suppressor that I occasionally use in RSA and Namibia. It was manufactured in RSA. The company name is Mamba. I am not very familiar with US manufactured suppressors but mine is very compact. About half extends beyond the muzzle and the remainder extends back from the muzzle. It works very well.

I ordered mine with English threads not metric. No problem. I paid around $250 but with the current exchange rates the cost is less.

I would be hesitant to haul a suppressor from the US to any country.

I have taken mine twice with no issues coming or going. the African suppressors are a metric thread

Where was your port of entry coming back?

Suppressors manufactured in RSA can be ordered with metric or English threads.

first trip Newark, second Atlanta no issues but prefer Atlanta

Thanks for the follow up - I've been through Newark 2x and Atlanta once and much preferred Atlanta. As with anything else these days, all depends on the person behind the desk and in my instance in Atlanta I met a world class prick in the rifles customs booth.

Regarding this and others with more experience than I can chime in, but from my experience and conversations. They'd much rather you have a suppressor, but 8 out of 10 people have brakes and the PH's don't much care for them. My trips, I've just taken normal un-braked rifles and they were happy to not have to deal with the extra noise from the obnoxious brakes.

Sounds like many people bring some obnoxious overbore caliber braked rifles that they really can't shoot worth a chit.

I re-read my post about suppressors and I wasn’t very clear.
My African manufactured suppressor lives in RSA. I use it while hunting there and, when done, leave it with my friends.

Two years ago I hunted buffalo and hippo in the Caprivi. I used a rifle I rented from the outfitter. The rifle was a 375 Christenson Arms. It had a suppressor. The suppressor worked ok but was very unwieldy to carry. It was about a foot long and heavy. It was very difficult to carry barrel up over your shoulder as it always wanted to swing around barrel down. With a barrel of 24 inches and a foot long suppressor added, imagine how far the muzzle was from imbedding itself into the dirt. This was my first experience with a suppressor and it will be my last. And yes, I got my hippo on land with a brain shot and a 44 inch buff. Other than dealing with the rented rifle the trip was absolutely fantastic.

that is the reason that my rifles only have 18 inch barrels and my suppressor is only 9 inches long makes it very well balanced

Mirrors my experience. Two outfitters, two PH's and three guides. They all had suppressors and were surprised I didn't on my 7mm RM. Told them about the hassle of purchasing & registering & establishing trust; despite RSA onerous gun laws, they were shocked how difficult it is for Americans to obtain what is trivial to them in a gun-restrictive country. Changed a few perspectives, which helped redefine their expectations from american hunters.

I like the idea of taking one with you. Not sure why it would be harder through customs than registering a long gun. Put both on the same form and have a copy of your Form 4 handy just in case.

Thanks for all the info!
I’m staying with my 375 H&H AI I think. My brass will be head stamped 375 H&H. The barrel is marked 375 H&H and in smaller letters “imp”. One of the problems with any wildcat with no brass having the same head stamp I guess. I could buy another rifle. I’m looking at another 375 H&H. But I really like my 375 I have now. It’s a pre-64 and everything fits me to a “T”.

Talked to a few people who recently hunted SA and were encouraged to buy suppressors to bring back to the US with them. Seems like too much of a risk.

With the added length of the suppressor, what would your limit be for the barrel-suppressor length.
Is a long barrel much of a hindrance for hunting cape?

Depends on the nature of the habitat where you will hunt. And the first shot might be under different circumstances than follow-ups if needed. I hunted with a 22” barrel. A bit longer might have been OK, but I wouldn’t have wanted a bunch more.

For plains game, using something reasonable like a 308, 7-08, creedmoor or 270 or 30-06, a 20” barrel with a 6” suppressor wouldn’t be too unruly.

Buy the can there and leave it there in case you come back. Leave it with the PH, and let him use it.

As I get older, I appreciate suppressors and good ear protection much more.