going on a plains game hunt next year to SA and wonder what is the story on their use and PH's have a problem with their use I know the length sucks but being hard of hearing now I love them thanks for your replies

The camp rifles we used in Botswana were suppressed.

A PH I hunted with in the Eastern Cape (Patrick Fletcher Hotfire Safaris) His primary plains game rifle was a suppressed .270
I’m sure not a single person will complain.

Cans/Suppressors are legal in RSA, Namibia and Botswana I know for sure and I'm pretty sure in other countries as well.

In those three you can just go into a gun shop/store and buy them over the counter and walk out. I actually have two .30 cal cans that I keep at my friend's place in Namibia. As I understand it, you can take your US licenced suppressor with you and bring it back to the US provided you made damn sure you've got your paperwork with you coming back in.

I do not think you can carry your suppressor out of the US. I talked to people at Homeland Security, FBI and ATF and no one would give me a definite YES on this. The problem isn't getting it OUT of the US, it is bringing it back INTO the US. This is defined as 'importing' and suppressors cant be imported. It all boils down to the person you have doing the "gun inspection" when you go through customs, get a 'hard ass' and you may get arrested, paper work or not!! Or you 'can" may get confiscated and you could be arrested, even with your paperwork!! , It was a crap shoot I didn't want to deal with so I hunted with out it. But, we were hunting the Kalahari area so it was open and muzzle blast wasn't a problem even with a .300 magnum and a .375 Ruger.

I'm not sure about the legalities of taking a suppressor to and from SA but when I was there all of the PHs rifles had suppressors on them. They viewed them as common courtesy and absolutely despised rifles with muzzle brakes

If your rifle is threaded, would it be legal to use the outfitter’s suppressor on your rifle? Assuming, of course, it’s threaded the same as your rifle.

The suppressors I saw in SA would not mate to our threads.

They were made specifically for the rifle and had various thread pitches depending on barrel diameter. Not to mention they were all metric

It seems like it would be easy enough to find out the make of the suppressor that your PH uses and order a standard thread pitch adapter for it.

Big deal. It's not like you're shooting hundreds of shots at targets or something. You might be shooting 10 or 20 shots at the most on a two-week safari.

I'd think if it was listed on a 4457 form, then you'd be good to go. Maybe a call to the Silencer Shop or TSA would confirm? I would suspect it's no different than the firearm itself, 4457 shows that your weapon was your property upon departing and is not being imported upon your return.

Just for educational purposes, how does the cost of a suppressor in SA or Namibia compare to the cost in the US?

My PH in Namibia, contacted a gunshop/gunsmith in Windhoek Namibia a couple of weeks before I arrived. Gave him the thread diameter, pitch and count. He cut the threads to specs. When we were collected up at the airport, we just stopped at the shop and he fitted them and used an aluminum rod down thru to make sure they cleared property.

Two .30 cal Sonic 45 cans out the door for $380 US total. No permits required - just straight over the counter purchase. t just leave them there with Jan and use them when we go there.

The Sonics have SS cores, fully disassemble for cleaning and the actually mount partially back over the end of the barrel so they don't protrude as far beyond the end of the muzzle. Therefore, the rifle can't have a front iron sight.

If you don't want to try and bring your own, you could just pre-order and buy one there and just leave it with your PH as part of the "tip". If he doesn't use it/need it, he can always sell it or trade to someone for something else. It won't just be tossed in the trash.

Good info.

$380 for 2 .30cal cans ! Can't come close to ONE .30cal can in the US for that.

From what I can see on their web site (https://www.davesheer.com/nielsen-sonic-mod-45-5-8-x-24-max-8-30/) it looks like 5/8-24 is available, not so for 1/2-28. But as M3taco mentioned, one could pre-order thru the gunshop and have the threads cut in advance.

WiFowler:

I guess I should have added that I purchased our two about 7-8 years ago. But, based on their list price of R3750.00, at today's exchange rate that is about $237.00 US.

Since they are already there, if Jan has clients that come with a matching threaded rifle and they just want to use them while there, I don't mind. Otherwise, they just sit on the self.

M3Taco: Was the gunsmith in Windhoek Edmund Gall? I met him back in 2013 and was impressed. He’s a major Leupold dealer in Namibia.

No. As I said, I got them "over the counter" at a gun shop. Ahrens Guns to be precise.

The smith was the owner Sven Ahren's.

Even @ $237, that a third to a quarter of what a similar suppressor might cost in the US.

On a somewhat different note, I'll be interested to see 1) if the new ATF eForms process does in fact significantly shorten the wait time, and 2) if over time, the price of suppressors in the US come down.

M3Taco: I’ve used Jan’s.308 Ruger 77 with a suppressor on it, and it reminds me of shooting a Match Air Rifle. It reduces the recoil so much, I could actually see the strike of the bullet when I shot a Warthog and Springbok with it.