doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Shipping guns to Africa

I'm off to Africa in August (Rah, rah!). Bad news is that it would be higly advantageous if I could pass by England on the way. Advise Tony, drink warm beer, that sort of thing. Bringing rifles in is a bit of a no-no unless I really want to enjoy intrusive searches. Does anyone know if there's a reliable service that would ship my rifles there and back?
Thanks,
Leo

Leo,

You don't say where in Africa. I would suggest you check the Accurate Reloading site. This is right up their alley. I would borrow / rent a gun from my PH before I would ship them separately. At the very least, make sure the PH has a gun ready for you, in case.

Pete

Thanks, Pete,
Either J'berg or Lusaka. (I'll be hunting in the Northern Luwangwa in Zambia.)They always have guns for me in camp,but I do like to use my own. (I'm short and funnily built, so loaners don't usually fit me. By way of contrast, guns that fit me will usually scope my friends, whom you can identify by the half-circle scars over their right eyelids.

You can leave the guns in Customs at Heathrow, picking them up when you fly out. It is a small hassle on arrival and departure, but not onerous. I did this last perhaps two years ago, and don't know if the procedure might have changed. Your airline should be able to tell you.

Also Gracy Travel (www.gracytravel.com) is vey experienced in getting hunters to Africa and can probably help.

LGF, I really enjoyed the Potato Gun story. How was the next day's hunt for lion?

Best,
David

You can't even take shampoo to England these days, I doubt you can take your guns and leave them at the airport. The British dislike rifles in particular. Contact UK customs and ask is my only suggestion. BA may be able to tell you. Just get the answer in writing, otherwise you may be spending longer than you planned in the UK.

And you can't ship them unaccompanied without getting an export permit from the ATF and an import permit for the country you are going to. That's a major headache.

You may be able to fly to France, leave the guns with someone there, then do your UK visit without them. I think you can get guns into France with the proper papers.

If go the French route, just be aware of their restriction of military and ex-military calibers.

Pete

David -

glad you liked the potato gun story. Most of it was true, but we didn't really go after lions the next day.

As to bringing guns through UK Customs, I did it two years ago, long after 9-11, and the only problem I had was hostile and profoundly incompetent United Airlines employees at the San Francisco airport, who delayed the flight for an hour while they figured out that all the regulations I told them were true. They still screwed it up, acording to bemused Customs officers in London.