How easy is it to get .404J ammo in Africa?

Hornedfrogbbq · Sep 13, 2026

Andrew62 said:
Today's Hornady DGX are a legitimate bullet. Over the past few years when Swift and Northfork were basically unavailable, I used DGX ammo. I took 4 Cape buffalo, none of which went more than 40 yards. I also witnessed 2 other hunters use DGX with the same outcome. Would they be my first choice, no, but they are of good quality these days.

I shot my only buff with one in .375H&H flavor and the bull died 40 feet later...one shot.

Jack Stevens · Sep 13, 2026

Dirtdart said:
I know one guy in the industry that uses a .404 Jeffery. About three years ago I ask a mutual acquaintance of ours that was stateside at the time if he would bring over a 50 count box of Woodleigh bullets. A few months later I got word that box of bullets was very much appreciated as he had been unable to find anything in Namibia and his supply was down to single digits.

I’m glad to hear that. … As long as I’m not going to get jailed after landing in RSA for bringing 20 or 30 spare bullets packed in the same case as the loaded .404 ammo for my rifle, I’d be happy to gift them to my PH (assuming he’s got a .404 in need).

They’re 400grn Hornady solids (so “DGS” slugs) pulled from factory ammo because I wanted to load 400grn Swift A-Frames and was running low on .404 brass.

Hunter4752001 · Sep 13, 2026

A useful guide, as part of pre-trip planning, is to look at the websites of the major gun shops in the intended country and see what ammo they actually stock. For your calibre of choice, do they have good quantities or very limited stock or none at all. If just one or two boxes then you may get to the store just after someone else bought the last of it. And yes, baggage still goes astray.

375Fox · Sep 13, 2026

Hunter4752001 said:
A useful guide, as part of pre-trip planning, is to look at the websites of the major gun shops in the intended country and see what ammo they actually stock. For your calibre of choice, do they have good quantities or very limited stock or none at all. If just one or two boxes then you may get to the store just after someone else bought the last of it. And yes, baggage still goes astray.

Maybe there’s online gun shops in South Africa, but not the rest of the continent. You might be lucky to find certain ammo in the country let alone within driving distance. If your rifle arrives and ammo doesn’t, you’re most likely just using a rental rifle unless you have a 375 or 458.

Ontario Hunter · Sep 13, 2026

375Fox said:
Maybe there’s online gun shops in South Africa, but not the rest of the continent. You might be lucky to find certain ammo in the country let alone within driving distance. If your rifle arrives and ammo doesn’t, you’re most likely just using a rental rifle unless you have a 375 or 458.

Check out Habib's post immediately following your first one. Seems there are other ammo sources outside of RSA.

375Fox · Sep 13, 2026

Ontario Hunter said:
Check out Habib's post immediately following your first one. Seems there are other ammo sources outside of RSA.

You’d have to verify those gun shops with a phone call or a local. There are no websites and major gun shops outside South Africa and Namibia. The pool of licensed gun owners is too small. Some relatively common hunting countries like Cameroon, Uganda, Mozambique I doubt have a gun shop at all. Rifles and ammunition are individually imported in.

Dirtdart · Sep 14, 2026

Jack Stevens said:
I’m glad to hear that. … As long as I’m not going to get jailed after landing in RSA for bringing 20 or 30 spare bullets packed in the same case as the loaded .404 ammo for my rifle, I’d be happy to gift them to my PH (assuming he’s got a .404 in need).

I would assume that availability is better in RSA because of domestic manufacture. If the asinine amount of saps paperwork is any indicator I would be reluctant to try it.

Ontario Hunter · Sep 14, 2026

Dirtdart said:
I would assume that availability is better in RSA because of domestic manufacture. If the asinine amount of saps paperwork is any indicator I would be reluctant to try it.

If you're referring to the SAPS temporary import permit, I don't find it at all onerous. 90% of the form is non-applicable. What does need to be completed by hunters (who can read and write English) is pretty much straightforward: where coming from, where will you be staying, how long, caliber of guns, make and model, serial numbers, caliber and quantity of ammunition. If I recall correctly most hunting rifle scopes no longer need to be listed.

I expect purchasing ammo involves some paperwork, as it does here. One would typically be accompanied by PH when shopping for ammo in RSA and he would be familiar with the process.

Shaw · Sep 14, 2026

I know this is not a 404J but Safari Outdoors had over 200 bx Federal 375 H&H 3 yrs ago when we had serious shortage in the US and they has same amount in 308, 270, 7mm as well.

IA1865 · Sep 14, 2026

mms45 said:
I havnt seen any fresh boxes come into the states in some time, is it available outside of the US?

Unfortunately these links are to Norma which is a different entity than Norma USA. Norma USA doesn't seem to prioritize the medium+ bore segment, and isn't importing a lot of their wonderful continental loadings, which seems like a miss to me especially given the rising utilization of silencers stateside when they have great dedicated loadings for those across the pond. Some Norma brass is making its way over again which may be a good sign...not holding my breath however.

Rule 303 · Sep 14, 2026

Ontario Hunter said:
Hornady gasses up their 404 ammo VERY hot. I may need another box of their brass (which unfortunately they are no longer selling) so I'll probably buy a box of loaded ammo, pound out the bullets, and reload sensibly. I hear their bonded bullets aren't great either so just reserve them for range use. But their brass is very good (vs RWS which is genuine crap!). Anyway, if buying a box of Hornady 404 off the shelf in Africa, be prepared for the increased recoil and not likely to group the same as typical 404 loads (@ ~2200 fps).

I don't know about gassing their ammo up so much as using a non optimal powder. Their 416 Rigby ammo kicks the snot out of me but is 100-150 fps slower. I use AR2209 (H4350) in mine, I tried AR2213SC and was like using the Hornady rounds and no faster.

PCC600 · Sep 14, 2026

mms45 said:
I havnt seen any fresh boxes come into the states in some time, is it available outside of the US?

Yes it is . Not 404 but picked up some 505 and 500NE a month ago in OZ .

uplander01 · Sep 15, 2026

My ammo bag didn’t make it on one trip and I was traveling with a 500 Jeffery. Luckily safari outfitters in Pretoria had some as well as everything else I had to buy to continue on the trip…..so SA you’re probably good, everywhere else maybe not.

How easy is it to get .404J ammo in Africa?

Hornedfrogbbq

Jack Stevens

Hunter4752001

375Fox

Ontario Hunter

375Fox

Dirtdart

Ontario Hunter

Shaw

IA1865

Rule 303

PCC600

uplander01

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