Exporting a Rifle to Africa

[Franco]

Has anyone been successful, or know of a process to export a rifle from the USA to Zambia? The rifle will be a gift.

 

[Tokoloshe Safaris]

Each countries laws are different. I believe the USA requires a one time export permit. I believe Zambia will require a import permit and duty. I assume you are doing a hunt and the rifle is for the PH.

I am sure there are those on the forum who are more familiar with Zambian laws and others on the USA side who are familiar with USA law.

Lon

 

[Franco]

Thanks Lon,

Yes, the rifle is for the PH on my last hunt. I was hoping to send it to him as I am not planning to go back until 2025.

 

[Tokoloshe Safaris]

Again I am not positive, but it most probably will start with him having to procure a import permit.

One problem after he produces the import permit it will be time sensitive and may expire before your export permit is issued.
Then the fun starts.

Good luck

 

[Tokoloshe Safaris]

One last thought.

The generosity of American hunters, can only be exceeded by the needs of African PHs.

Lon

 

[Piet-Vis]

It is not difficult to import a firearm into Zambia. The PH must contact one of the gunshop owners, and they will assist. It's a small community. You will need a invoice for the rifle as the tax man will need his due. The last time I spoke to one of the gunshop owners he told me it would cost about $1000, depending on the invoice. The owner of the firearm might have to fly with the gun. Can't remember, my memory is hazy. If you DM me I can share the contact number of a gunshop owner here with you, and you can find out the smaller details.
The old trick was to leave a rifle of a similar calibre as what the PH owned in camp after the hunt. The old rifles serial number would then then be transferred to the new rifle, and the old rifle would find a home at the bottom of a borehole.
However, the old days are gone, and I don't think anybody would be willing to take silly risks like that anymore.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

I did it twice for my PH but I'm in Canada and he's in RSA so not much help. I actually took the guns over for a friend who sold them to PH. I had to become the owner to do the paperwork. It was a hassle but doable.

 

[Tokoloshe Safaris]

I just looked up US customs requirements. It was easy to find and they give you the details on both temporary and permanent export along with phone number to call. A license exemption is required.

 

[spike.t]

As piet said a firearm can only be imported into zambia through a registered firearms dealer....they have a yearly allocation of each type of firearm they can import, so they would have to give up one of their allocation to bring yours in.....I am not sure if they would do it for someone they don't know....and not sure if you were planning on using it yourself while here....if so it wouod have to come in on a visitors permit which then would I presume not allow you to also have a full import permit ...if you brought it in using the full import permit I think it would then either have to be left with police at airport to be collected by the dealer or his customs agent as you wouldn't have a licence for it....and it's not something that happens fast on getting the permit issued here....dealer I use brought in some of my guns I had in storage in uk just before Christmas.....but I am a regular customer....but you can ask ...send me a pm as couple of things I can think of that could help....

 

[Franco]

As piet said a firearm can only be imported into zambia through a registered firearms dealer....they have a yearly allocation of each type of firearm they can import, so they would have to give up one of their allocation to bring yours in.....I am not sure if they would do it for someone they don't know....and not sure if you were planning on using it yourself while here....if so it wouod have to come in on a visitors permit which then would I presume not allow you to also have a full import permit ...if you brought it in using the full import permit I think it would then either have to be left with police at airport to be collected by the dealer or his customs agent as you wouldn't have a licence for it....and it's not something that happens fast on getting the permit issued here....dealer I use brought in some of my guns I had in storage in uk just before Christmas.....but I am a regular customer....but you can ask ...send me a pm as couple of things I can think of that could help....

Thanks,

No - not planning on using it myself. It's a gift to the PH on my last safari. He is working with a gun dealer he uses in Lusaka. He did explain the whole quota thing. The issue is not with the dealer - it's the shipper on my end. I won't be going back for at least a year and I know the PH would like to get the rifle.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Thanks,

No - not planning on using it myself. It's a gift to the PH on my last safari. He is working with a gun dealer he uses in Lusaka. He did explain the whole quota thing. The issue is not with the dealer - it's the shipper on my end. I won't be going back for at least a year and I know the PH would like to get the rifle.

Any chance your PH could tag along when outfitter hits the shows in US this month? Then maybe he could take it back personally for the gun dealer to process. Can you gift it to him here without background check? It is pretty much impossible to do background checks for non-residents. Ask me how I know! I'm still a US citizen but cannot buy a gun from a Montana retailer because I'm a Canadian resident. They say there's no way to check my Canadian background for criminal record. I have a valid Canadian firearms possession and acquisition license which requires a clean record but that's not good enough. Sigh!

 

[Franco]

We talked about that, he's not able to make it over. I think I have the issue resolved.
The problem was not with the US Exporter, it was the FFL I was trying to use to process the rifle from me to the shipper.
I contacted a different FFL a few minutes ago and he said he could handle it - no problem.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

We talked about that, he's not able to make it over. I think I have the issue resolved.
The problem was not with the US Exporter, it was the FFL I was trying to use to process the rifle from me to the shipper.
I contacted a different FFL a few minutes ago and he said he could handle it - no problem.

Great! Keep us posted on how it works out. Valuable info for others in the future.

 

[Franco]

I will. I have a couple other rifles I'd like to find a home in Africa.

 

[Tokoloshe Safaris]

Any chance your PH could tag along when outfitter hits the shows in US this month? Then maybe he could take it back personally for the gun dealer to process. Can you gift it to him here without background check? It is pretty much impossible to do background checks for non-residents. Ask me how I know! I'm still a US citizen but cannot buy a gun from a Montana retailer because I'm a Canadian resident. They say there's no way to check my Canadian background for criminal record. I have a valid Canadian firearms possession and acquisition license which requires a clean record but that's not good enough. Sigh!

A very well known Zim PH was gifted a firearm in the US. He was detained by Customs. I do not know how long he was detained for, but it was long enough he had to retain an attorney. Missed his flight firearms confiscated. Then they went after the US citizen who gave him the firearm. I don’t know how that turned out, but you can believe all and all it became a very expensive experience.

Lon

 

[Ontario Hunter]

A very well known Zim PH was gifted a firearm in the US. He was detained by Customs. I do not know how long he was detained for, but it was long enough he had to retain an attorney. Missed his flight firearms confiscated. Then they went after the US citizen who gave him the firearm. I don’t know how that turned out, but you can believe all and all it became a very expensive experience.

Lon

Last I knew transactions between individuals in the US did not require background checks. Not sure if that's changed (I'm not a gun trader). There has been talk for a long time about stopping such "straw sales". Background check is the only thing that prevents me from purchasing a gun in the US. I am still a US citizen with constitutional right to bear arms blah blah, but because I'm a resident outside the US, licensed vendor cannot get a background check. But my brother can legally give me a gun without a background check. Or he could a few years ago. Ah, but I drove back across the border, I didn't fly home. If I flew back, I would probably require form 4457(?) and as I understand it, I have to be a resident for it to be approved (presumably a background check is required?). Several years ago just to make sure I was legit, I asked when crossing into the US to go bird hunting if I needed the form. Given my unusual status in both countries, the supervisor was unsure. She said I could go on through with the guns ok or wait till she called district HQ in Seattle for an answer. It was 3:00 a.m. and they just brewed a fresh pot of coffee so I stretched my legs and freshened up. Official answer was I didn't need anything from US side. However, I always travel with my Canadian possession license and paperwork proving guns originated in Canada (bill of sale or old long gun registry cards). But that's only to ensure I don't have to pay duty when I cross back into Canada. Any gun I acquire in the US (and I did acquire one from my brother five years ago), I declare when returning and pay customs duty (sales tax). Canada has no problem with me bringing a new gun into Canada as long as it's not a restricted weapon (AR or handgun) and I pay the tax man. They don't care if I didn't get a US background check. Why should they? As long as I have a valid Canadian possession license, they know I have a clean background in Canada. Good enough.

I wonder what exactly caused problems for the Zim PH. Did he not obtain export/import documents first? I would think if he had Zim import documents approved then US would be fine with exporting the gun. But maybe a licensed exporter is required (like is now required for exporting gun parts)? Was it a handgun? Handgun transactions can be, as I understand it, regulated differently in some local jurisdictions. Was the barrel too short? Full auto? Obviously the PH and American donor didn't do their homework first. I think it's probably doable. Just has to be done properly. Smuggling guns is a serious international offense these days. And it should be. Private individuals in foreign countries should not be providing arms for insurgents/terrorists/patriots. That should be done through diplomatic channels.

Recently, crossing with gun parts has become very messy, even for me. I can still cross back and forth with whole guns okay but importing/exporting parts, any parts, is almost impossible. Crazy. There is a workaround ... but I won't elaborate.