Leaving ammunition as a tip

[Ed Lally]

Leaving for 4 weeks of hunting and touring in Zim and RSA next Wednesday. The outfitter in Zim has requested that I leave some of my unfired .458 Lott rounds in camp for the camp rifle. I have no problem with this, however, I understand that Zim counts the fired and unfired ammo when you leave the country and checks it against those imported and a fine or fee is assessed if there is a difference. True????

 

[LivingTheDream]

They count on the way out (unused ammo) but I they didn't check the number of empty brass I had.

 

[rookhawk]

@Ed Lally what happens in a third world country stays in a third world country.

But chit-chatting about it on AH is a bad plan. There are a pile of unemployed, cry-baby, nosy PHs and guides that haven't had work in 3 years monitoring this site with jealous eyes.

When they see your post and can deduce who you're bringing ammo for, they get jealous and will try to raise a stink about it. They are a bored and underemployed people right now (professional guides) and they get furious to think one of their fellow professionals is getting something and they are not. Hence, whatever you do in Zim, whatever you bring in Zim, be aware there is a whatsapp chat group of 200 people in Zim talking about it, perhaps contemplating letting harm befall another one of their own.

Zimbabwe is a corrupt country and all ammo is smuggled into the nation in some capacity. The ZPHGA leadership gets deeply offended when you question the integrity of their nation even though this is no deeply hidden secret. Heck, I've seen 416 Rigby for $60 a ROUND in Zim because that's what it costs to get it there the "slow road" to the retailer.

So on one hand, in the mind of Zimbabweans, everything must be "totally above board" and on the other "it is absolutely impossible to have a normal supply chain of goods enter that nation". I'll leave you to figure that oxymoron out.

At any rate, you bring in ammo, you shoot it there, some of your shot ammo results in brass getting lost in the bush, you travel home with some empty boxes of ammo as part of your safari. Customs upon departure understands that you don't always recover every spent cartridge.

 

[JimP]

Just ask the outfitter for some empty cases to make up for what you leave. If he reloads them just ask for damaged cases

 

[YancyW]

@Ed Lally what happens in a third world country stays in a third world country.

But chit-chatting about it on AH is a bad plan. There are a pile of unemployed, cry-baby, nosy PHs and guides that haven't had work in 3 years monitoring this site with jealous eyes.

When they see your post and can deduce who you're bringing ammo for, they get jealous and will try to raise a stink about it. They are a bored and underemployed people right now (professional guides) and they get furious to think one of their fellow professionals is getting something and they are not. Hence, whatever you do in Zim, whatever you bring in Zim, be aware there is a whatsapp chat group of 200 people in Zim talking about it, perhaps contemplating letting harm befall another one of their own.

Zimbabwe is a corrupt country and all ammo is smuggled into the nation in some capacity. The ZPHGA leadership gets deeply offended when you question the integrity of their nation even though this is no deeply hidden secret. Heck, I've seen 416 Rigby for $60 a ROUND in Zim because that's what it costs to get it there the "slow road" to the retailer.

So on one hand, in the mind of Zimbabweans, everything must be "totally above board" and on the other "it is absolutely impossible to have a normal supply chain of goods enter that nation". I'll leave you to figure that oxymoron out.

At any rate, you bring in ammo, you shoot it there, some of your shot ammo results in brass getting lost in the bush, you travel home with some empty boxes of ammo as part of your safari. Customs upon departure understands that you don't always recover every spent cartridge.

This. I shoot a lot when on a trip, nearly all I bring.

 

[Hank2211]

I don't reload so I don't take brass back home.

I have almost always had ammo left over after a hunt and I have never brought any back with me. It's always been much appreciated.

Countries sometimes ask me if I have ammo with me on the way out, but if you say "all fired" (which it was and will be!), I've never even had a second glance.

Having said that, I never treated it as part of a tip, but in addition to the regular tip (and saved me the aggravation of travelling with ammo both ways).

 

[Ed Lally]

Hi. Thanks for the opinions. I think I'll error on the "totally above board" side of this equation. Ed

 

[buck wild]

@rookhawk How can I get on this Whatsapp chat group ?

 

[rookhawk]

@rookhawk How can I get on this Whatsapp chat group ?

It's top-secret hush-hush kinda stuff. They don't allow women on it, nor non-PHs in Zim. For such a hush-hush group what is said on that forum consists of the world's worst-kept secrets.

 

[meigsbucks]

When I was in Zim in ‘13, I gave the PH a generous cash tip but also left him a soft gun case he admired, a hat he liked (mistake, as I’ve never found a hat like it) and a box of .375 for his “camp” rifle.
When going thru Customs when leaving Zim, the officer asked where all the ammo was. I told her I shot it up. She asked me on what? I told her I was having issues with my scope. She stamped the permit and off I went.