Separated From Ammo

[trperk1]

For international flights it must be separate from your gun case. You can do it inside the US though if airline has no policy against it.

I know. This happened in the US, should have mentioned that. My point was making sure you had a copy of the regs with you. For example I had a gate agent try to convince me that my ammo had to be in my gun case on a trip to RSA a few years ago. She did not know the differences between US and International policies. Or just this year a gate agent tried to tell me that I couldn't bring my rifle to Argentina, even though I had a permit. Once again I was saved by having copies of the regs.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

For international flights it must be separate from your gun case. You can do it inside the US though if airline has no policy against it.

Right. Don't try it in Canada. If changing airlines and rechecking baggage, they won't let ammo on the plane if inside a gun case. You may get into the country that way but won't get back home without ammo in a separate hard sided case (which can be stuffed in checked bag after inspected at check-in). Also, if flight gets canceled transiting through Canada requiring overnight stay, the guns and ammo have to be rechecked before boarding the next day (been there done that!). If no separate hard sided case for ammo, it won't be flying. Before my first safari I bought a decent lockable ammo box from Harbor Freight for five bucks. So far it's held up fine going on five safaris. I always duct tape the latches on both ammo case and Pelican gun case after inspection. Don't trust their latches. Then the duct tape roll gets tucked in checked bag. Some security agents at some airports won't let it ride in carryon. Lethal weapon in some countries I guess.

Another tip: INVEST IN AIRTAGS FOR ALL LUGGAGE, ESPECIALLY RIFLE AND AMMO CASES. I actually have an extra one in my carryon. I'm Android so can't see the AirTags but my daughter at home has Apple products so she can watch them and text me images of progress. With one in carryon she knows where I am respective of luggage, i.e. I'm on the plane but luggage is not. Very handy.

 

[Sika98k]

If you have an unusual caliber or a special cartridge, try to ship it to your PH ahead of your hunt. Correspond with him to see of he got it. It would be a small price to pay if you need to shoot your own ammo.

The logistics of shipping ammunition ahead of your trip are financially a nightmare. If flying into Johannesburg, Cape Town or Windhoek there are plenty of good shops to purchase factory ammunition in most calibers for hunting. Just Google online and reserve/pay for some ammunition to collect on arrival. Takes a lot of the worry out of the trip.

 

[Jack Stevens]

The logistics of shipping ammunition ahead of your trip are financially a nightmare.

Yeah, the hunter shipping his ammo in advance internationally to the PH seems to be illegal.

If flying into Johannesburg, Cape Town or Windhoek there are plenty of good shops to purchase factory ammunition in most calibers for hunting. Just Google online and reserve/pay for some ammunition to collect on arrival. Takes a lot of the worry out of the trip.

Not really. …. If you’re taking along a rifle in a less-common caliber - one that you’ve hunted with for years, and especially with handloads that the rifle is zeroed for - forget about finding OTS ammo in Jo-berg.

 

[Hogpatrol]

You'll be safe if you take a 6.5 Creedmoor.

 

[Safari Dave]

Not yet, but I came VERY close when flying Airlink from JNB to TET.


No one told me that I needed to take my ammo out of my checked baggage to become an additional piece of luggage.

Someone (I have no idea who), just cut the TSA lock on my primary bag and took the metal ammo box out and made it an additional piece of checked baggage..

(An Airlink employee probably deserves credit)


I got extremely lucky.



When I got to Tete, my PH told me that he didn't know where to buy ammo in Mozambique.


(I was carrying .470 NE and .416 Rigby ammo).


When I got to camp, there was some .375 H&H ammo and a few rounds of .458 Lott.


I guess I would have been forced to use my PH's .458 Lott, if my ammo didn't make it.





Our game scout had an AK-47. But, I don't think he would have let me use it on a buffalo...

 

[NIGHTHAWK]

I’m superstitious, so I take little comfort in saying that I’ve never lost my ammo. That said, I usually hunt with a .375H&H and a .243 and I know my Outfitter and PH has both…

This October 2026 trip, I’ll bring my 450 Dakota and my 375H&H. 300 Grain TSX and 270 TSX for my .375H&H for PG. Maybe 10 Solids for Tiny 10. If it all works out I’ll be using my 450 for Ele and Buff…

 

[BTP-KennethWRoyce]

This October 2026 trip, I’ll bring my 450 Dakota and my 375H&H. 300 Grain TSX and 270 TSX for my .375H&H for PG. Maybe 10 Solids for Tiny 10. If it all works out I’ll be using my 450 for Ele and Buff…

.450 Dakota, nice to see a fellow owner here! Come visit me at:

Thread '.450 Dakota (500gr/2350fps) and the Dakota 76 African rifle'

Tuesday at 1:46 PM

I'd owned a ZKK 602 in .375 H&H, and a Win Model 70 in .416 RM (which I took on my first African safari).

The .416 RM (400gr/2400fps) is a fine medium, but I really wanted a .458 for its extra edge. Buffalo seems to stay down more reliably with that larger caliber.

When I was planning my second Cape Buffalo hunt, I wanted a 500gr .458 which was shouldered/nonbelted/noncompressed, and easily capable of 2300-2450fps. It did not have to be in a standard length action. I don't care for Weatherby calibers/rifles, and the .458 WM hadn't the MV I wanted. The .458 Lott has...

• BTP-KennethWRoyce

• 

Why a .375H&H on PG? A .308 or .30-06 would be fine for them.

 

[Razorback]

Redundancy. If something happens to his 450 Dakota, the 375 is there for backup and still legal and capable for dangerous game. I haven’t carried anything smaller than 375 HH to Africa in years.

 

[BTP-KennethWRoyce]

By "If something happens to his 450 Dakota" you mean mechanical failure? Seems a bit much; I'd just carry a spare bolt for the Dakota. The factory could headspace one if they had the rifle. (I had that done with my .308 Savage Scout long ago.) Or, at the minimum, carry some spare parts (firing pin, extractor, broken shell extractor, etc.).

 

[BigGame]

Happened to me twice in over a decade. Both times in Johannesburg. One bag made the connection and the other didn't. And YES my ammunition was in the seperate bag. I used the PHs 300 win mag for first three days. I'm just glad my bag was still intact. It seemed that my PH was more upset about the whole ordeal than I was.... I still had a blast making due with what had.

 

[Razorback]

By "If something happens to his 450 Dakota" you mean mechanical failure? Seems a bit much; I'd just carry a spare bolt for the Dakota. The factory could headspace one if they had the rifle. (I had that done with my .308 Savage Scout long ago.) Or, at the minimum, carry some spare parts (firing pin, extractor, broken shell extractor, etc.).

The list of unforeseen events that could happen to your rifle on a hunt would be too numerous to list. For instance a cracked or busted stock on a heavy recoiling rifle is not that uncommon. A dangerous game hunt is the last place I would want to field repair a mechanical issue and then start using the now untested rifle.
In the context of a thread about losing your ammo during Travel, I doubt you you’re gonna find 450 Dakota ammo in Africa and having that 375 H&H could save your entire hunt.
Why in the world would you trade a completely redundant system for a 30-06? For a tad less recoil? Sure the 30-06 is perfectly adequate for a plains game only hunt but certainly a step in the wrong direction when you’re after elephant and buffalo.

 

[NIGHTHAWK]

By "If something happens to his 450 Dakota" you mean mechanical failure? Seems a bit much; I'd just carry a spare bolt for the Dakota. The factory could headspace one if they had the rifle. (I had that done with my .308 Savage Scout long ago.) Or, at the minimum, carry some spare parts (firing pin, extractor, broken shell extractor, etc.).

Thread is about being separated from your ammo… hence redundancy… plus I can shoot planes game with my 375 H&H. Which I’ve done many times.

 

[Flipper Dude]

Wanna turn your 375 H&H into a pussycat to shoot?

Shoot 30-40 rounds through your 458 Lott. That’ll do the trick.

 

[Ray B]

Wanna turn your 375 H&H into a pussycat to shoot?

Shoot 30-40 rounds through your 458 Lott. That’ll do the trick.

That's why when I go to the range and take five or six rifles, I shoot the biggest first and work my way down to the smallest. After the 470 everything else seems easy.

 

[wingshot74]

I got hosed back in April when my bag with ammo remained in joburg while I went on to Maun. The police held it not because of the ammo but a power bank that was packed within. They ultimately confiscated the power bank. My bag with ammo and most of my clothes and gear arrived at camp three days later. Fortunately there were ample good quality 375 HH rounds to borrow from my PH to later be swapped out for mine.

 

[sniper7]

Once, had guns and checked bag/ammo stuck in Joberg, hunted with camp rifle in flip flops, borrowed 2 size too small jacket and whatever pants I travelled with.
Changed the way I pack my roller bag after that one!

 

[BTP-KennethWRoyce]

There are two different risks involved in using your own rifle in Africa:

1) Risk of rifle loss/damage by the airline (scope damage happened to me courtesy of British Airways)
2) Risk of rifle having some mechanical issue/breakage in the field (i.e., the airline didn't lose rifle/ammo)

My reply focused on #2. I get that the .375H&H can be used on PG as one's light rifle, yet double for DG if something broke on his .450 Dakota (which is rather improbable). It's a form of "insurance", though at the cost of carrying a 10 lb rifle which is overkill for everything under zebra/eland vs an 7-8 lb .30-06 appropriate for PG. I understand the choice, though it seems to me a bit "belt and suspenders".

Not necessarily a rhetorical question: What will back up your .375H&H if it breaks? Should you take a third DG rifle, such as a spare .375?

I guess it comes down to every hunter assessing the odds of specific troubles, and the cost of negating such. I'm comfortable taking one quality DG rifle, and a .30-06 for PG. (Before I book for DG, I do inquire if the PH has a spare DG rifle in case of emergencies.) If, for example, a quality DG rifle will survive/perform in 99% of hunts, then carrying only one risks 1% odds of hunt failure (assuming a loaner DG rifle is unavailable). Carrying a backup DG .375 reduces the odds of hunt failure from 1% to 0.01%.

Yes, my Dakota could be run over by the Land Rover, breaking the stock, or some such disaster. That is a 1% chance I knowingly take, just as Nighthawk's 0.01% chance if doesn't take a second .375 to back up the first one. Risk management is a personal thing, and there's a danger of recursiveness (e.g., a 4th rifle in case the 3rd one breaks, etc.). One must call it somewhere.

I wish Nighthawk a great hunt in October, and look forward to reading about it!

 

[Razorback]

To each his own I guess.

1 in a 100 chance something goes wrong with your DG rifle, then having two redundant system takes those odds to 1 in 10,000. I like those odds. So no need to worry about the dangers of recursiveness. One spare of anything mission critical and I’ll take my chances after that. So your “somewhere” is 2 for me.

2 lb extra rifle weight on short PG stalks in Africa is the cheapest insurance I could imagine. Sign me up. If I were packing into the Rocky Mountains carrying everything on my back, it would certainly change my calculations and rifle weight would be a consideration.

While hunting dangerous game, you are by definition in dangerous game country. No telling what you may encounter in the bush even while you might be stalking a duiker. I prefer to have a DG capable rifle with solids available at all times. As the saying goes
“Once you’ve been amongst them, there is no such thing as too much gun.”

 

[Hedge774]

So far, only one lost, then recovered bag on the way home from RSA. If hunting with another, we split the ammo. He has half of mine and I have half of his.

Does this fly with the airport customs agents? I'm guessing it would. If you were both carrying the same caliber rifles?