I did a search and didn't find anything. I will have my son contact his host to see if South Africa will let me bring my long rifle and can he get black powder. I was wondering if anyone here has tried this and what were your experiences. Thanks in advance.
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Taking a flintlock rifle to South Africa
- Thread starter büchsenmacher64
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I have been fighting the same battle. I Believe you can do it and I have a hunt booked for July 2025.
There is a black powder brand call Obatex that can be bought by your outfitter around Johannesburg.
From what I read it is hotter than goex and they recommend you back off on your load and work your way back up.
There is another brand that they sell on the western cap but I didn’t research because it is way south of where I am hunting.
My guy has already bought a can of FF and I will grind some of it up to use in my pan.
As far as getting the gun in the country, I hired an importer to meet me at customs. I expect I will have to also give the customs guy a $100.00 bill as I have had to bribe them about half the time to get them to give me my bow.
My suggestion is either to go with my outfitter who has powder or have whoever you are going with send you a picture of the can he has. If it is not someone you know, you could end up over there and they have a can of pyrodex
There is a black powder brand call Obatex that can be bought by your outfitter around Johannesburg.
From what I read it is hotter than goex and they recommend you back off on your load and work your way back up.
There is another brand that they sell on the western cap but I didn’t research because it is way south of where I am hunting.
My guy has already bought a can of FF and I will grind some of it up to use in my pan.
As far as getting the gun in the country, I hired an importer to meet me at customs. I expect I will have to also give the customs guy a $100.00 bill as I have had to bribe them about half the time to get them to give me my bow.
My suggestion is either to go with my outfitter who has powder or have whoever you are going with send you a picture of the can he has. If it is not someone you know, you could end up over there and they have a can of pyrodex
Thanks so much. I'll send this to the outfitter as he shops in Johannesburg at a big sporting goods store. Probably the same place as your guy. He uses a firearms handler as well. We're planning on May 2025. I'll keep you posted on what I learn. Thanks for the powder info and picture. That's huge!
I wonder if a person could load several boxes of say 45-70 cartridges with ffg and a couple of cartridges with ffffg and ship with the rifle to be sure he had correct powder? What we do for the sport we love?
From what I have heard it will work and has been done before
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I am definitely NOT expert, but I would not try to import ammo that does not fit the gun I am bringing. Doing so for the purpose of smuggling an explosive into another country gives me serious heebie jeebies.
yeah, I have heard of people doing this.
I have also read about their jails
You may want to read this thread.
https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/taking-a-flintlock-i-to-the-rsa.182834/
You may want to get a container of Obatex blackpowder and try it at home before your trip. I researched the stuff and was told it was ok with a percussion or musket cap igniting it, but was very difficult to ignite in a flintlock pan. Thought was the ignition temperature was too high. The other comment was that it was extremely corrosive.
Now, I have NOT tried the stuff and have no first hand knowledge about using it, just passing along what I was told.
I don't know if he will answer but look up Matt85 here on the forums. He is a good man and a friend of mine. We only seem to touch bases every few years but those seem to be the best friends. He has gone on African Safari a number of times. He probably can answer a lot of questions and might even be able to point you in the direction of a proper guide and all that. 
Any ammo you bring into South Africa must be accompanied by a rifle/handgun that uses that ammo. You can't even bring necked-down reloads (like a .25-06 made from .30-06 cases.) The headstamp must match the caliber marking on the gun.
ADK Bigfoot
ADK Bigfoot
My guide can get this, thank you! I'll probably have to have a serial number assigned to the rifle and engraved. Also a transfer done to me to prove ownership as it's homemade. My friend is a FFL and can do this. He's actually going with us. Did you run into this?
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Only gun I had in South Africa was ide took an E I Company flint lock then used a broken' jumper' drill for its barrel ,they have a hole to blow out the dust. I stocked in SA pine with jam tin mounts .the fuses ide unravel to get powder definately' pot belly' Cape Dutch style. Well I was working in Zululand hunted with it once .slugs made by boreing holes in tin over the then enlarged wood block .Never saw any animals . that was it .We mostly had no time didnt even get to Islwanda or near by Roarkes drift . often past by Ulundi though & worked on the White Umfalosi game reserve no hunting just railway building .1970.We where surrounded by Lions & Rhinos just not in camp .
Rudyard.s big game hunting .
Rudyard.s big game hunting .
Not worth the risk….. 20 years ago folks would empty out shot gun shells, fill them with powder and recrimp them. Once the first person was caught, they knew to look for it.
you might slide right through, you might get caught and spend 10 years in an african prison or something might ignite the powder and start a fire in the middle of the ocean
I won’t be trying it
I fellow on the africa hunting forum said he can get ZAR powder to my outfitter in Polokwane
Right, our host is certain he can get the powder. Thank you again.
Very cool
Has anyone actually tried the Obatex blackpowder in a flintlock pan?
Back in the first decade of 2000, I used to arrange trips to Africa for wingshooting. They would typically come into the Cape and spend a few days there and then travel up to Johannesburg. If they were $$ heavy, they'd take the Blue Train from Cape up to Joburg on an overnight run. It's a very posh, everything included, overnight trip. Johannesburg is not (was not) a safe place, especially in the financial district after about 5PM. So we would book our folks into a one or two night stay in Rosebank, which is a suburb of Joburg. It is/was patrolled by it's own security and has all the amenities for shopping, movies, etc. that you'd find in any modern suburb - basically a safe and pleasant area to stay overnight or for a few days.
Travel was by train to begin the wingshooting expedition. A steam engine took the Edwardian Coaches from Praetoria (adjacent city to Joburg) up into Botswana on the first part of the journey. Then it would switch to a modern diesel engine pulling the train. The train would arrive at its destination sometime that night and in the morning the hunting lodge would come to the train to transport everyone to their estate for the day. Typically hunted in the morning (driven hunts); had a very nice mid-day meal; hunted in the afternoon; and returned to the train for a formal dinner. That night the train would move to its next location. This went on for 5 to 7 days depending upon which package and dates they bought, and everyone was flown back to Preatoria from Botswana.
They often took extensions staying at some of the luxury camps along the Okavango Delta to view and take pictures of the wildlife, which are more abundant there than just about anywhere in Africa. Some went into Zambia afterwards to visit Victoria Falls from the Zambian side because Zimbabwe was a dangerous place to stay back then. Staying in Victoria was usually OK because it generated lots of tourist dollars, but Zambia was much safer. However if you are not hunting in Zambia, you can't get a permit to take your guns in with you. So we had to come up with an outfitter who would hold the guns while they were in Zambia and bring them to the clients at the airport in Botswana for their flight back to Joburg.
Having the proper gun permits is a big deal in South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. MOST IMPORTANTLY - before you leave the US, you need to take your firearm(s) with you to your closest Customs office to fill out and sign the form (sorry, forgotten the form number), which they will stamp, listing all your guns as your posessions so you don't have any trouble bringing them back into the US when you return. Back when I was doing this, the governments of South Africa and Botswana accepted that US Customs completed form as a gun license and you could not bring your guns into those countries without that. In South Africa everyone must have a gun license for each firearm they possess and they accept that completed and stamped customs form as a gun license from the USA.
So make sure your "importer" has done this before successfully or you may be in for a very rude awakening because they don't make any allowances or leave any lee-way in the enforcement of their gun importation and/or possession laws. Have your importer give you the step by step process so you can be confident your gun does not get confiscated for illegal import into the country. That customs form is key to getting everything to work.
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My what a Palava, good country gone to pack like all such do ,I just made one out of a jumper bit no guide stuff but that was 1970 .West Africa in 1965 didn't seem to have any bother with native made' Dane' guns & old US breach loaders like Harrington & Richardson & , Webleys ect being common. But that was not long after so called' independence' translating to" One Man One Vote One time only." Then Dictators for thier pathetic lives with few exceptions who pocketed the wealth made sure their relatives got top posts & his tribe got all the Favours & devil take the rest .
Rudyard's experienced view
Rudyard's experienced view
SA gun laws are strict and business depends on who you know and "grease". definitely use a local SA gun broker, you want everything to match, no creative stuff, I eventually decided to take my sharps , front sight was damaged on local SA inspection, Ammo must be in a case separate from your rifle. wife's camera was stolen from a hard case with two padlocks at the airport, Local folks were great but airports are rife with corruption. it was still worth it . I decided I did not want to deface or risk my bench built flintlock.
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