Importing a Sako

Hi guys

I wanted to ask if anyone can think of any, not-so-obvious pitfalls and advice for importing a standard Sako .308
It belongs to my Grandfather in South Africa and with all the s#@t firearm laws and attempts to disarm citizens by the government, we thought it be best to try and get it over here before we lose it. He is getting on in years and doesn't shoot anymore. He purchased it in the 1970's and has had it since then. We would like it to stay in the family.

How much of a mission would it be? Has anyone done something similar lately?

I think the hardest will be getting it out of SA.

Thanks

It would certainly be worth trying to save it.
But Im no help unfortunately.

Getting it in here is not an issue. Assuming you have a NZ FAL then go see your arms officer and he will issue you an import permit to get it in.

As far as getting it out no Idea, might be cheaper for Grandad to pop across to NZ for a hunt and forget to take it home

http://www.saps.gov.za/crime_prevent...t_instruct.pdf

Hey mate, just been through the process as I brought 3 of my grandfathers rifles and shotgun over.

It is not worth it in economic terms, but worth it in terms of sentimentality as it is your Grandfather's rifle.

The others are correct, getting an import permit to NZ is the easiest part of the process, getting it out of SA is another story!
My advice would be to use an agent, slightly more expensive but saves the hassles of trying to communicate with beurocratic morons and they know exactly who to talk to.
I will try to get the details of the bloke my Dad used, he is in the Amanzimtoti area. If I remember correctly it cost around R7000 to get it all done.

It will take a while, took around 8 months for our export permit to come through!

The other pitfall is flights, Aussie have become really sticky about transit of firearms and you need an export permit from there even though it is only in transit, we got around this by going Emirates and bypassing Aussie.

You will have to pay a handling fee and normally GST, my Dad attached a letter stating they were inheritance and the awesome customs guys let me off the GST!

Hope this helps, I will get the name of the agent if you need it.

I used the guys at Suburban guns in Capetown a few years a go to do an export for me, besides not being cheap and taking forever they also didn't pack the rifle properly and the stock arrived here in several pieces.
Not recommended.
If you do ship the rifle, add a few $100 to the budget for custom clearance on this side.

Like Spud said, not worth it in $ terms, but if you really want the gun then go for it...

But I'd recommend you spend the money on buying a nice new Sako here and just call it Oupa :-)

Guys thank you very much for the responses.

We'll do a bit more planning before we make a decision. We've already lost a very nice 6mm Sako which
was entrusted to my dad's brother-in-law. He sold it almost as quick as he got it:yuush: So if we have to spend a bit of $ to get it here I think we will.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Hendrik470

But I'd recommend you spend the money on buying a nice new Sako here and just call it Oupa :-)

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Haha Hendrik, we may just end up doing that in the end :D
@Spudattack - be great if you could PM me that agent's details thanks

Attachment 19101

Hey mate

This is the guy we used, he is pretty good at what he does, he is processing my brothers firearm licences at the moment.

Cheers

Hey thanks a lot for the info. Woll definitely look into it:thumbup:

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