Be careful with luggage in OR Tambo

[CJW]

I got back from my hunt 7 days ago. On my trip to and from Namibia by bag was ransacked at OR Tambo. On the first incident they took a fixed blade knife that belonged to one of my grandfathers. It was actually nothing special and I don't even know whose it was but on the way back I was too dumb to put my Leatherman multi tool which my parents gave me when I was 10 or 11 in my gun case. Guess what got stolen on my trip home! I read on another forum that a couple had their bags ruined when the thieves cut their way into their luggage and they met another hunter in camp whose bag got the same treatment.

Be careful in the land of thieves.

Cameron

 

[Red Leg]

I got back from my hunt 7 days ago. On my trip to and from Namibia by bag was ransacked at OR Tambo. On the first incident they took a fixed blade knife that belonged to one of my grandfathers. It was actually nothing special and I don't even know whose it was but on the way back I was too dumb to put my Leatherman multi tool which my parents gave me when I was 10 or 11 in my gun case. Guess what got stolen on my trip home! I read on another forum that a couple had their bags ruined when the thieves cut their way into their luggage and they met another hunter in camp whose bag got the same treatment.

Be careful in the land of thieves.

Cameron

Did they cut your locks? Or did you use TSA locks on your gun case? So many pass keys are available for the latter that you might as well not use a lock. I never use TSA locks on a gun case, never had locks cut, and have never lost anything from a gun case.

But you are essentially correct. One can almost assume that a checked bag is likely to be rifled to some extent.

 

[R.M.C.]

Thanks for the heads up!! Definitely worth thinking about with connecting flights!!!

 

[CJW]

Did they cut your locks? Or did you use TSA locks on your gun case? So many pass keys are available for the latter that you might as well not use a lock. I never use TSA locks on a gun case, never had locks cut, and have never lost anything from a gun case.

But you are essentially correct. One can almost assume that a checked bag is likely to be rifled to some extent.

It was out of my regular checked luggage which did not have any locks. My gun case was fine.

 

[JimP]

Since your bags are totally out of your control while the baggage folks are dragging them around there is nothing that you can do to protect yourself. If you place locks onto your baggage they will just cut the sides, if your luggage has zippers then a simple screwdriver will pop it open to where they can rummage through the bag.

That's where I try and only have clothing inside of my checked bag. Optics and cameras come with me for the trip there and get placed in the gun case for the trip home. It doesn't matter if it is a TSA lock which is only good for the US or a solid padlock, if they want what's inside they'll get it.

But I agree, personal padlock on the gun case and if anything else gets locked it is with TSA locks for all the good that they do.

 

[Hogpatrol]

Knives, multi-tools, etc. go in the gun case. Binos, rangefinder, etc, go in carry on. Checked bag has the ammo and clothing and a zip tie on the zipper. Absolutely nothing of any value in a checked bag.

 

[R.M.C.]

Am I correct in assuming that just flying into joberg and hunting from there is a little more safe for luggage than having connecting flights? Seems like there wouldn't be much time to steal . There would definitely be time if there was a lengthy lay over.

 

[CJW]

My gun case had a standard padlock but I was amazed how many gun cases I saw with TSA locks.

 

[TheGrayRider]

I brought older knives this year to South Africa and just gave them to the staff before departing. I also brought a cheaper pair of Vortex binoculars rather than my Zeiss binoculars. We did not have any theft issues fortunately.

 

[Red Leg]

It was out of my regular checked luggage which did not have any locks. My gun case was fine.

Got it - misunderstood.

 

[WebleyGreene455]

My gun case had a standard padlock but I was amazed how many gun cases I saw with TSA locks.

I've always thought magnetic-keyed locks would be the best for traveling, at least for gun cases when locks matter. Can't be picked by your average thief, can't be broken and excused as an accident.

 

[CoElkHunter]

Are key or combination style locks preferred on gun cases?

 

[JimP]

I had keyed Master locks on my first trip and I'll have combo locks for my second trip. The only reason is that I won a gun case and my keyed locks won't fit.

But I don't think that it matters, if they want what is in the case they'll just take the case. All the lock does is slows them down

 

[gillettehunter]

Apparently baggage theft is becoming commonplace in Jo-berg. Not the entire bag, just select contents. Karl Evans has a thread about it over on the other network. Lots of replies.
Bruce

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

The only baggage theft I can remember is my wife had an old iPod stolen out of a bag in Namibia. The best deterrent, I think, is getting your bag shrink wrapped at the airport. I think it costs about $5-10. The Joberg airport has several of these vendors, as do most of the larger airports in Africa. I have also seen the wrapping vendors in Miami. They tell you to do this, only if you are sure your bag isn't overweight. If security pulls your bag for inspection, supposedly there is another wrapping machine in the secured area and your bag will be re-wrapped.

Funny story about getting one of my bags wrapped. I flew from Lagos to Joburg without my duffle bag being wrapped. When I went to the AirLink check in for my flight to Bulawayo, the agent strongly suggested getting the bag plastic wrapped and pointed over to the vendor. I think she even weighed my bag and confirmed it was under the weight limit. So I go over and the guy wraps several layer of the clear plastic wrap around my wheeled duffle bag, which is green with a black bottom. After wrapping it, he make a small cut for the handle straps and also the wheels. I check my bag and head to the departing gate. Land in Bulawayo, which is a surprisingly nice, small airport. My PH, @John Sharp, meets me right after clearing customs (John's pilot's license, plus some biltong gets him into the secured area). Bags start coming around on the carousel and I don't see my bag. After awhile, the carousel stops and there are 3-4 orphaned bags that nobody claimed, but none look like my really large green duffle bag. Turns out the shrink wrap had compressed my duffle to about 1/3 the original size and it was laying on the carousel with the black side up. It didn't look anything like the bag I had checked a few hours earlier in Joberg. Nothing was missing either. I don't think John was too impressed with my tracking skills that day.

 

[BeeMaa]

We usually travel with Pelican bags for luggage. I put a small pink zip tie around one of the lock latches to let me know if it was opened by someone. The zip tie breaks easy enough and prevents locks from being cut or the lock latch from being damaged.

Valuables such as optics go in the carry-on, knives in the padlocked locked rifle case.

Are you really wondering how secure a lock is...check out this YouTube channel. It has me reconsidering the locks I've been using.
https://www.youtube.com/c/lockpickinglawyer

 

[Bert the Turtle]

My gun case gets locked. Nothing is foolproof but it’s a pretty secure case as cases go. Secure enough that if the want what’s in it they will take the whole case and open it later. No use thinking something with a carry handle is actually secure, but at least a case is harder to hide than even a rifle.

Valuables in carry on. That includes the second pair of broken-in boots. Money can’t replace that.

I don’t bother locking the checked bag. People put locks on valuables. As easy as it is to get into a checked bag, I take the low-profile approach- $40 surplus soft bag, no locks. They don’t have time to steal from everyone so I try to look like it’s not worth stealing from. I do put cable ties on the zippers to hold them closed so they don’t just work their way open through handling and have everything fall out. They are not noticeable at a quick glance. Nail clippers from my carry-on toiletries bag opens them.

 

[JKS]

When I returned from Johannesburg in July, I noticed that someone broke the TSA approved keyed lock on my checked luggage. I chalked it up to someone with Qatar Air needing to verify that I had ammunition inside the bag?? But since it was on the return, I had nothing but clothing, scent elimination products, slings and ear plugs in their. My noise canceling headphones, binos and anything else that I deemed fragile or valuable went in my carry-on.

 

[BeeMaa]

Nail clippers from my carry-on toiletries bag opens them.

I can't tell you how many times TSA has taken my nail clippers in the name of "airport security".

 

[Hogpatrol]

Tambo, on the way out of RSA, security took my pack of small zip ties. I guess they figured I was going to try and handcuff the flight attendants.