Get ready for your international hunt

This article was first published in my email newsletter in August of 2026. I've added it to my website, because I think the information is useful in general, not just for the month it was published. If you'd like to keep up with the latest hunting information, including my open dates and available hunts, you can subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of this page.

I just got back from a multi-week hunt in the Caucasus Mountains of southern Russia, and I'm still catching up on sleep. Next month, I’ll take some time and tell you all about that hunt. But this month, while it's still fresh in my mind, I want to talk about all the things that have to happen before a hunt like this.

So this month, let's talk about getting ready for an international hunt. I'm going to talk a lot about paperwork, because that's the part that can really ruin your trip if you get it wrong.

START WITH YOUR RIFLE'S PAPERWORK

There are two categories of paperwork you're going to need for your rifle: U.S. paperwork and your hunt country's paperwork.

Before you take a rifle out of the country, you need CBP Form 4457 — the Certificate of Registration for Personal Effects Taken Abroad. It's what proves to U.S. Customs that you owned your rifle before you left the U.S., so you're not hit with duties or hassle when you bring it back home.

You can't do this online. You have to physically take your rifle, scope, and suppressor (unloaded, obviously) to a CBP office at any port of entry — nearly every international airport has one — fill out the form with your name, address, and the make, model, and serial number of the rifle, scope, and suppressor, and a CBP officer checks the serial numbers against your gear, signs it, and stamps it. Do this well before you leave; it's one more thing to handle if you wait until the week of your flight.

I did my form at the airport in San Antonio. I parked in the garage, walked into the CBP office with my rifle in a soft case, and got it done on the spot — no appointment, no hoops. The officer looked over every serial number, made sure the form matched, signed it, put his ID number on it, and stamped it. Fifteen minutes and done.

Incidentally, I mention including your suppressor on the form. Not every country lets you bring a suppressor, but — as I've said many times before in this newsletter — hunting suppressed makes for a better trip, so take it along if it’s permitted. On this trip, I had zero trouble bringing mine.

GET YOUR HUNT COUNTRY'S RIFLE PERMIT (AND DOUBLE-CHECK IT)

Pretty much every country you'll hunt is going to require its own rifle permit, and that usually gets arranged through your outfitter well before you land. Once they’ve got it, ask them to send you a copy — a digital copy by email is fine — so you can check it against your actual rifle before you're standing in front of a customs officer.

I'm glad I did.

My permit for Russia came back listing my rifle as a .270 Ackley; I actually shoot a .280 Ackley. As it turns out, the Russian officers who checked me in never so much as glanced at the caliber — they only cared about matching the serial number and the model — but that's not something you want to find out the hard way. Some countries will let a mismatch slide. Others might confiscate the rifle. Fix it before you travel, not after.

PASSPORT, VISA, AND A GOOD TRAVEL AGENT

You'll need your passport regardless, but not every country requires a visa — South Africa doesn't, and Mexico issues one right at the border. Russia isn't one of the easy ones; you need the visa in hand before you go. I used a company called Gracy Travel, out of Boerne, Texas, and paid them about $500 to handle it for me. You physically send them your passport — FedEx, fully tracked, but still a little unnerving — and they run it through the Russian consulate for you. You can do this yourself at the consulate in Houston if you're close enough, but for $500 I was glad to hand it off.

It can also pay to plan and book your trip through a specialized travel agency. Today, for domestic travel especially, people tend to do their own booking online. But for international hunting travel — where you’ll be bringing a rifle — it can really simplify things to work with a travel agency that specializes in international hunts.

I’d suggest you take a look at Travel With Guns (TWG) out of San Antonio. They also work with a company called Rifle Permits for (unsurprisingly) rifle permits. It's worth having people like this helping you out, to make sure you get everything right upfront and to help you if you’re in the middle of your travel and something goes wrong (like a drone attack cancelling your return flight — more about that next month).

DON'T CHEAP OUT ON YOUR OUTFITTER

This matters everywhere, but especially in any country that the State Department has flagged with a travel advisory. (Russia currently sits at a Level 4 travel advisory, the highest one they issue.) But no matter where you’re going, you want an outfitter that's been doing this a long time, has people meeting you at the airport, and speaks the language well enough to move you through passport control and rifle documents without a hitch.

I hunted with ProfiHunt, a Russian outfitter that's been running hunts across Russia, Asia, and Europe since 1989. Several friends of mine have used ProfiHunt in the past and vouched for them. I’d recommend them, too — everything on the ground was smooth.

GET GLOBAL ENTRY

If you travel internationally more than once every few years, get a Global Entry card.

It's a $120 application good for five years, done mostly online with a short in-person interview, and it puts you in a separate, much shorter line at TSA and customs — domestic flights included.

I flew out of San Antonio for my desert sheep hunt in Mexico on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, the busiest travel day of the year, and walked straight past a packed regular line.

A CARRYON BAG IS YOUR SAFETY NET

If you get stuck somewhere overnight or your checked bag doesn't make the connection, a well-packed carry-on bag will significantly reduce your stress level.

Here are some of the things I put in my carryon bag:

• A change of underwear

• Toothbrush, toothpaste, and deodorant

• All my important meds

• A power bank (portable charger) and charging cables; I try to keep everything on USB-C so I'm only carrying one cable.

• A 220V adapter. Most of the world runs on 220 power, not our 110. Adapters are just a couple bucks on Amazon; buy one before you leave rather than searching for one at the airport.

• Spare batteries for any devices that need them

• A travel medication pack from your doctor — tell your doctor where you're headed and most will put together antibiotics and something for GI distress (you never know, especially when you’re eating food that’s not your usual home cooking).

• If you're hunting at real altitude — 12,000 feet and up, and especially past 14,000 — ask your doctor for medication that helps you deal with altitude sickness. Altitude sickness has nothing to do with how fit you are; and it can hit some people harder than others.

• Compression socks for anything over a few hours in the air. Cabin pressure on a long flight is like you're sitting at 8,000 feet, and compression socks help keep your legs from swelling.

• Paper copies of everything — passport, itinerary, tickets, and your rifle permit — in one folder you keep on you. A printed gun permit won't have the original stamp, but it's better than nothing if someone wants to see it before your outfitter can produce the real one.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Get your Form 4457 done in person before you leave. Get a copy of your country rifle permit early enough to catch a mistake. Handle your visa well ahead of time if the country requires one. Hunt with an outfitter who's established and knows the ground. Get Global Entry. And pack your carry-on like your checked bag isn't going to make it.

Do all that, and the hardest part of the hunt is behind you before you ever board.