Licensing a firearm in South Africa can take anything up-to a year and so many don’t bother and few gun shops survive the lack of  cash flow.

According to the new law you may only have one hand gun and only one gun under section 13 which is for self-defense

this is also the only semi-auto weapon you are allowed, under conventional circumstances.

This dictates, that if you need a firearm for self defense, you should buy the best and most versatile handgun you can.

the 3 most common weapons i see purchased are the following 3 :

The Glock – in any shape or form ( i prefer 9mm but .40 or .45 are good if you prefer) – a good purchase if expensive,  idiot proof and bound to work under pressure when you need it.

The CZ-75 duty – concealable,  reliable, accurate, safe  and cheaper then the Glock – is single and double action, so follow up shots are more accurate then a Glock’s, as trigger pull is less.

The Colt 1911 — old proven design,  many swear by them, not many rounds in the clip but I notice lots have them – not my choice, but I’m not here to judge … only to observe many still have them.

Unlike America where the RONI or Hera or KPOS are considered short barrel rifle conversions and need licensing – the South African legal definition of a hand gun is a gun that can be fired with one hand, and barrels are the portion that are licensed,  and because they take so long to approve a license anyway most people will try make the most of a single weapon .. carbine converting your hand gun just makes sense.

In regard to if its legal, from what i understand it is because its not covered under the law —

(xv) ‘‘handgun’’ means a pistol or revolver which can be held in and discharged
with one hand

Scenario 1 — you buy a CZ75 duty  it takes 1 year to get your license, after approval you find that you want something a little more accurate to defend your home against thug with AK’s — they could reach out and hit you at 200 m – you could deal with them at about 25 m …. you could join a shooting club and shoot 5000 rounds ( about 3 months of every weekend ) to earn your right to become a dedicated sports shooter and get apply for a competency ( another 4 months)  – then buy an UZI or a BXP and wait another 8 months for the license if it gets approved. if it gets approved.  you now have a weapon that can fire semi-auto out to 200m

scenario 2 — you buy a CZ75 duty it takes a year to get your license , you get a RONI, Herra or KPOS.  you now have a weapon that can fire semi-auto out to about 150m

scenario 3 — you buy a CZ75 duty it takes a year to get your license , you get a RONI, Herra or KPOS. you join a shooting club and shoot 5000 rounds ( about 3 months of every weekend ) to earn your right to become a dedicated sports shooter and get apply for a competency ( another 4 months)  – then buy a COLT M4 or an LM5 or a Dashprod . you now have a weapon that can fire semi-auto out to 350m .

RONI – made for glock and now for CZ

 

Hera – made for glock, CZ and colt 1911

 

KPOS – glock only but most compact

 

http://www.motac-custom.co.za/product/pistol-conversion-kits/

Just an update 

I got my Pistol license approved in 2 months and 3 weeks – I was very impressed, that is was so quick but it blew the theory of using a carbine conversion out the water …

I did buy a nock-off, of a KPOS from China (AABB KOO), it is intended for Airsoft … which would work ok , except the cocking handle doesn’t work properly on a real gun, it hooks over the rear sight and the plastic just is not strong enough to pull the action all the way back.

Well you live and learn I guess … the KPOS is about R5000 for gen1 and R7000 for gen2  here which is heavy for a piece of aluminum, and the nock off was R800 including shipping … so i still saved R3200

Might spend another R600 on a tactical cocking handle from MAKO for the nock-off (AABB KOO) that will make it usable … still deciding …

I did get  MAKO GLOCK STOCK online just for fun, its going in the bug out bag, means all i get a light weight exceptionally compact carbine  by just carring my glock and the stock in the bag .. its only a few grams