Getting meat home if you fly there???

[wingnut]

I went through this last year and became a known shipper with Alaska Airlines.  I shipped 500 pounds of moose meat and the rack home for around $250.

It was a pain to do the paperwork and go through the process.  But now I can keep it current and ship via Air Cargo anytime.

Mike

[hunt it]

I drive to save to headaches. Having flown a number of times and paid alot extra to guarantee same flight cargo with big coolers only to have them lose coolers of meat. Once they find them they will swear up and down they were stored in freezer - yeah right.

If you go the cooler way by air keep under 50lbs each and use ratchet straps on lids. Duct tape ratchets down after tight. DO NOT use any form of DRY ICE in these coolers - dry ice is prohibited from airplanes.

Believe me, Texas is not that far a drive. I do it twice a year - 2 days at best and no hassels with my meat.

[killinstuff]

I don't have a suitcase, I have a 120Qt cooler with wheels that has been everywhere. I use a strap to keep it shut and each time I've flown it gets searched but it's no big issue. I have a large duffle bag that's for gear when I get meat. If you get a lot of meat freezer boxes are the way to go. UPS will cost a ton.

[Don Stokes]

My Florida buddy who hunts in Missouri bones out his deer, packs in zip-lock bags, and ships as baggage in a cooler. He has ice in zip-locks too, and disposes of these at the airport to save on weight. He has never had a problem. Last year after our turkey hunt he put several bags of morels in his suitcase, and got them home just fine, too.

[Onions]

I flew home from Az. with 35lbs of frozen Javaline meat. Wrapped all the packages in newspaper, put in my checked luggage. Flew all the way back to Mi. All the meat was still frozen solid. Point is.....I don't think you need a cooler. If the meat is frozen solid and pack togather, it will not dethaw in the belly of the plane. There is not heat in the luggage compartment of the plane, and once at altitude, the air temp is way below 0 degrees.
I would pack one really large duffle type bag, in my main checked luggage. Then on the return trip use this bag to put all your meat in. Cost would be around $50 for extra baggage.

chris <><

[LKH]

The United States Postal Service is a good part of your answer.

Mail all your gear home when done and check two coolers each.  A 48 quart cooler will easily hold the amount of meat to reach the normal 50 pound limit.  

For two of you, that will be about 168 pounds of meat for your 4 coolers.

Do not dry ice.  It's not needed.  I bring fish to MT each June and meat back to AK every fall. The coolers stay well frozen.

When they do open your cooler, they retape it.

[LKH]

I forgot>

Do Not tape around the cooler so that the tape goes under the bottom.  If the cooler sticks on the conveyor for a bit, the tape will be rolled right off the end.  I know!!!

[USAFdad]

I sent 100# frozen fish in two 50# wax fish boxes, bear hide and skull in vinyl duffle bag also frozen. All from Ketchikan AK to Las Vegas then two hour drive home to northern AZ. Including 3 hour ferry ride I forgot to mention about 13 hours total and all still frozen. Cost an extra $80. Two people using one bow case, all clothes in carry-ons. Saw a lot of people using coolers duct taped shut. Airline check-in people provided me with tape for the duffle after they looked. They sure did get a surprise for their nostrils when they opened that duffle, that bear stunk bad. We laughed all the way to the bar.

[Wiley Coyote]

I would drive and save the hassle and expense of  airfare for meat. Texas is only two days drive.

[goatkiller]

UPS your clothes home. Take the meat home in your luggage.

[vintage-bears]

A decent cooler and some dry ice works great.
This is what I used returning from a caribou hunt in Northern Quebec. Actually, the outfitter provided the dry ice.........

[Mike Vines]

The bad part with driving is 4 days of windshield with just me doing the driving, and it would take me 150 gallons of gas.  Plane tickets are $600, and a car rental is $100, so I do believe I will go that option.  Once off the plane, I will probably stop at a Wally World and pick up a couple coolers and license.  

How are those little (100# and under) Texas pigs as table fare?  Any favorite recipes?

[Don Stokes]

We made a trip from the south to ND for a bowhunt, 3 days travel for me. My buddy packed lots of food, because we were staying in a rather remote area. He put a small chunk of dry ice under regular ice in one very large cooler. After several days we finally had to use brute force to break the ice to get at the food. Broke the plastic containers too in the process, but we could eat!

In the late '80's we flew to CO for a hunt. I had a 4 pt. longbow elk processed out there and shipped to MS, and the shipper used dry ice. It was frozen hard after more than 24 hours transit time.

My wife got a 5 pt. the next year, but we had driven out, over 30 hours. It was cold and the elk mostly froze while hanging. We halved the elk and wrapped it in a tarp and our sleeping bags for insulation, and the meat was still mostly frozen when we processed it three days later.

Conclusion: dry ice is overkill.

[wingnut]

Dry Ice is illegal on an airplane and in fact is nothing more then a bomb.  Never try and take dry ice on a plane.

Mike

[Don Stokes]

Times change. When my elk was shipped in the '80's the use of dry ice was commonplace. Today they will confiscate my fingernail cleaner.