Sending bows on airplanes for a hunt

[Bigfoot]

When going on a hunt where you have to catch a plane,how do you send your bows?  I have a LB built by Steve H. and when going interstate I have to send it in a 4" or 6" PVC pipe.  If you attach an arrow carrier to that it tends to look like a bazooka.
Any ideas?

[m midd]

I usually send mine UPS or FedEx...Too much lost luggage on airlines for me

[AkDan]

I carry mine with...no diff than a rod tube.

My duffle bag is large enough to hold a hard arrow case.  I'm thinking about picking the tube up from three rivers, but so far everything has been fine.  

I remember one trip having a bob lee takedown in the over head storage bin along with a dozen arrows, over half with broadheads fixed!

I've gone to a 2 piece (hinge) mainly for traveling/packpack hunts just for this purpose.   otherwise they never get taken apart.  A 2 piece 66" longbow will also fit in my duffel with my arrow case and all the rest of my gear.

[Night Wing]

When traveling by airline, this is where a take down bow has the big advantage over a one piece bow.

With a take down bow case, you can easily fit this case in the overhead storage.

I bought an SKB double wheel bow case that I put two takedowns and all kinds of ather stuff in. I just keep adding stuff until it gets near the weight limit.

For one-piece bows I built a bow case out of 6" PVC. I thought mine looked like a giant pipe bomb too so I decorated it with all kinds of archery stickers.

Bisch

Originally posted by Night Wing:
When traveling by airline, this is where a take down bow has the big advantage over a one piece bow.

With a take down bow case, you can easily fit this case in the overhead storage.

I checked on this the last time I flew (2011) and they will not let you take a bow as carry-on anymore.

Bisch

[YORNOC]

That stinks. I've always had my TD in my carry on bag. Guess I'll just bury it in my clothing bag from now on.

[The Vanilla Gorilla]

I have a safari tuff takedown case.  I put my bow in that and then pack my clothes and arrow tube around that.

[Margly]

I would recommend a Pelican case for TD bows and arrows. When you see how the luggage is treated you would not regret a hard case.
If you have a one piece I would go for a thick PVC tube or the Bazooka tube you can buy in fishing equipment shops.

[AkDan]

Yorn, thats exactly what I do.  I use cloths and such ont he ends and its packed in nicely around cloths and gear.  The more fragile stuff (binos etc) goes in my carry on.   I have an arrow case underneath the bow cloths on top and usually either a boot on either end or something firm to keep the tips from being beat up.   Topped with cloths and gear.  Have done this for years now and its worked very well.  I usually am lucky enough to fly south turkey hunting every spring and every fall or three get south for a MN whitetail hunt.   I have and I think it helps is having a fly rod tube in there alongside the bow, that with the arrow box underneath ensures they arent going to squash my bag hard enought to do damage to the tips.  

Remember weight becomes a factor when flying these days!   Last spring it bit me bad.  4 bags, flying from KS to PA to finish my turkey season ran me 400 bucks in excess baggage alone!   So if you're going to pick a case do it smartly!   Very few meet all the requirements of bomb proof and light   !  

you one piece guys if you're going to go with a tube...the telescoping rod tubes work very well and are large enough in diameter to make the extra bag fee worth it..ie stick your cloths, socks etc in the tube with the bow and any other gear you can fit.   This is where that white three rivers arrow tube would really shine....with a large enough bow tube, yo ucould fit the bow, the tube of arrows, and the bulk of your hunting gear in the tube and its about as bomb proof as they come.

[lt-m-grow]

We just talked about this and some good ideas were offered.

 http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=114274#000006

It may have been some time since folks have flown, but quite a few new regs. for hunters to deal with.  Lots of stuff to deal with beyond bows -- arrows, knives, bheads, bear protection...etc.

There is merit in shipping ahead, as you can check to see if it got there before you leave, if not, bring your backup stuff.  Though, shipping it back home would be something I am not interested in...

I just check mine, and never had a problem...good luck.

[eflanders]

I would strongly suggest shipping ahead vs. bringing with you.  I am a travelling salesman so I have seen most everything when trying to travel with sporting goods.  Now I just ship my bows or fishing rods all ahead of time in a PVC (schedule 80) tube and I never have to worry anymore.  I allow /instruct the reciever to inspect the shipment when it arrives to be sure nothing got damaged.  So far (knock on wood) I have not lost one item or have had anything damaged when shipping ahead whether it was a domestic or international trip.  But you should see all of the damage marks on my shipping tubes and boxes!

Some shipping tips:

1). Use schedule 80 grade PVC pipe instead of the thinner and less expensive schedule 40.

2). Use threaded ends on both ends of the pipe rather than the slip-on or glue-on ones.  The threaded ones are much stronger and are highly unlikely to break.  

3).  Be sure to use some sort of colored adhesive tape on the threaded ends to prevent curiousity seekers from opening the ends and to prevent the ends from loosening in-transit. Take a picture of your package and send it to your reciever or at least tell the reciever what color "inspection" tape you used.  

4). Do not mark the shipment as fragile.  Carriers seem to try harder to damage shipments that are marked as fragile.  

5). Do the proper job of packaging up front and it will not matter what "gorilla" gets a hold of your package!  I would even suggest that you test out your packaging before actually shipping it with some eggs especially if you have never shipped fragile items before...

6). Be sure to ship with a carrier that you can trace the shipment with.

7). Require a signature upon reciept.  This insures that your reciever has the opportunity to inspect for damage first and your shipment is not just dropped off at the destination point.

8).  Get insurance for your shipment when available.  While this does NOT guarantee shipment or prevention of loss, you might be able to get some compensation should the unthinkable happen.

9). Ship well ahead of your personal arrival.  This way you will know before you depart whether your stuff arrived and in what condition it was recieved.

While much of the above might be considered over-kill, I suggest you watch the baggage handlers sometime at an airport.  I have often seen packages very clearly marked as fragile being thrown, stepped on, run over, etc.  Don't take a chance that these folks care what happens to these items!