Bringing back meat and antlers

[recurvericky]

I will be doing a DIY elk hunt this September. Since I am flying out, what is the best and cheapest way to get the meat and antlers back if I am lucky enough to get one?

[3Bears]

I am planning to do the same thing.The best and cheapest I have found so far is to UPS ground your horns and gear back home and fly the meat on your flight.If I am lucky enough to get one!!!!

[d. ward]

I just got back from a Que'bec bear hunt in which I was lucky enough to arrow a nice bear but not a huge one by any means.I had about 60 pounds of boned out frozen meat and the hide stuffed into a duffle bag.It cost me 60.00 to bring that home with me on the plane checked like luggage.
Now an elk is a bit different deal lots more meat hide and head.The one problem is is getting it all frozen first and keeping it frozen during the trip.I would double check with the carriers about keeping your prize frozen bd

[jamesh76]

Regardless if you take it on the plane, or mail it home make sure that it is frozen and on dry ice. A military seabag is large and good for packing. Sometimes they think you are in the military and will not charge you the extra fee.  As for the antlers, they will need to be mailed. Typically too big to take on a plane, and you know how they throw them bags around. Imagine what they would do to a nice set of horns or antlers.

If you want to borrow a sea bag let me know. I live just 5-6 miles South of You.

James

[recurvericky]

Thanks for the info and the offer James. I need to buy one anyway. Before putting the meet and dry ice in the seabag, what is best to put if in? I was thinking of a large heavy duty trash bag.

[JimB]

I don't think you can ship with dry ice anymore,for sure not if air is involved.You might want to check cost of shipping elk antlers even by ground.There are fees now for large packages that will literally kill you.Anything you can bring back on the plane as a second bag would be a good thing.

[recurvericky]

Hopefully, I will be flying Southwest, which does not charge for baggage. What is the issue with shipping by air with dry ice?

[jamesh76]

Originally posted by recurvericky:
Thanks for the info and the offer James. I need to buy one anyway. Before putting the meet and dry ice in the seabag, what is best to put if in? I was thinking of a large heavy duty trash bag.

I have always used the largest zip lock storage bags that I can find.  Then I would put them with the ice in a doubled up trash bag.

About the post above. I am not certain about the taking of dry ice on a plane if it is in as cargo. It would be best to call Southwest and ask them. They may even have a better suggestion as how to take it home anyways. Considering you probably do not have that long of a flight anyways you may consider it being frozen with regular ice instead, or just frozen and packaged well. You got a 45 min drive home from KCI. You could always have whom ever is picking you up have a cooler and ice ready for the drive home.

[jamesh76]

I dont know how many bags you will have on the plane but when I went to FL. last year Southwest was charging for bags over 60 lbs, bulk items that did not fit in their box and any bags over 2 not including your carry on.

[ksbowman]

I'm real sure dry ice is a no-no on planes with the new rules even on checked luggage. We did the checked bear meat and hide and 71# was the limit per bag on United.

[Roadkill]

A parachute bag is also handy for packing out meat. Check local surplus stores. I carry my pack, sleeping bag, clothing, misc gear arrow tube and take down Pronghorn easily. It will serve you well

[beachbowhunter]

We flew Southwest back from NM and we checked three racks of antlers as baggage.  We wrapped the skull portion with trash bags and tape, then put cut pieces of rubber hose from a hardware store on each antler tip. We didn't have any capes.  The baggage handlers treated them very well. We had the meat processed in NM and then shipped to us.  THAT was way too expensive!

[Wiley Coyote]

We drove from Wyoming to Ontario (2 day trip)and had antelope meat that was frozen before we left packed with dry ice in a cooler. It was as hard as rock when we got home. Dry ice is awesome stuff!  

[HOWITZER]

I have flown a few times on DIY hunts and have found the best way to ship meat and antlers back is to use coolers.  We bought a couple 56 quart coolers and put lockable latches on them.  If you’re going to process your meat yourself we found that local game processors are more than willing to "rent" freezer space.  We usually make contact with a processor before we go into the field to make sure he will allow us to bring back deboned meat and have him freeze it and store it until our return trip.  We pack all necessary gear in the coolers and ship gear back UPS if needed on the return trip.  I've done antelope and caribou this way and have no problems with any meat unthawing on the return flights.  No dry ice is allowed on planes and not even regular ice is allowed any more.  

Antlers, well here is a different story if you’re not trophy hunting and looking to have your antlers officially scored crack the skull plate in half.  Put the antlers in a box and ship UPS.  This worked great for a caribou I shot in Alaska; the shipping cost for the antlers would have been around $800 because they were too big for UPS to ship ground they had to be freight shipped. By cracking the skull plate they fit in a box half the size and only cost around $100 to ship back UPS ground.  Bottom line is after dealing with airlines and the constant rule changes expect the unexpected and save some extra cash for extra checked baggage because now there is no "cheap" way of getting your meat and trophy back home.  In fact it’s become such a problem we have decided to spend the extra money used to get your equipment and trophy home on gas instead and just start driving.

[hunt it]

Buy a couple of 5-7 day coleman coolers. Have meat processed and frozen solid. Pick up am of flight day and pack coolers full watching weight. Keep under 50 pounds and NO DRY ICE. Cannot put dry ice in airplane - it disolves and releases toxic gas above 20,000ft.

Put two ratchet straps around each cooler and check as checked bagage. Meat will not thaw out for at least 24 -30 hours.

[recurvericky]

I just checked with Southwest and they do allow dry ice,  but there has to be a pressure release to allow for expansion. I like the idea the coolers and will probably go with that.

[razorsharptokill]

I read on Americans website.....
  Dry Ice
 Dry ice for packing perishable items
 For checked baggage, a maximum of 5 lbs may be transported. For carry-on baggage, the limit is 4.4 lbs. See notes for additional information.
 4.4 lbs / 2 kgs or less for packing perishables may be carried on board an aircraft in a hard plastic or heavy gauge Styrofoam container, provided the package is vented. Ticket or gate agent must be advised