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After the shot...Shipping your elk?

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After the shot...Shipping your elk?

Old 06-19-2008, 07:12 AM
  #1  
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Default After the shot...Shipping your elk?

I am planning on flying to New Mexico for my September hunt. If I fly and kill an elk, I will have to ship it home. Can anyone tell me what to expect for total cost to get it home? I would need it butchered and shipped from NM to Iowa.
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Old 06-19-2008, 08:22 AM
  #2  
Fork Horn
 
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Default RE: After the shot...Shipping your elk?

Last fall I flew from Montreal to Minneapolis after my caribou hunt with 3 boxes of meat, one box of capes and two racks taped together. With the other two pieces of luggage I had to check the total cost was around $400. This was on Northwest.
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Old 06-19-2008, 10:18 AM
  #3  
Nontypical Buck
 
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Default RE: After the shot...Shipping your elk?

I flew home with 220 lbs of boned, semi-frozen elk meat a couple years ago. I checked it as luggage on the plane. have to pay excess baggage fees, I think it came to around $300, but I probably could have got it a bit lower if I'd been smarter about the fees and how to manage it.

another hunter in camp overnight shipped his from ID to MA. He paid close to $1000 for his meat, cape and rack.

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Old 06-19-2008, 01:57 PM
  #4  
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Default RE: After the shot...Shipping your elk?

Make sure it is frozen. Most flights won't allow it if not frozen. It will be to your advantage to ship your clothes and anyother items home via UPS, U.S. Post Office or Fed-X. (much less weight and cheaper then shipping meat). That will give you 2 check-in at the airport. We do this all the time. Saves us hundreds each year. We hunt yearly in Alaska, Canada and several elk states.

If not be prepared to eat some big shipping costs. Hunted with a friend several years back that got his elk the morning of the last day to hunt. Got the elk butchered but not froze. It ended up costing him over $600+ to get it home. (next day air). OUCH... He was warned about the costs before he pulled the trigger.

I checked in 3 boxes of caribou from Alaska and a box of Salmon and paid $120.00 in excess bagage. (remember 2 were checked bagage). Cost to ship cloths and other items home insured ($62.50). I did borrow a gun from Alaska friends so I just had my carry on and all was good to go. If I would have had to pay for it all it would have been over $680.00 so good savings.

Goatslayer........


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Old 06-19-2008, 02:39 PM
  #5  
Giant Nontypical
 
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Default RE: After the shot...Shipping your elk?

bring what you can with you.....

but I know antlers usually have to be checked ahead of time usually at the ..... freight area.....call and find out....

Drive to NM and you won't have to worry.....
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Old 06-25-2008, 06:37 PM
  #6  
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Default RE: After the shot...Shipping your elk?

Last November I shot a Mule Deer in Colorado. I mailed all my equipment / clothes home via US postal service and checked two coolers of meat amd a box with thecapeon the plane. Worked well.

Make sure you insure whatever you ship via US postal
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Old 06-25-2008, 09:14 PM
  #7  
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Default RE: After the shot...Shipping your elk?

HuntNut08,

Here is what I have done, but I also have my father with me. I check two bags, one bow case and the other a cooler with my camo in it. My carry on, is my Badlands 2200 pack with all my high value items (Ex: range finder, bino's, etc). Now, my dad checks on as well. When it's time to load it with elk meat, we take the clothes to a local UPS Store and ship them home. This way, we already have the coolers, and the boxes at the UPS store are cheaper than buying a cooler from Walmart in September. We have done this for the last few years...I look at it this way, if I can't fit it in the cooler, I won't use it and do not need it.

PS...Some places will make a box to ship home your antlers..that was about $30, which is way cheaper than the airlines, and it was packed with pipe insulation and bubble wrap.

If you arrive into town, check out a few places ahead of time and get the hours.
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Old 06-26-2008, 11:41 AM
  #8  
Nontypical Buck
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
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Default RE: After the shot...Shipping your elk?

This idea may sound a bit odd but it has worked for me.

I normally drive out west when I hunted there. Over the years I noticed a lot of eastern hunters driving west. We hunted in Colorado alot, and there were a lot of hunters in the small town when we got there. I used to haul meat home for hunters for a nominal charge. I always made enough money to pay for my gas, plus a bit more.

Ask around when you are out there. You might be suprised how close some other hunters may be to you. With the hightened price of airline tickets, and baggage prices, I would hate to see what this years price will be.

You can also look on the truckers sites on the net. There are a lot of independent drivers out there that will haul your meat for a nominal charge also. I have done tihs a couple of times for a friend needing to ship diesel engines. Tom.
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Old 07-08-2008, 01:49 PM
  #9  
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
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Default RE: After the shot...Shipping your elk?

About how many lbs of meat would an average size elk boned out come to?Going to be Idaho this Oct and I'm debating on flying or driving.An extra $400-500 dollars for shipping meat/cape home plus the processing fee at the butcher.It may be cheaper for me to drive and just cut the meat up my-self when I get home.Its what I did in the spring for my bear hunt.
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Old 07-09-2008, 06:52 AM
  #10  
Nontypical Buck
 
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Default RE: After the shot...Shipping your elk?

I shot a 4x5 Idaho elk a couple years ago, was 220lbs of meat cut and wrapped. didn't bring the cape home, just used UPS so send the rack and a bunch of cloths. Meat went on the plane with me for a I think $300 or so as checked luggage.
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