I brought home about 200lbs of elk meat from idaho last September, to NH.

I shipped the antlers and a bunch of clothes/boots from UPS, I needed the clothes for an upcoming trip, so I did 3 day delivery, don't really recall the cost, I think about $100.

Meat, was frozen, or very close. Packed in wax boxes, put the wax box in a trash bag, then that into another box with packing peanuts. I did this for 3 out of 4 boxes. Wasn't worth it, all meat arrived still mostly frozen, no difference with the extra box.

Anyway. I weighed it in at the airport and was slightly over 50lbs on all 4. I opened them up, moved some meat to my carry on backpack and some into another checked bag. I had 3 "extra" checked bags, my bow case and a second checked bag. One of my 3 extra was over the 50lbs.

If I remember right, it was $80 for each "extra", $50 more for the over weight one, so $290 to get on the plane.

It was a flight from Spokane WA, to Chicago where the boxes of meat sat on the tarmac in 70 deg weather for 2 hours. I could see them from the terminal window and I was VERY worried about them. Got them all home and had to repack most of the meat due to some juice/blood leakage but all meat was still partially frozen. We lost none of it.

If I had to do it again? I would be less concerned with each bag going over 50lbs and push two bags up towards the 100lb limit, pay the $130/bad and pay $260 rather than $290 and have less boxes to deal with in the airport (fun trying to push the cart in the airport with a bow case, carry on backpack, suitcase and 4 meat boxes [8D] ). I would probably not do coolers, but maybe tupperware totes and line them with foam insulation you can get at home depot. Duct tape the totes closed.

One guy in camp decided to overnight his meat and cape home. Roughly the same amount of meat, plus cape, plus antlers, shipped one late morning, frozen, showed up at his house in MA, by 9AM the next morning where his wife tossed it all in the freezer. Cost was close to $700.
--Bob