Hi All,

I am all lined up for a drop camp elk hunt for the first rifle season in Colorado. I live in northern Virginia and will be hunting near Meeker, Colorado, in Unit 12 with an either-sex tag. Although no guarantees, it is my understanding that there is arelatively high success rate for harvesting an elk in Unit 12 during the 1st rifle season. Assuming that I do get lucky and bag an elk, I am wondering what is the best way to transport the elk meat back to northern Virginia?

I will be flying to and from Colorado, so I don't have the option of just throwing the meat in the back of my truck. Also, shipping 100 odd pounds of frozen elk meat would be prohibitively expensive due to the weight and need to deliver the meat before it thaws (at least I assume it would be expensive). I will have the elk processed before leaving Colorado, soI will be dealing only with wrapped and frozen met. Also, Unit 12 is not known for big trophies, so I don't expect to have to deal with a head/cape and antlers.

The outfitter has suggested I pack the meat home with me on the airplane in a cooler as my checked luggage, and she will send the rest of my gear home via a low cost shipper. This option would get the meat home quickly and cheaply, and sounds like the best alternative, but I am wondering what others have done to solve this problem. Also, if I do pack the meat home on the airplane, does anyone have suggestions on the specifics of doing this, such as the best cooler to use, whether to pack it with regular ice or dry ice, etc.

TIA.

--twofer