Thinking of booking an elk hunt with Elk Basin outfitters in unit #53 in Colorado, near Montrose. Anybody out there ever use these guys or hunt this area? Main question though is, I can' t get anyone to drive down there with me (from Louisiana)so will more than likely fly in. Can someone out there that' s flown in for an elk hunt tell me how they' ve gotten their meat home and how expensive is it?
Thanks

Try to pack all your gear into a duffle bag and then put it inside a big cooler. Check the cooler as on e piece of luggage and then check yyour rifle as your second piece. On the way back, you' ll have to pay for teh extra peice of luggage (the cooler full of meat) or you can have the cooler shipped overnight. A little riskier in my experience. The airlines will typically allow you to check teh trophy as long as it' s packed right. Can' t have no sharp points stickin out. Bubble wrap and duct tape work wonders for this.
Call your airline, They get you lined out!!
Good luck!!

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MeoMako, You' ll be flying in and out of Montrose Airport...last time I flew out of that airport(prop only) I had a hard gun case, wheeled duffel in baggage along with 4 boxes of Elk Meat and costs at the time (2000) were 100 dollars for the additional boxes. Count on at least 100 dollars minimum. Add to that about 150-200 bucks to get the meat processed. Make sure the processor puts a plastic liner in the meat box and then put in 2.5 lbs of dry ice or whatever the airlines allow on top. Also depending on how many people and equipment are on the plane don' t count on getting home with everything at the same time. Meat is the priority item on these flights and make sure the attendant at the desk knows that your shipping that. Your guns and other baggage may arrive on another flight. Never heard of that outfitter and there are a lot of them in that area. As far as trophy mounts I find that letting people that work on them all the time is preferable to giving it to the local guy that doesn' t do that many or frequently.

A friend of mine comes out elk hunting every year, from MD. He leaves his rifle out here, so that is one less bag he has to pack. However, he brings a large cooler with him to pack the meat in. He can not get a whole elk in it, but he can get most of it. I think the weight limit is 75lbs, before he is charged more. We also place a little dry ice, less than 4lbs, and it actually freezes during flight (if not already frozen). The best idea I can give you is call the airline. Most are very helpful, and will tell you what you need to know.

A lot of Outfitters I work with recommend that they pack and check the meat as baggage, and mail their clothes home (assuming of course, that they have more clothes at home!) It may not hold all of the meat, but it might help some.