Need Help Planning Moose Transport from Alberta to the US
 

I’m heading to northern Alberta in late November for a moose hunt this fall. I’d prefer to fly and if successful either take the antlers, cape, and 100 to 200 pounds of meat home as checked luggage or find a transporter to transport everything back to the US. I’ve been researching both options and haven’t found anything solid for the transporter option.

I could have the cape (which would have to be tanned or at least dried out) and antlers shipped back but it’s really pricey $1000+. FedEx or UPS won’t ship meat back from Alberta to the US.

I’ve reached the check baggage option and think it might work depending on airline. I can handle the meat on the airline, but the cape and antlers are what I’m more worried about. They won’t take anything over 100lbs. If I were to freeze the cape solid in a cooler I don’t know what it would weight… could it be over 100lbs? If it were frozen solid rolled up tight I would think I would have at least a couple days before I would have to worry about it spoiling, but lost luggage and it spoiling would be a risk.

As far as antlers, they would have to be boxed in a box where total linear dimensions cannot exceed 120 inches (Length + Width + Height). Maximum dimensions for each measurement individually would be 38 inches deep by 34 inches wide and 70 inches length/height. I’ll be hunting 50-60 inch bulls and would not have a problem splitting the antlers and fitting them together inside a box. However, I don’t have a good idea whether split antlers of a 6o inch bull would meet these size requirements?

The checked baggage option as long as I don’t go over the maximum size and/or weight limits, would cost me around $600 for the antlers, cape, and 200 pounds of meat.

Does anyone have any experience with this type of hunt and getting everything back into the US and home safely? Driving would be a 28 hour one way trip and I’m going solo… I would prefer to avoid the driving option if possible.

Any advice or information would be appreciated. Thanks!

I drove back from BC so didn't have worry about that. Have you considered asking your outfitter or any previous clients what they did?

Outfitter says same thing... driving is best least-worry less-hastle option to get home with everything but more of his US clients fly in. Majority just donate the meat, have it mounted in AB and shipped via freight home, but said that option is very expensive, over $2k. I'm already pushing the bank for this hunt and want at least some of the meat so I'm not considering that.

I've done two Canadian and one Alaskan fly in hunts and brought the antlers/horns, capes and at least some of the meat home on each of them.

On the two Canadian hunts, I drove my pickup/camper to Edmonton (which was still a long one day or two day drive from my home in Montana), then flew to Norman Wells or Inuvik from there.

I shot caribou on all three of those hunts, and back then the points had to be protected and the antlers enclosed in plastic. Duck tape, cardboard and/or empty 12 ga shotgun shells do a good job of covering the antler points. On two of the trips I split the antlers, but on the last trip, one of the bulls qualified for B&C so I brought them back whole. Also on that trip we stopped at Norman Wells, and there were a lot of whole moose antlers loaded on the plane there.

On my Canadian trips I took a medium size cooler and brought back 50 lbs of the choicer meat. On my last Canadian trip I brought back the whole Muskox skin and the capes of two caribou. All of that was frozen and in one very large (and heavy) cardboard box. That was about 10 years ago, and Air Canada (or Canadian Air?) was very good about it. I don't think US airlines would be as understanding.

I would strongly recommend driving, at least into Canada, and only bringing only one cooler of meat home.

I do a lot of Moose and Bear transfers for my US customers every year. The only advice I have for you is this. If you're not going to drive up and back, and I don't know where you are in the US, you better take a second mortgage out.
1. You need a clean criminal check and a passport. Driving or flying.
2. Because of CWD exposure, you will have to make sure that your antlers with the skull cap attached is scraped and burned. And by burned I mean, when they clean the skull cap, run a propane torch over the cap. Make sure there is no meat left there.
3. All the meat and the hide should be no problem. Freeze it completely and 2 or 3 days driving won't hurt it.

Most of my hunters have a full size deep freeze loaded into the back of their truck. I freeze the meat and hide completely for them here and then they put it in the deep freeze. Some have it butchered here which makes a lot more room in the freezer. Some just take the quarters. Your outfitter there should already know all of this. The main problem is the antlers and skull cap. As long as they are prepared properly here, they don't have to be split.

Hope this helps you. Good luck on that 60 + inch bull.

Thanks for the info guys. Darkside55 - I understand that the skull cap needs to be cleaned well, how about the cape? If I freeze a green cape that is not fleshed at all, can this still be transported with the CWD regs? A skull cap will be much easier to clean then a cape will be for me. Thanks!

You should have no problems with the hides. CWD is brain matter and spinal tissue. It really has nothing to do with the hide or meat.

Thanks Darkside. Much appreciated.