logs

I normally drive to and from my hunts here in the USA. I haul all my own game back in coolers. This fall I'll be flying to and from my Elk hunt.
I checked with my airline and I can use dry ice in my checked bagage as long as the container is vented. That will help with a big part of my concern.

My question is: have any of you hauled meat back as part of you checked bagage and if so how did it work out and do you have any tips or advise?

dvdegeorge

Yep,freeze solid and pack in a cooler,and hope they don't loose it.Got my elk back from Co. to NY that way no problems.Good luck

feddoc

In 96 and 97 I had a short time frame in which to hunt...the drive out there would have taken up too much vacation time. Once I flew from San Francisco to Colorado, the next year from Reno to CO.

Both times I cut up my elk and packaged it. I then packed up the elk in coolers I bought at wal-mart and shipped them as extra luggage. No other way for me to do it. I made sure the coolers were as air tight as I cold make them.

Both times my elk meat made it back to Reno ok.

Rangerlab

Are you allowed to tape the coolers up so they don't accidentaly open, or do you need them to be accessable to a search once they have been checked like you do with other luggage?

oldgrunt

Every airline has their little quirks, but I can say that I iced meat in a cooler and taped it with duct tape and was not hassled.

Here's a tip: Airlines typically charge a fee for additional baggage (or in this case, a cooler full of meat). For example, coach can check in 2 bags with a $85 charge per additional bag. They sometimes offer first class upgrades for a small fee when checking in. First class gets 3 bags! So this year I upgraded (on the way home from South Dakota to New York) for $35, got to ride first class, and avoided the $85 fee to transport my meat.

logs

I am flying United Airlines.
The weight limit is 50# per checked bag with a max of 99# for a penalty of $25 dollors per overwieght bag.
Any more than two bags is $80 per bag plus any weight penalty. That comes out to $105 a bag for the extra bags.
The bagages must be inspectable and if dry ice is used (limit 4.5 lbs per bag max.) the bag with any dry ice must be vented.

I have done all that homework already.

My last Elk rode home with me from ID in two coolers in the back of my Tahoe. One was 120 qt unit and the other a 60 qt unit. The Elk was boned out and most of the fat trimmed off.
I have no Idea what it weight. It was a Six by Six bull.

I know the weights of my large cooler which I intend to take it out as luggage.( my grip inside). Hopefully it will be coming back with Elk in it. Figuring the weight of the cooler I should be able to pack 77 lbs of meat and dry ice in there. I know from using it in the past that I'll only need about a pound of dry ice if the Elk is already froozen.

Any one have a good weight range guess on the boned out and trimmed Elk?

I figure the worst case is I can UPS my grip home cheaper than the $80 the extra bag would cost me and no real hassle. Almost the same with my bow in the hard case. UPS is a lot safer than the airlines when it comes to undamaged goods, loss and misrouting. My dirty hunting clothes and other things in the grip will not spoil or be wasted if they take a couple of days getting home where as the meat would be losted or cost about $3 a pound to over night.

I am I missing any options here that any of you may have tried?

Elkcrazy8

I have a couple of friends that have taken elk meat home with them on the airplane. We have a dry ice business here in town that will give them their scraps of dry ice for free (2-3) pound chunks. Their meat has always been fine. The last trip the two guys were out here and we decided to turn all their deer meat into jerky since they were a couple of old sage brush bucks in the rut. I shipped the jerky to them a couple of weeks later. If you ever have any meat that you don't want to ship leave it with us. We will take very good care of it.

A mature bull will weigh around 600 lbs on the hoof. You should easily yeild around 300 lbs of boned out meat.

I did some reasearch when I shipped my friends jerky, sausage and peperoni and found the post office the cheapest for shipping. It cost 200.00 to ship 100 lbs next day air. The post office uses federal express as the contracted next day carrier. I think that you will be better off checking it as extra baggage. My suggestion would be to take all the prime cuts with you as extra baggage and if you have some-one who can ship to you, turn the grind and trim into just jerky which is lighter and have that shipped via the post office. 300 lbs is alot of weight either way you look at it. Turning the trim into jerky will greatly reduce the water weight. And you still have all the primals safe and sound with you.

Bob H in NH

I had this shipping meat "problem" this Sept. I flew United which you get 2 checked bags, then a fee of I think $60/bag after that, up to 50lbs, over 50lbs and its anotehr $25/bag.

My elk (4x5) came out at 220 lbs of boned/butchered and wrapped meat. I left about 15-20 lbs with the outfitter. I had 3 supposedly 50lb boxes and a smaller box. I spread the smaller box between my bow case (1 checked bag), luggage (2nd checked bag) and carry on. So I had 3 supposedly 50lb boxes to check, which would have been $180. Well all 3 were over 50lbs, but by only 5-7 lbs each, they let me reorg everything to move some around. Ended up paying the extra for 1 of the 3.

My meat was almost frozen solid. Had been in the freezer for about 24 hours when I pulled it out. It was in wax boxes which were not very good insulation. I stopped at UPS to ship home the antlers and they helped me do a box shuffle and wrap each wax box in peanuts and a trash bag. This might have been "some" of the 5-7 I was over 50. However I left one wax box as it was and it was over as well.

Anyway, I had the longest flight you could get from Spokane WA to Manchester NH (frequent flier tickets don't get good routes). I checked in earlier than I should have in WA, had a 2 hour layover in Chicago where I saw my meat sitting on the tarmac on a 70 degree day for over an hour. It was red-eye flight, left WA at 10:30 at night, got home around 10:00 the next morning. Meat was very cold, some had leaked juice and we re-wrapped in and put it all in our freezer. I juggled this around several times over the next 48 hours to get the frozen stuff alternated with the not yet frozen stuff. All in all I lost NOTHING, no meat went bad.

Couple things I learned:
- the meat lasted fine, even over the long "warm" time it had to.
- It would have actually been cheaper to have 2 "heavy" bags, given you can go up to 100lbs, it would be the way to go.
- make sure you have a plan for this BEFORE you have to come up with one.

One guy in camp UPS overnighted his meat home. roughly same size bull, he shipped the meat, around 200 lbs, cape and rack overnight coast to coast. Cost him $700. But the meat showed up on his door step the next morning still frozen.

--Bob

logs

First of all, thanks to all for your advice.

Bob H, My plan is similar to what you did on your trip. Im Taking a large cooler out as luggage with my grip or other bag inside.
I booked on United and they allow (overweight)up to 99 lbs for a fee of $25.
Extra bags are 80 bucks.

The boned out weight and first hand experience was what I was looking for and you confrimed a lot of my ideas and answered a lot of my questions.

Thanks Bob F

Bob H in NH

For weight: my bull was a 4x5, estimated at around 500 lbs. He was skinned and cut into pieces (rear legs, front legs and ribs), into the butcher was 376 lbs. I got 220 lbs out, all meat.

BTW, its ALOT of fun trying to manuever all this through the airport by yourself. Luggage cart had bow case, checked bag, carry on back pack and meat boxes, made for fun pushing it around trying to not let it all tip over

good luck, its the best meat you can find!