Flying with firearm & Rental Vehicles

[matechakeric]

are there certain airline companies that are more friendly to traveling hunters with firearms & gear/meat storage?

also, as far as renting a pickup for a national forest hunt in Rocky Mtn States, anyone have luck simply getting an airport rental from Enterprize or Hertz? I've their tires are complete garbage for NF roads. Also, heard Turo car sharing could be a good way to rent someone's truck for hunting. Any thoughts to experience with either option?

 

[OntarioHunter]

Renting any kind of vehicle is tough up here. During COVID new car production fell off and rental outfits cycled out their their vehicles due to milage linits and high demand for used vehicles with new car lots empty. Many of the airport rental outfits also went bust when passenger traffic crashed.

 

[utah400elk]

I have had great luck renting TRD off road Tacomas…I have also gone through more than a few tires and plugs.

 

[Redman]

I always call months in advance and make sure they have a 4×4 truck available for rent for when I get there. Yes the tires are stock but have never had an issue getting where I needed to go.
As far as airlines Alaska Air is the best in my opinion for the traveling hunter.

 

[nrpate05]

I think most of the airlines have similar rules. It is easier than you think, but I'd plan to get there an hour before you normally would because they check your guns and usually take you to a different room. I'd also print out a copy of the airlines rules because many employees don't deal with firearms on a regular basis and don't know their own policy. Make sure you follow those rules to the letter as well.

 

[WyoDoug]

I never rented a vehicle yet as transportation was already taken care of once I got there but I have hunted hogs in Texas where some of my family live and have flown via American Airlines with meat in coolers with dry ice. You have to use TSA approved locks and there is a sign you have to put on the outside that you can get by researching the internet for dry ice/carbon dioxide sign for shipping containers. You can likely bypass using dry ice if your flight is less than a few hours and just freeze it solid before you leave. A good cooler will keep it frozen for upto 8 hours most of the time. If you use dry ice, I found for mine (two 48 qt coolers) that 1 pound of dry ice is plenty enough per cooler.

 

[elkhnter]

Always fly with a handgun. Unload it, lock it up with TSA locks and ammo in a separate box.
Other than a Southwest issue in Phoenix about 5 years ago, it’s been easy.
Don’t know about coolers and renting trucks, if I’m hunting, I’m driving. Whole lot less hassles.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

Southwest has the best baggage policy and is typically my choice for hunting trips, runner up is AK airlines.

Never fly frontier, their baggage policies suck.

Delta can be weird about the weight of your carry-on.

Generally I try to put all of my heavy stuff in my carry-on and in my personal item. You can carry-on frozen meat/hides, as long as they are very well sealed and won’t leak.

 

[woods89]

I have flown with Southwest several times with firearms. I had good experiences. Also flew home with meat last year, which cost me some extra money but worked well.
I also rented a VW Tiguan from Turo for my trip last fall. My buddy who lives 2 hours from where we hunt has a 4x4 rig, so this one was just for extra logistics use. This was a good experience as well, I picked it up and dropped it off in off airport parking and all went smoothly. I would probably be hesitant to use one of these rentals the same way I would use my own as its always in the back of my mind that I'm driving someone's personal vehicle. I will be happy to use them again sometime, though, if needed.