For those of you that have travelled to AK and brought meat back with you, would you mind giving a bit of advice/insight as to the best, most cost efficient method of doing so? I think we'll have a place to freeze the meat on the boat, but I'm not sure...I'll find out. I'd guess that many of the hotels in Anchorage will have freezer space for meat/hides/horns??? I have one night in Anchorage on the way back. Thanks in advance!
Getting meat home???
- Thread starter 1_pointer
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Pygmy
New member
All of the motels I have stayed in in Anchortown have freezers, but it wouldn't hurt to check...You can also keep it at the airport..They have a freezer and ding you modest fee per box per day to leave it there..If you are only leaving it one night it might be a good option...
We ship most of our gear and antlers via USPS and bring boxes of boned frozen meat and capes back as baggage...Many stores, seafood or meat packing places, etc. have wax fish boxes available, for $10 apiece or so...Line the box with a couple of plastic trash bags, tape it up and freeze it..It will still be frozen solid when you get it home..I've brought moose and caribou meat home from AK to NY several times and never had a problem...Airlines are now limiting you to 50 pounds per box...used to be 75...
We ship most of our gear and antlers via USPS and bring boxes of boned frozen meat and capes back as baggage...Many stores, seafood or meat packing places, etc. have wax fish boxes available, for $10 apiece or so...Line the box with a couple of plastic trash bags, tape it up and freeze it..It will still be frozen solid when you get it home..I've brought moose and caribou meat home from AK to NY several times and never had a problem...Airlines are now limiting you to 50 pounds per box...used to be 75...
T Bone
Well-known member
Great question Pointer.
Pygmy, are the fish boxes you speak of insulated, or just the waxed cardboard?
Anybody venture a guess on how much a moose cape would weigh? I'm guessing 100 pounds?
Pygmy, are the fish boxes you speak of insulated, or just the waxed cardboard?
Anybody venture a guess on how much a moose cape would weigh? I'm guessing 100 pounds?
1 ptr
I second shipping as much gear back as you can. I still believe getting on Alaska Airlines cargo list is the best way to get gear home, but it might be too late for the application process to finish up before your hunt starts...generally takes a year.
T-Bone
The fish boxes aren't insulated...more or less waxed cardboard with a plastic bag inside.
As far as a cape goes....I would highly suggest having it tanned there and then shipped to you. You won't have to worry about it spoiling and won't get the hefty price tag attached to shipping a green cape.
I know of two tanneries, one in Anchorage and the other in Fairbanks. I highly recommend the one in Anchorage, the one in Fairbanks is unreliable.
Alpha Furs in Anchorage is the heat. Their number is 907-868-3227. I'd call them and see if they can't accomodate you somehow. If there is a problem getting the cape to them from Fairbanks I can ask my very good friend who is a taxidermist and lives just down the road from Fairbanks if he would be willing to prep the cape and ship to Alpha. I know he doesn't typically do this unless he is doing the actual taxidermy work, but he might do it for me and for a small fee. Let me know if this is something you are interested in.
Jim
I second shipping as much gear back as you can. I still believe getting on Alaska Airlines cargo list is the best way to get gear home, but it might be too late for the application process to finish up before your hunt starts...generally takes a year.
T-Bone
The fish boxes aren't insulated...more or less waxed cardboard with a plastic bag inside.
As far as a cape goes....I would highly suggest having it tanned there and then shipped to you. You won't have to worry about it spoiling and won't get the hefty price tag attached to shipping a green cape.
I know of two tanneries, one in Anchorage and the other in Fairbanks. I highly recommend the one in Anchorage, the one in Fairbanks is unreliable.
Alpha Furs in Anchorage is the heat. Their number is 907-868-3227. I'd call them and see if they can't accomodate you somehow. If there is a problem getting the cape to them from Fairbanks I can ask my very good friend who is a taxidermist and lives just down the road from Fairbanks if he would be willing to prep the cape and ship to Alpha. I know he doesn't typically do this unless he is doing the actual taxidermy work, but he might do it for me and for a small fee. Let me know if this is something you are interested in.
Jim
T Bone
Well-known member
Ovis,
Tanning the cape there makes good sense.
I'm not sure if I'm flying into Anchorage or Fairbanks......If going to Fairbanks, tapping into your resources (friend to prep and ship the cape) is a go. Thanks very much for the offer to assist. I should be getting the final flight schedules within a month.
I will let you know.
For shipping gear home, I'm assuming places like Kotzebue have USPS facilities to get the packaging material?
T Bone
Tanning the cape there makes good sense.
I'm not sure if I'm flying into Anchorage or Fairbanks......If going to Fairbanks, tapping into your resources (friend to prep and ship the cape) is a go. Thanks very much for the offer to assist. I should be getting the final flight schedules within a month.
I will let you know.
For shipping gear home, I'm assuming places like Kotzebue have USPS facilities to get the packaging material?
T Bone
Thanks for the help fellas!
Does shipping the gear include guns?
Looks like that extra day in Anchorage on the return leg is going to come in handy in making sure everything gets home! I'd like to bring at least one box of venison and one box of fish home! I'll get with the transporter and find out if he has any suggestions as to where to get these, I'm guessing he does.
I plan on packing VERY light. I'm taking one bag for clothes, sleeping bags, etc and a gun case, that's it. So, shipping that stuff home via USPS shouldn't be too bad.
Does shipping the gear include guns?
Looks like that extra day in Anchorage on the return leg is going to come in handy in making sure everything gets home! I'd like to bring at least one box of venison and one box of fish home! I'll get with the transporter and find out if he has any suggestions as to where to get these, I'm guessing he does.
I plan on packing VERY light. I'm taking one bag for clothes, sleeping bags, etc and a gun case, that's it. So, shipping that stuff home via USPS shouldn't be too bad.
be very careful shipping guns. they cant be shipped USPS or fed ex they can only be shipped UPS if you are shipping them from you to you. otherwise they hae to be shipped to an ffl.shipping your clothes is a great idea and i am probablly going to ship my gun as well.if you are going to need to use the guns before a week or two after you get home i wouldnt ship them but that will free up one more box for free.most airlines let you ship 2 boxes as luggage and everything after that is 50 dollars. if the boxes are more than 50 pounds there is an excess handling charge which gets pretty hefty.getting close tyler i cant wait
Most flights into Fairbanks stop in Anchorage and vice-versa on the return leg, but there are a few exceptions. Even so, you still have to get the cape on the plane in Anchorage and then there is the concern about layover time in A-town.
I'll talk to Rich (the taxidermist) and see if he can assist with your cape. I'll get back with you on it.
I haven't been to Kotz yet but, I have heard there is a USPS there. You might want to even check with Lilbuggun and what he could tell you about Northern Air Cargo...I know he used to work for them.
Some good reading on shipping for all of you going...
http://www.outdoorsdirectory.com/akforum/akhunting/25378.htm
http://www.outdoorsdirectory.com/akforum/akhunting/20175.htm
http://www.outdoorsdirectory.com/akforum/akhunting/10449.htm
http://www.outdoorsdirectory.com/akforum/akhunting/5745.htm
http://www.outdoorsdirectory.com/akforum/akhunting/6359.htm
The list goes on. Go to the outdoorsdirectory.com site and run a search on shipping. You should find plenty of info there.
I'll talk to Rich (the taxidermist) and see if he can assist with your cape. I'll get back with you on it.
I haven't been to Kotz yet but, I have heard there is a USPS there. You might want to even check with Lilbuggun and what he could tell you about Northern Air Cargo...I know he used to work for them.
Some good reading on shipping for all of you going...
http://www.outdoorsdirectory.com/akforum/akhunting/25378.htm
http://www.outdoorsdirectory.com/akforum/akhunting/20175.htm
http://www.outdoorsdirectory.com/akforum/akhunting/10449.htm
http://www.outdoorsdirectory.com/akforum/akhunting/5745.htm
http://www.outdoorsdirectory.com/akforum/akhunting/6359.htm
The list goes on. Go to the outdoorsdirectory.com site and run a search on shipping. You should find plenty of info there.
Guys
One thing I have done (and this includes my hunt with Elkgunner to SE Alaska last year) is stick our gun cases into an oversized duffel bag, that way we can fill the spaces with more gear and it still only counts as one piece of luggage. Just sucks when TSA wants to sneak a peak and they unpack it all. Gunner's daughter custom made the duffel we used last year...worked really good.
One thing I have done (and this includes my hunt with Elkgunner to SE Alaska last year) is stick our gun cases into an oversized duffel bag, that way we can fill the spaces with more gear and it still only counts as one piece of luggage. Just sucks when TSA wants to sneak a peak and they unpack it all. Gunner's daughter custom made the duffel we used last year...worked really good.
Pygmy
New member
Regarding shipping stuff home through the post office, I've had no problems...Sometimes it has taken a while to arrive, but I've never lost anything...It's a great way to ship antlers...In '99 I mailed home two sets of caribou antlers parcel post, split and nested together, for about $25 from AK to NY...Last fall I shipped an intact 6x6 elk rack attached to the skull plate from CO to NY via priority mail for $18 and the horns beat me home...!!.. I mailed them on Saturday and they arrived Monday..I've always brought my gun case back with me as checked luggage...If you bring that, a carryon, and two boxes of meat/fish, that would only be $50 in extra baggage charges...Pretty cheap, I'd say...
Back in the days before 9-11 sometimes you could sometimes cut a deal with a baggage handler and get extra baggage shipped back real cheap, but I suspect those days are over...In '96, we got 11 boxes of meat shipped home by paying a baggage handler $150... With the increased security nowadays that is probably no longer possible, and an attempt to do so might earn you an all expense paid vacation in Guantanamo with some dude named MOHAMMED for a roommate...
....
Back in the days before 9-11 sometimes you could sometimes cut a deal with a baggage handler and get extra baggage shipped back real cheap, but I suspect those days are over...In '96, we got 11 boxes of meat shipped home by paying a baggage handler $150... With the increased security nowadays that is probably no longer possible, and an attempt to do so might earn you an all expense paid vacation in Guantanamo with some dude named MOHAMMED for a roommate...
....Thanks again fellas. Looks like I'll be packing my rifle with me, as I'll be heading into either NM or ID within two weeks of getting back! I have enough clothes to make due if need be. $50 for an extra bag is cheap!
Ovis- I read in an hunting mag about taking your gun apart (stock from barreled action). This way it will fit in a take down case which fits in the bottom compartment of some suitcases. Cabelas makes cases for just this purpose. FYI...
I have enough clothes to make due if need be. $50 for an extra bag is cheap!Ovis- I read in an hunting mag about taking your gun apart (stock from barreled action). This way it will fit in a take down case which fits in the bottom compartment of some suitcases. Cabelas makes cases for just this purpose. FYI...
Calif. Hunter
Active member
I bought a Tuffpak a couple of weeks ago. A guy on Accurate Reloading was selling them cheap - well, comparatively cheap. http://www.hunters-hq.com/TuffpakGunCase.htm http://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/ubb.x/a/tpc/f/1411043/m/507104362 That way, I can pack clothes and gun into one case. I also bought the sack, as it seems the easiest way to pack the case.
Tom
New member
I didn't know you could ship your gun to yourself, that's great. I shipped my gear last year by UPS and took meat cape and horns in those waxed boxes and paid the $50 for an extra box, but only had a layover in Anchorage of 6 hours. Doing the tanning there is a great idea! They charged me $200 in Dillingham to keep my quarters in a freezer for a week, so checking the freezer ahead of time is a great idea, while KC and I canoed and fished some after the hunt. KC said he lost his gear in the mail, last I herd. We put two guns in one case, which helped some there.
brokfut
Active member
Try Safari Fast Freight. If it is packed (Frozen) and the capes/horns are packed for shipment SFF can move it Door-to-Door. Thats all the company does. Specializes in shipping trophy capes/horns from anywhere in the world to anywhere you want it. Can air freight the frozen meat also if it is packed to ship. Don't handle firearms or ammunition but can move anything else.
FYI, Here's a link to the excess baggage fee for Delta airlines
http://www.delta.com/travel/plan/baggage_info/excess_baggage/index.jsp
I'll have to do some thinking on this, but I'll probably mail my clothes home and take my rifle with me on the plane. I've got a two gun case, so I'll be packing my co-workers rifle, thus only have to split 1/2 the cost of the excess baggage. I just need to make sure that the meat boxes are under 71#s.
http://www.delta.com/travel/plan/baggage_info/excess_baggage/index.jsp
I'll have to do some thinking on this, but I'll probably mail my clothes home and take my rifle with me on the plane. I've got a two gun case, so I'll be packing my co-workers rifle, thus only have to split 1/2 the cost of the excess baggage. I just need to make sure that the meat boxes are under 71#s.
I am having a some what similar question, but with a twist. I'll be going to Alberta, Canada . It's a little different with all the customs regulations and such. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Link to my question in the big game forum.
http://www.hunttalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22789
http://www.hunttalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22789
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