I'm flying out next week on the 9th for my first Western hunt and first elk hunt. I'll be hunting cow elk in NM in unit 55. I am concerned with having to fly. In the future I will drive out. The guy I'm going with has his FFL so I will ship my rifle out early and he will ship it back after the hunt, so I want have to deal with that. So here are some of the questions:

Should I send my ammo and knives in a separate package and UPS them as well? So I don't have to contend with dangerous/hazardous goods at the airport? If you don't think I should do that how do you pack your ammo and knives? What about your binoculars? Should I keep them in my carry-on?

What about flying back meat? I can use up to 4 lbs. of dry ice at a $40.00 charge and have a total of up to 100 lbs. for an additional $80.00 charge. So it will cost me $120.00 to bring back no more than 100 lbs. of meat, (this really sucks!!!)

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

C-ROY

You can ship your ammo if you want but you can also put it in your checked luggage (knife also).

Helpful hint with respect to the dry ice....don't put it in a plastic bag. I was returning from a hunt in Alaska, back when you could still have the flight attendant put your rifle in the cockpit, and one of the other hunters on the plane had some moose meat packed in dry ice and the dry ice was in a plastic bag......after several hours the bag inflated with the CO2 and burst very loudly...scared the h--- out of eveyone.

DB Bill - I had to laugh at your bursting C02 story! Guy

c-roy, I "feel your pain". Transporting meat is a bugger. Figure on 250 lbs of meat from a mature bull --- I have gone as high as 267 (sans liver, etc).

Before you leave, go to the freight office at YOUR airport. Ask them for the new requirements to fly meat. Before this 9/11 crud, you could fly meat coast to coast for about 40 c/lb (gross weight). With the new security regs, you may not be able to do it anymore -- so go and ask. If you can, just pack everything in coolers (ask for max dimensions and max piece weight) and drop them at the air freight office (do not buy the expensive "must ride" service, this time of year, nothing gets delayed, anyway).

Let us know how it works out. HTH, Dutch.

The last time I flew with guns 'n meat was before 9/11 so I don't know how much still holds true. I know for one thing, if you use handloads, find some Remington, Winchester, or Federal cartridge boxes. They won't let you use plastic ammo cases any more. Don't ask me why, it makes no sense. Rifles, or even handguns have not been a problem .I've flown with handguns 2 months after 9/11 with no problem. As far as your meat: freeze it solid if possible. I usually fly out with a 100-120 quart cooler with all my hunting gear and clothes. Then when I come back with my meat, I put this stuff in a duffle and pack the cooler with meat and pay the overweight charge. It was $40 last time I came back with elk, apparently $80 now from what you say. You could always go to Walmart out there and buy another cooler and bring back 2 of them. Now about the dry ice. If your meat is frozen hard and put into the cooler, and the cooler is full, you don't need dry ice. It's good for 4-5 days. I have used dry ice, I just don't tell them about it. The reason they charge extra is because they have to handle it specially to keep the carbon dioxide away from any pets in the hold. I throw a couple of pounds in, and completely seal the cooler seams with duct tape, this holds any vapors in. I use duct tape all over the cooler to make sure it won't open, putting multiple wraps around it in both directions. Pain in the a*# when you try to open it, but worth it for security.They usually put a "perishable" tag on it and make you sign some document stating that they aren't responsible if it rots, or something to that effect. Hope this helps, and good luck on your hunt. Cow elk, mmm mmm good !!!!

bowhuntr

I don't know if this is true or not, but I heard airlines are starting to charge $100 for each extra piece of luggage beyond 2. I drove to Wyoming this year for a hunting trip and the outfitter said one guy just left after an Elk hunt and was taking his meat with him and had to come up with $600 extra at the airline counter because of the extra "luggage". Again, I don't know if this is true, but it's worth calling & asking.

Regards,

Lou

You can take ammo, knives and all that stuff no sweat in your checked luggage. I've never had a problem flying with my rifle either.

You might look into the possibility of freezing that meat solid, then next day UPS shipping a few boxes.

I suggest that you talk to a representative of the airline you are flying ( actually I always call twice and chek two different stories, if they vary, I start digging for "official" airline policy on specifics). We can talk all about what-ifs here and what happened to us, and all that really counts is what your airline says when you show up with firearms.
I flew mid Sept 2002 with 1886 and pistol and no one batted an eye, just looked, I had to force them to look at rifle to be sure it was unloaded.
No problems coming back with firearms I did not go out with (picked up family heirlooms on the trip) and had NO problems.

You may have problems.

Several years ago I was checking baggage with guns out front (when we could still do that)before going in to the airport and the airlines guy gave me all kinds of hassle. The Red-cap told me I really didn't have to put up with the hassle, and I told him the coupla minutes were nothing compared to the "official hassle" I could go thru if I decided to force the issues.
He laughed and away we went!

LouisB

I will forward an address where you can forward elk backstrap.

When you go to getting your meat, remember bone is weight, . . . . in an elk . . . a lot of weight.