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MT, USA
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Posted: 7/12/2022 7:58:03 PM EDT
I'm heading out to Adak Island this Sept. to hunt caribou with my son and daughter-in-law. I've never flown for a big game hunt before and I'm concerned about getting the meat home. It'll be cut up and frozen, so I'm looking for advice on how big a cooler to get, and a brand recommendation. I'm sure I'll break the 50lb. limit and have to pay overweight baggage fee, but I'd rather not have all of that initial allowance taken up by the cooler itself. I'd appreciate some experienced advice on this one.
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Posted: 7/12/2022 8:14:13 PM EDT
[#1]
This is what all the Safari Club guys that I've talked to at the lodge I managed and my old boss say:
1. Ask your guide service what they do / have seen clients do. 2. Most use styrofoam coolers & dry ice & reinforce the cooler with duck tape and wrap it in plastic. 3. The baggage costs are insane. People have told me about abandoning coolers full of meat or fish because they didn't want to pay. Or there wasn't room on the plane. 4. Some Alaskan lodges do it all for you. |
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Posted: 7/13/2022 1:22:26 AM EDT
[#2]
Check with Alaska Airlines and ship it as cargo. Seen it done hundreds of times. Just make sure it's frozen or that nothing leaks from the cooler.
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Posted: 7/13/2022 1:23:40 AM EDT
[#3]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By ODA_564: This is what all the Safari Club guys that I've talked to at the lodge I managed and my old boss say: 1. Ask your guide service what they do / have seen clients do. 2. Most use styrofoam coolers & dry ice & reinforce the cooler with duck tape and wrap it in plastic. 3. The baggage costs are insane. People have told me about abandoning coolers full of meat or fish because they didn't want to pay. Or there wasn't room on the plane. 4. Some Alaskan lodges do it all for you. |
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FL, USA
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Posted: 7/13/2022 3:07:36 AM EDT
[#4]
Double check your home states fish and game page to see if they placed a prohibition on importing Deer, Elk, Moose, etc. and to what degree.
With CWD some states have gone full retard and put a bunch of restrictions in place regarding transportation. I believe I read somewhere that fresh meat in some places was a no go to import and it had to be frozen first. I don’t know how they would know unless you just happened to run into a fish cop on your way home. Unless they tasked the airline with notifications. ?? |
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Posted: 7/13/2022 3:25:50 AM EDT
[#5]
I had a moose (hind quarters, loins, and backstraps) hung, cut, frozen and shipped from a place near Anchorage.
I would have been WAY over a 50# limit. I picked up my two large boxes of air freight the afternoon they came in, 3-4 weeks later. It cost about $1000 all done, but totally worth it. |
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Posted: 7/13/2022 6:23:35 AM EDT
[#6]
I thought dry ice was a no go on flights?
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Posted: 7/13/2022 8:35:52 PM EDT
[#7]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By johnh57: I thought dry ice was a no go on flights? This. I found a game processor that will cut $ wrap our caribou and then ship it overnight. He said shipping usually runs @ $500 per animal. Alaska has refrigeration services and will air freight frozen good. The catch is you have to be a “known” shipper. So find a known shipper in your ao and pay to have it shipped. The nice thing is you can get home before your meat and be there to receive it off the plane. |
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MT, USA
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Posted: 7/17/2022 6:42:15 AM EDT
[#8]
Alaska Airlines says 5lbs/container is good to go. There are some requirements, including labeling. Check their web site.
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Posted: 7/19/2022 12:47:29 PM EDT
[#9]
If your guide is good they will know how to get it back to you.
I have seen fish boxes and all kinds of coolers used to freight meat out. |
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Posted: 7/25/2022 12:28:52 PM EDT
[#10]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By johnh57: I thought dry ice was a no go on flights? I've used dry ice twice on flights and they didn't seem to have a problem with it. Is this a recent change? |
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Posted: 7/25/2022 12:56:02 PM EDT
[#11]
As I recall when I flew 1st class I was able to bring 50 or 75 lb without additional charge it made the upgrade worthwhile.
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TX, USA
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Posted: 7/25/2022 1:52:17 PM EDT
[#12]
I was just fishing in Sitka in June. The outfitter fillets, vacuum packs and freezes the fish. They pack it in a waxed cardboard box with the fish wrapped in a bubble wrap style foil blanket right at 50lbs per box and we check it as luggage. When we got back to Texas it was still completely frozen. Brought back 250lbs of fillets.
Obviously you will have more weight so the baggage fees will add up. |
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Posted: 7/25/2022 1:52:34 PM EDT
[#13]
Originally Posted By sp3worker:
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By johnh57: I thought dry ice was a no go on flights? I've used dry ice twice on flights and they didn't seem to have a problem with it. Is this a recent change?/quote] It is a somewhat new change. |
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AK, USA
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Posted: 4/12/2023 8:48:39 PM EDT
[#14]
Do not use dry ice!!!! if anything gel packs but even then its not necessary. Get together with Indian Valley Meats or someone in Anchorage and they can pick up your meat at the airport in anchorage, they will pack it in styrofoam coolers surrounded by cardboard. Your meat will stay solid frozen for 48 hours easy without any ice. Alaska has this down to a science and its quite easy, talk to your outfitter and he can get you all the information you need.
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Posted: 4/12/2023 9:01:10 PM EDT
[#15]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By dougez1: Styrofoam is a no go. Is that new? I swear I used to see them all the time. |
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NV, USA
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Posted: 12/25/2023 12:51:04 AM EDT
[#16]
So did the OP ever get his meat home? No report back about what he did and how it worked.
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Posted: 12/25/2023 12:57:44 AM EDT
[Last Edit: AROKIE]
[#17]
BE PREPARED TO FORK OUT A MEGA SHIT TON IN CASH for flying it back, forget about making the under 50 pounds per package as that isn't happening. You will need the top of the line ice chests with alot of dry ice, and be prepared to replace it again once landing if your drive home from airport is more than a couple hours.
Unless your airline has a no-go for dry ice then you have to overnight it |
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