Shipping game meat

[montana7mmhunter]

My buddies and I are considering booking another elk hunt in Wyoming. Being from NY we would rather NOT drive our SUVs and trailers as we have in the past. Thinking about flying in & out this time but we definitely want to get our meat back home again. I assume that we can have a butcher/shipper freeze, pack and ship our elk meat back.

Anyone have any experience doing this? What is the likely cost to ship?

Have the butcher/processor ship your meat can be extremely expensive. I can only speak for shipping cost for Delta Airline, since that is the airline I have used for the last 25+ years for deer and elk hunts in Montana and Colorado. I bring my deer/elk home as excess luggage. First, the airlines do not allow the use of dry ice. I always have my meat processed, wrapped land frozen locally. I generally purchase regular 48 qt. Igloo coolers and a roll of duct tape. I pack the frozen meat in the cooler, but make sure it does not exceed 50 pounds (anything over 50 pounds incurs and additional charge because of the weight). Coolers weighing more than 50 pounds increases the cost significantly. I normally have an early morning flight connecting through SLC arriving in Atlanta around midnight. The meat is still frozen solid when I arrive home using the cheap igloo coolers. I would check with your airline to see if they have a limit on the number of pieces of luggage you can check and the cost for each bag. This help you determine and compare shipping cost.

 

[Lenny Foffa]

long time ago I had to have the. Neat. Packed up in special cardboard boxes and a. Big green. Label that. Said Dry Ice!! The dry. Ice was a. Big deal to the. Airline!!

 

[Loggerdude]

I've sent meat ups from Oregon to Connecticut frozen in a junker cooler wrapped in cardboard taped with gorilla tape 50 pounds $63 in November- January no problem 5 days

 

[Husky user]

Wow,

I can see why people take the spoils of the hunt but can someone try describe Elk meat.

How does it rank among other American game meats?

I've eaten Goat and Fallow deer in Australia, Kangaroo and Rabbit, other Venison a mate hunted. . I've eaten some African game in South Africa.

Is Elk more prized than other common game meats? Whitetail, Deer, Bison?

I prefer elk to any meat except antelope,but antelope run can be bad!Any big buck in the rut can be bad!

 

[BighornRam]

Look up the Alaska airlines luggage policy's. I just got back from AK Caribou out of Fairbanks. Not knowing if the border would be open I researched flying. Best option I found for. 4 boi was using a meat cutter in Fairbanks. He was a registered shipper with AK air freight. We could box our meat in wax fish boxes under 100 lb. He would freeze and ship to us. Another was a truck freight service that does pickups around AK at end of season and runs a route thru parts of US. Horns capes and meat in refrigerator truck. Google both, I am hunting now and away from my computer. I ended up driving from WYOMING. 4 caribou, archery, 2, 7 cu ft freezers. 2 huge bulls, 379 and 400 net.

 

[BighornRam]

 

[DocGlenn]

Assuming that I have 200lbs of butchered elk it would not be to practical to fly it back with me. Hopefully, as a group, we'll have more than one elk to deal with. I'd rather just have it shipped frozen. Hasn't anyone on LRH done this?

I had two Axis Deer shipped from TX to GA. The processor in TX processed it, froze it, bought a cooler, packed it full and shipped it next day. It got to me a day or two late (can't remember to be honest) and most of the meat was still frozen. Some of it had begun to thaw, but it was in really good shape, didn't lose any. seems like it was around $350 to ship it to me including the cooler. An Elk will be 3X as much meat, its going to be pricey to do that. Had a friend shoot 2 elk in CO. They had a rental car to drive back to Denver, and decided to drive back instead of fly from Denver to Atlanta. We brought 2 caribou and the antlers back from AK last year, but we were flying AK Air. They have walk in freezers in the major airports (or at least they did in Seattle) and that worked out really well, just had to pay extra baggage on the giant boxes. Best advice I can give you is figure it out BEFORE you leave, call the processor, see if they can even process it while you are there and freeze it, ETC. The processor should be able to answer your questions about shipping it and what it would cost. Its a big issue to figure out. Good luck!

 

[Tom Wright]

What do you think? Carry game meat on…no weight limit with Delta. Just a size limit.

In this…

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QY2MR67/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_imm_S6GR510VPVXCHB1J84FP?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

I think a non starter for carryon. At 29+" it's too long and unless meat is totally frozen TSA could be a problem. The times I have traveled with meat, even carry on, they wanted it in a hard sided cooler—worried about leakage on plane. Like the idea but it would have to be laid down and not designed like a dry bag, so no rolled top closure. You can't bring water based ice or dry ice on board.

 

[nksmfamjp]

I think a non starter for carryon. At 29+" it's too long and unless meat is totally frozen TSA could be a problem. The times I have traveled with meat, even carry on, they wanted it in a hard sided cooler—worried about leakage on plane. Like the idea but it would have to be laid down and not designed like a dry bag, so no rolled top closure. You can't bring water based ice or dry ice on board.

Actually, it is a roll top closure. I get it tonight, I think. Plan is to put bag of ice in it for a 12-14 hours and confirm dryness.

First I will confirm water tight. With water in the bag. Up, down, upside down!

Then I will test with a bag of ice. Up, down, laid down for up to 24 hrs.

I worry they will unpack, so I will seal all meat in clear vac pack to prevent unwrapping.

I will test laid down.

 

[hunter0528]

Back in 2016 I got an Elk in New Mexico. After the processor packaged the meat (250 lbs) it would have been some 1,200. to ship 2nd day by FedEx. it was packed in Ice packs as Fedex would not deal with Dry Ice (removes oxygen). I stayed a couple of extra days and took it back on the plane.

 

[nksmfamjp]

What do you think? Carry game meat on…no weight limit with Delta. Just a size limit.

In this…

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QY2MR67/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_imm_S6GR510VPVXCHB1J84FP?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

I want to update you on this. Overall, this thing looks pretty good laying it down full of water showed a leak at the edge of the roll top. I tried to redo the roll, but it still leaked. That said, I would rate the waterproofness at waterproof, except the roll top. I seal my meat 100% in a vacuum sealer. So, I consider this a pass.

Next, I need to buy or make a bag of ice to test.

Next, I need to confirm size to Delta requirment and confirm I can get to airport completely frozen! Looks like no weight restrictions, but size and frozen at security screen are critical.

 

[171farm]

Really no cheap way to do it. Extra baggage fees especially if you hit over size due to weight is pricy…same goes with shipping via mail carriers. Last time my dad drove out and brought most of our meat back…you get a lot of meat from a elk by the way. This time donating whatever we shoot.

 

[calling4life]

So, it sounds like a good option, and an at worst in that good option, assuming you don't go over weight limit, is the $150 extra bag at 50 lbs.

Some noted they weren't that much, but it seems like $150 was the most, again, assuming you don't go crazy heavy. So let's use the "worst" case scenario.

So, 50lbs at $150 is $3/lb, and for quality meat... that's a steal

That wouldn't bother me at all.

Yes, that means if you have 500 lbs of meat it'll be 10 bags/boxes/whatever, and $1500, but that's still $3 a pound.

I pay $5-$6 a pound for my beef right now because I buy junk roasts, I'm good with $3 a pound for good/perhaps unbelievably good, game meat.

And yes I understand you may want to include license fees and other stuff in the cost of that meat, but I don't, the value of the hunt offsets that stuff, the backpack, the tent, the flights to and from etc...

To me, I'd associate that direct meat "shipping" cost with the meat, and $3/lb is very acceptable.

 

[nksmfamjp]

So, it sounds like a good option, and an at worst in that good option, assuming you don't go over weight limit, is the $150 extra bag at 50 lbs.

Some noted they weren't that much, but it seems like $150 was the most, again, assuming you don't go crazy heavy. So let's use the "worst" case scenario.

So, 50lbs at $150 is $3/lb, and for quality meat... that's a steal

That wouldn't bother me at all.

Yes, that means if you have 500 lbs of meat it'll be 10 bags/boxes/whatever, and $1500, but that's still $3 a pound.

I pay $5-$6 a pound for my beef right now because I buy junk roasts, I'm good with $3 a pound for good/perhaps unbelievably good, game meat.

And yes I understand you may want to include license fees and other stuff in the cost of that meat, but I don't, the value of the hunt offsets that stuff, the backpack, the tent, the flights to and from etc...

To me, I'd associate that direct meat "shipping" cost with the meat, and $3/lb is very acceptable.

You only get 1 over limit bag….50lbs max.

Fit it in a carryon, and you get unlimited weight, but a size limit. Generally unchecked though.