Bringing back on plane

[Joseph2186]

Hello all, soon to be heading to Alaska for a sheep hunt. Im flying Alaska Air, does anyone have any tips on how to pack the skull and hide to fly back home with?

 

[Mykolaivka887]

You'll need a large cardboard box (20x20x36 inches) and a couple of heavy mil 55-gallon contractor bags. Check the box as excess baggage. Some of my hunters have flown home with their sheep horns, with capes, and that setup worked well for them.

 

[wrexstex]

Wishing you the best of luck and safe trip.

 

[Wyoming Hart]

You'll need a large cardboard box (20x20x36 inches) and a couple of heavy mil 55-gallon contractor bags. Check the box as excess baggage. Some of my hunters have flown home with their sheep horns, with capes, and that setup worked well for them.

I used one of those plastic totes that i bought at Fred Mayer that was large enough for the skull/horns and used some dunnage to keep mine from getting beat up. I taped it shut with duct tape. Alaska Airlines has been pretty good with trophy care.

 

[wyosteve]

We were up there last month for a brown bear hunt. My hunting partner used 2 duffel bags, sized appropriately. Put hide in one heavy-duty trash bag and skull in another. Checked them both that way. Hide was not salted, but was frozen as was the skull. I flew Alaska Air and he was on Delta. I left my hide and skull with a taxidermist in Anchorage. Fwiw, don't know if you're flying out of Anchorage, but they have cold and frozen storage options at the airport on the same level as baggage claim.

 

[Mykolaivka887]

We were up there last month for a brown bear hunt. My hunting partner used 2 duffel bags, sized appropriately. Put hide in one heavy-duty trash bag and skull in another. Checked them both that way. Hide was not salted, but was frozen as was the skull.

How much did the hide weigh at check-in?

 

[wyosteve]

73 pounds. We thought the hide and skull would weigh over their limit of 100 pounds, so paid the extra for 2 bags. I brought my Dall horns and cape back from the Yukon in my duffel bags years ago as well. Even a full hide and horns from a Dall shouldn't go over 100 pounds.

 

[Mykolaivka887]

Pretty good bear. Do you have a skull measurement?

 

[wyosteve]

Don’t know the skull measurements. Game and Fish measured it when we got them sealed but we never asked. Will measure mine in about 8 months when it gets here.

 

[Mykolaivka887]

I see. Thanks for the response.

 

[Joseph2186]

Thank you all for the help, flying from pitt to fairbanks.

 

[S.Clancy]

I would fly with a cooler or 2. Pack your gear in on the way there, fly the meat/horn/head in them on the way back. You're gear only (no food) should be carry on sized on your return

 

[Joseph2186]

Ok I was going to take a extra water proof duffel or buy a tote in Fairbanks and tape and zip tie the lid shut. Was told if successful theyd salt the hide.

 

[Mykolaivka887]

I would fly with a cooler or 2. Pack your gear in on the way there, fly the meat/horn/head in them on the way back.

I wouldn't recommend a cooler for Dall Sheep horns. They won't fit inside.

 

[S.Clancy]

I wouldn't recommend a cooler for Dall Sheep horns. They won't fit inside.

Dang, really? What sort of dimensions are they usually?

 

[Mykolaivka887]

Off the top of my head, inside dimension of a 55-quart is about 14x14x22, or thereabouts. A pair of legal Dall Sheep horns on the cores won't fit inside that. Not even close.

 

[Wyoming Hart]

My Dall skull and horns weighed 38 pounds alone, if I remember correctly.

 

[Joseph2186]

I didnt relize they were that heavy or big. Ive only seen a few mounts would have never guessed thats what they weigh.

 

[Snyd]

I didnt relize they were that heavy or big. Ive only seen a few mounts would have never guessed thats what they weigh.

Wait until you get him in your pack on your back along with the green cape, half the meat and your gear!


A plastic tote, some duct tape and rope, your stinky hunting clothes and other packing material combined with some ingenuity will get the job done. I helped a guy here in Fairbanks (Falcon on this forum) package up his 38" ram and cape to fly it back to the lower 48 on AK Air a few years back. No big deal.

 

[Brent]

Not a Dall ram, but I brought a muskox head back to the lower 48 in a plastic tote checked as excess baggage. Like others, I threw some stuff in there to stabilize it in the container and checked it. No problems.