Cheapest way to get elk meat from MT to FL?

[Thomasj1107]

How do y’all do it?

 

[nettereo16]

One way rental car !

 

[jthomas]

Are you flying or driving? Either way have it processed and frozen. If flying check the frozen meat. If driving, get some dry ice on top of the frozen meat in cooler and it will still be frozen 3 days later, you should be home by then.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

I would pay the air freight and put it on same plane you are on. Otherwise you will have to pay carrier massive amounts of $$$$$ for overnight. You can put some in a carry on but you are limit to the amount of dry ice they allow in cabin. I think it was 10 lbs the last time I did it. Styrofoam ice chest meat and dry ice. You will need to label it as having dry ice in it. Granted you won't be able to get a lot in the carry on, the rest would need to go in normal baggage. If you fly non stop you may be able to get away with freezing it to -20 regs. and packing it in bubble wrap. I hav also done that. Wis. to Cal non stop with venison. Like a rock when I got home.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

I see driving as an option which would work, that way you could pick up dry ice along the way, What are you looking at 2.5- 3 day trip. Maybe less if you go non stop with two drivers.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Had a processor freeze and ship mine to me FedEx 2 day shipping in Styrofoam boxes. Was hard as a rock when it arrived.

When it comes to getting your meat home, "cheapest" is not part of the equation. Take crappy gear and clothing from wal mart, a savage rifle, etc....meat care is not the place to be pinching pennies IMO.

 

[rlmmarine]

Ive always put it on dry ice in soft sided coolers and brought it home with me on the plane

 

[dreamingWest]

Last year my buddy shipped via FedEx to Texas. He used a bunch of 48 qt Rubbermaid coolers from Walmart with dry ice. The meat was still frozen and it was very affordable.

 

[Thomasj1107]

Had a processor freeze and ship mine to me FedEx 2 day shipping in Styrofoam boxes. Was hard as a rock when it arrived.

When it comes to getting your meat home, "cheapest" is not part of the equation. Take crappy gear and clothing from wal mart, a savage rifle, etc....meat care is not the place to be pinching pennies IMO.

I’m just looking for the best option for the price…. What did the fedex two day wind up costing you to get it home?

 

[FLATHEAD]

Had a Gemsbok processed, frozen and shipped UPS from NM to Central Fl. back in 2011.
I'm thinking 400 bucks, shipped it in a igloo cooler with wheels. 100 lbs of meat, showed up hard as a rock.
Processor handled all the logistics.
I normally do it myself, but it was a short trip

 

[Texasbuckeye]

Last year I looked at the option of one way rental vs shipping. The one way rental alone was about the cost of the shipping, and that didn't include gas, food, and hotel (not to mention time).

I got my meat in two days in texas once it was shipped. Most was still frozen, but some had started to thaw. It was still plenty cold so I just re-froze and haven't had any issues with it when eaten.


Where you hunting and are you planning on having the meat processed prior to going home?

 

[Mosby]

I would take the backstrap and tenderloin in a small cooler home with me and arrange with the processor to donate the rest of the meat I didn't carry. You get the best of the animal, a tax right off and people get fed.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

Backstrap and tenderloin best parts but you don't want to make ground out of them. Take all the meat. Small price to pay after all other trip expenses.

 

[Gseith]

Donate the meat to a fellow rokslide member in MT. Won’t cost you anything.
To the recipient…priceless.

 

[eldeuce]

I tried to fly on Southwest, and took a cooler with dry ice as checked baggage. Inadvertently spilled the beans that I had dry ice. They were going to charge me a bunch of money, but I opted to take it out of the cooler.

Then disposal.. airline cop was there; couldn't just throw it in the trash. Ditched it outside in a stairwell, a couple hundred yards away.

My takeaway is to keep my mouth shut about any dry ice if I do that again...

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

 

[GSPHUNTER]

Only problem I had with dry ice was amount allowed, 5 lbs and I had to label it on chest. That was carry on. Dry Ice can displace O2 in cabin if there is too much. No problem with checked bags. AA, but that's been several years ago. Just make sure you check with airline before flying.

 

[Brendan]

This is one of the reasons I drive. Just put it in the cooler with ice and drive home. Process it when I get back.

Only thing it costs me is ice for the cooler and some contractor bags.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

This is one of the reasons I drive. Just put it in the cooler with ice and drive home. Process it when I get back.

Only thing it costs me is ice for the cooler and some contractor bags.

Really best option. Thats what I'll be doing when we go elk hunting in Oct.

 

[PMcGee]

I tried to fly on Southwest, and took a cooler with dry ice as checked baggage. Inadvertently spilled the beans that I had dry ice. They were going to charge me a bunch of money, but I opted to take it out of the cooler.

Then disposal.. airline cop was there; couldn't just throw it in the trash. Ditched it outside in a stairwell, a couple hundred yards away.

My takeaway is to keep my mouth shut about any dry ice if I do that again...

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

We fly with Southwest every year. We brought two elk home with us this year on the plane. We had dry ice in both our carry ons and in the coolers we checked with no problems at all. Same thing years prior. The only problem I ever had was when I tried to bring meat home in a plastic tote. They told me it had to be in a cooler or wax box. Wasn’t even allowed to put the wax boxes in the tote for some reason. I’ve flown meat in plastic totes with Alaska air without a problem.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[MattB]

I tried to fly on Southwest, and took a cooler with dry ice as checked baggage. Inadvertently spilled the beans that I had dry ice. They were going to charge me a bunch of money, but I opted to take it out of the cooler.

Then disposal.. airline cop was there; couldn't just throw it in the trash. Ditched it outside in a stairwell, a couple hundred yards away.

My takeaway is to keep my mouth shut about any dry ice if I do that again...

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

Or just follow the policy outlined on their website.