Driving vs. Flying?

[fatlander]

It’s the opposite, flying with a checked firearm is a great way to make sure your luggage gets there or at least gets found quickly. In photography circles it was common at one point to check a firearm with expensive camera equipment so that it would get better tracking. Anymore an AirTag goes in every bag when I’m traveling.

I’ve never had luggage truly lost, usually it just shows up a day late at worst. I usually fly direct to DEN, PHX, SLC and then drive from there on a hunt which lowers the risk of lost gear. Optics, boots and packs go on as a carry on.

I’m honestly just as worried about gear being stolen at hotels, rest stops or gas stations while driving especially when you have an overloaded truck.

Delayed and lost guns are a bigger pain than regular luggage though. You have to be present when it arrives.

Here’s a horror story for those that like to fly:

2021, were set to fly out the Thursday before the Saturday opener. Got through tsa and flight was cancelled.

Rescheduled for the following day, Friday, out of a different city.

Land at destination at 2200. Bags got left at the connecting hub. We were planning to drive to the trailhead 4.5 hours away, make a quick camp then head in before light to start hunting.

Because there were handguns in the luggage, someone had to be there when they arrived at the airport the next day. We split up, half the guys stayed in a hotel, that we had to cover, and the others went to scout.

Hiked in 4 miles and 2500 feet of gain to get on a glassing knob the morning of the opener while all of our gear was still in Dallas. Had 3 pope and young bulls inside of 60 yards that morning. Gear arrived around lunch. We hiked back out, drove to get the gear and other guys, then hiked back in.

We were finally hunting 60 hours after we initially left the house. We also never turned those bulls up again. After that fiasco, I said I’d never fly again in the lower 48 if I had a tag.


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[Billy Goat]

#SupportLocal


Avoid bucees

We had one come into town. Its kinda like what a cabelas/bass pro use to do for your local outdoor store.

 

[HK940]

Last month the wife and I took a cruise to Alaska the flight there was not bad, but the return trip was a nightmare 41 hours. First we got to Seattle airport at 10:00 am and our flight was not until 11:30 pm.
From there to Dulles (30 min layover) then to Newark, NJ (4 hour layover them to Asheville NC.
We got off the boat Friday morning at 8:30 am did not get home until 7m Sat.

 

[Kurts86]

Flying is very helpful if you have people going on a hunt from different multiple states instead of driving to meet up and then finally drive to hunt. Alternatively I’ve also flown out to meet people who drove because of schedules.

Flying was way more common for me when I lived in a major city with multiple airports and direct flights to most of the lower 48. The math quickly changes with a midsized city let alone a regional airport where you have a commuter flight to a major hub before you start going anywhere. Direct flights between major hubs with multiple routes per day significantly lower your risk of lost luggage or long delays. Leaving first thing in the morning usually helps with delays as well instead of being at the mercy of cascading delays earlier in the day in another part of the country.

If you don’t fly regularly in your life outside of hunting you likely you won’t enjoy flying to hunt. At this point flying with a checked firearm is easier than flying with young kids and car seats.

Rental cars are another consideration when flying to hunt. Getting a 4x4 vehicle can be a hassle some places and not others. Regardless a rental will always have terrible highway tires even if you somehow rented the best 4x4 ever.

Flying is great for prioritizing time above all else. It isn’t perfect but driving has risks too. I know I would rather risk flying than pulling a trailer 1,000 miles again for a hunt.