Elk Hunt - Thinking of flying

[pbcarch]

Last year was my first trip out west, we flew.

Took bow and sidearm in my bow case + ammo in factory box. Flew AA and no issues. At counter I declared firearm and they had me open case and put slip of paper inside. I had the case locked with both TSA locks and my own key locks. They told me to wait and they checked it behind counter with out opening, told me they would let me know if they wanted to re-open, said all good. On the way back they escorted me to a TSA side area and had me open up and slip piece of paper in , re- lock and that’s it.
Do know that with firearm in case you must pick up your case ar special area in airport, it doesn’t come down regular carousel

Put my Kifaru pack in big duffle bag, kept weight down, carried optics in my carry on duffel and wore my bino harness as personnel item. Honestly one of the toughest things is the mountain boots....they are heavy as hell , take up a ton of space and you don’t want to wear them thru the airport ;-)

I got one of those AA elite CC that had bonus points so flight and first bag was free. They never charged me for oversized bow case and I moved stuff around to stay under weight.

We did not get lucky to bag an elk but had plans of how to get home from processor. It wasn’t going to be cheap.

My friend and I are driving this year...between no rental and airline fees we save about 1k....then if we do get and elk down we save even more. Not to mention we get to bring extra gear , and food to eat when not in the back country

Paul


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[Hike-n-Hunt]

Coming from Georgia, I know what it's like to make that kind of drive. I'd prefer to fly going that far solo, but if you've got the time then a drive may be worth it, Hopefully the outfitter can pick you up from the airport if you decide to fly and save you the cost of the rental. Cost of flying, baggage fees and rental vs cost of time driving, and fuel. Only you know what works best for you. Maybe an exciting ride up, but could be a super exhausting, quiet ride back after hunting your tail off for a week. Others have stated fly in and rental back if your successful, can't go wrong there. My experiences, flying with guns is an easy task. When you get to the airport just tell them you need to declare a firearm and they'll point you in the right direction. Just keep it in airline approved gun case, don't pack your ammo in the same box. Keep it in your checked bag. They'll inspect it in front of you while your there, you put the form inside the case and lock it up. When you get to your destination you have to go to TSA to pick it up. It's a piece of cake, just allow yourself a few extra minutes for the airport, at least I do flying out of Atlanta. Make sure if you add additional locks to the case they are TSA approved, because I have watched them cut many heavy duty locks off to inspect cases to only replace it with a cheap TSA lock. I buy a few coolers, debone and freeze the meat in 2 gallon zip lock bags if you have access to a freezer and bring it on the plane back home, just have to pay over weight baggage fees. If you don't freeze it, it'll be fine if it's chilled as it will only be there a few hours. Leave your trophy at a local taxidermist and ship it home a few months later once it's ready. Most of those taxidermist have reliable shippers they recommend. Good luck on your next trip out west..

 

[T28w]

I’m from west AL, drove solo to NW CO last year.....enjoy the drive and time of solitude!

Where are you in West Alabama?

 

[bozeman]

T28w- PM Sent

 

[tntrker]

I drove from SC last year to Montana. I'd rather fly but it's cheaper to drive if you get something. Between changing flights if you tag out early, rental, getting horns/meat back. Took a 15cuft freezer and 100 ft extension cord to plug it up overnight for the trip back. Doing it again but would avoid the hassle of trying to find the right place with outside outlet to use by just putting Dry ice in the freezer. At $100 on craiglist, it's cheaper than buying 2 big coolers and hoping it fits..

 

[Fullfan]

I have ben hunting Idaho since 1983 and I have driven, the only advantage to flying is giving your self several more days of hunting. We go the DIY route and always have, you can never have enough " stuff" the weather in the West is very unpredictable. My situation is different than many, we have a crew of 7-9 guys that go every year. We all own 3/4 or 1 ton trucks and we all purchased a 24' enclosed trailer only to haul our stuff out and back. At least 3-4 of us drive out and the other guys fly, guys flying rent a truck and drive to camp. Which eliminates someone having to burn two days of hunting getting the flyers to and from the airport. Also everything that goes hunting is loaded the weekend before we leave, and the guys flying just get on the airplane.

Everything we do is done as a group, from packing to go to cooking in camp. Packing out animals all done on our backs. We also butcher our game and split the meat when we get home.