Flying vs driving

[krojemann]

Curious how many people fly out west to hunt elk instead of driving. Or how many have weighed out the pros & cons.

We currently drive 24 hrs to our hunting spot. It can be a brutal drive out & especially drive back. Plus the sluggish feeling after the drive. Split between 2, gas is usually around $300 each plus wear & tear on a vehicle.

Just messing around, I priced a flight & a full size truck at about $600 each person. From door to airport, to trailhead would likely be 11-12 hours. Sounds great so far.

Where it gets interesting is factoring in if your successful. Process & shipping meat & antlers. And figuring out how to get your bow & gear out there safely & economically. I would be curious to hear everyone's thoughts.

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[Skull10]

following

 

[Indian Summer]

If hunting on your own... diy, how do you get from the airport to where you’re hunting? If with an outfitter will he pick up and drop off at the airport and run your meat around?

 

[Back Country Hunter 2]

If successful, some guys will drive the rental truck home. Just an option I have heard of.

 

[Indian Summer]

As far as your bow and gear... find a UPS store and ship it there and pick it up when you arrive. Turn around and ship it home when you’re done and put your meat on the plane. Antlers are a different story. You can ship if you split the rack. If you want a euro or don’t want to split it you’ll pay some bucks for oversized shipping.

But the first question is outfitted or DIY?

 

[Cdroot89]

Last year we rented a truck and split the cost so no one had the wear and tear on their truck. Also, I do the best of both worlds. I fly and my three hunting buddies drive. I live ten hours away from them so if I were to drive to meet them it would be a 42 hour drive.

People fly with meat and antlers all the time. I think most airlines charge about $100 fee for antlers.

I have a higher end credit card which reimburses me $200 a year for airline baggage fees. That could off set your cost some.

Flying with bow and gear is easy if you have a good bow case. I even fly with my handgun in the same case as the bow. If you are running a gas stove you can’t fly with the canister or liquid fuels. If you get something flying is going to cost you considerably more than driving.

 

[Mudflap621]

like to hear some feedback on this also my hunting buddy says fly im leaning towards driving. we are on east coast so have quite a haul.

 

[PMcGee]

I’ve done both. I’d rather drive. You lose some hunting days but is less of a hassle if you’re bringing an animal home.


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[weaver]

I prefer driving for a couple reasons.
#1 being that I like having my own truck that I'm not afraid of scuffing up a bit.
I've taken rental cars a couple places that I probably shouldn't have.



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[Fullfan]

There are 7-9 of us hunt Idaho every year. Three of us drive because we are retired, the other guys fly to get more time on the ground ( they still work),Most years it is 38-40 hours from home to Idaho. One truck towing a 26" enclosed trailer and everything you can pack in it. Several years ago we ended up with 5 elk and 5 deer, had to run to town and buy another freezer. Only advantage flying has is less time traveling and more time hunting.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Do you have more time than money? (Drive)
or
Do you have more money than time? (Fly)


Guys who only get 15 days of vacation each year dont want to burn 4 of them sitting in a truck.

 

[Brooks]

I would drive. last year 3 guys flew out here and all three killed bulls. Two on the day before they were scheduled to fly back to TN and didn’t get back to camp until about 9pm. They ended up paying to have their meat taken to a processor 90 miles away, then they paid some guy from their hometown to drive all the way back out here to NM to load up all the meat and antlers and drive back to TN. The guy driving it all back said they paid him $1500 plus food and motel.

 

[Poser]

I would drive. last year 3 guys flew out here and all three killed bulls. Two on the day before they were scheduled to fly back to TN and didn’t get back to camp until about 9pm. They ended up paying to have their meat taken to a processor 90 miles away, then they paid some guy from their hometown to drive all the way back out here to NM to load up all the meat and antlers and drive back to TN. The guy driving it all back said they paid him $1500 plus food and motel.

That’s pretty wild. I’m guessing they had all of these logistics lines up ahead of time?

 

[isItFallYet]

I paid just under $600 this year for processing and fedexing a bull from MT to TN. I also had a euro mount done by a taxidermist in MT, cost was $300 to ship, including the crate that was made for shipping.

 

[krojemann]

Thanks for the input so far. We DIY, typically pack in & set up camp. So we each usually only have a loaded pack, a small tote, bow cases, and coolers. We can easily fit it all in a truck, no trailer. With some planning, I bet we could cut that down even more.

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[Crowmangler]

There's numerous decisions that you have to weigh out what's best for you.
The biggest determination to me is if you're guided or not. Typically they'll pick you up & return you to the hotel/ airport & haul you around while you're there so that leans to flying. They can also help get your processing expedited/ prioritized. They've already got most of it down to a science so let them help you.
Keep in mind that typically you'll have a hotel night stay on the front & back end if flying. If you figure in all the airport crap you're already a long way down the road.
Driving sure helps give piece of mind with not losing or damaging gear and you don't have to worry about flight delays. However a big storm might make certain areas slow going on the road.
It's a long haul for east coast guys but If I were going with 4 or more just divide up the drive & hammer down.
I'd much rather rent a truck than have something happen to one guy's vehicle. Plus if it breaks down it's on them, not us.
There's a huge reason I'd rather drive if you're DIY.. let's say you locate elk the last evening or have perfect weather coming in you have the option of extending a day without a bunch of BS to deal with.
Have a plan to deal with the CWD issue & crossing state lines.

 

[Mudflap621]

I prefer driving for a couple reasons.
#1 being that I like having my own truck that I'm not afraid of scuffing up a bit.
I've taken rental cars a couple places that I probably shouldn't have.



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That’s what renters insurance is for right lol

 

[wind gypsy]

I used to fly more often when I hunted an area with a friend who lives in the hunting area. It makes meat considerations easier to deal with. They had freezer space and I had options to get meat home at a later date rather than flying it.

Another consideration is during archery season in the northern rockies you are more likely to camp and need coolers because of the weather. In late rifle season coolers are less important and you are more likely to stay at a hotel or house so you can get away with packing less for flights.

 

[cnelk]

Spend some time over on the Moose forum and read about how to fly with gear and meat (I.e. Alaska).

It doesn’t matter where you fly to/from, the logistics are the same.

There are reports that anytime you drive up to or over 1000 miles it’s best to rent a vehicle, just based on wear and tear and depreciation.

There is lots to see when driving cross country - excluding Nebraska and Kansas.

 

[Poser]

Spend some time over on the Moose forum and read about how to fly with gear and meat (I.e. Alaska).

It doesn’t matter where you fly to/from, the logistics are the same.

There are reports that anytime you drive up to or over 1000 miles it’s best to rent a vehicle, just based on wear and tear and depreciation.

There is lots to see when driving cross country - excluding Nebraska and Kansas.

Don’t forget to look for this high IQ deer in Iowa.


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