Getting meat/trophy home from Alaska - Alaska Express is CLOSED for 2018 - Options?

[ArrowCrazy]

My hunting partner and I have a DIY Alaskan Moose hunt coming up in September and all was coming together nicely, until we found out the only meat hauler we had a lead on Alaska Express hauling moose and caribou to lower 48 from Alaska is not providing service to the lower 48 for 2018. I talked with Charlie, the owner, yesterday and he is officially retired and until some new entrepreneur takes over his company this service is no longer available.

The cost of hauling a moose out of AK with Charlie was at a rate that made getting your delectibles home doable. $750 for all your meat , horns and cape delivered to a hub. This is a real loss for DIY groups trying to get protein home without breaking the bank plus Charlie is just one of those nice people and I am sorry that we won't get to meet!

I have checked with D & C Expediters and they only focus on horns and cape. Not on the protein.
Alaska Air Cargo offers service for about $1.50 a pound. We are expecting 650 pounds of boned out meat per animal plus cape and horns of approximately of 90 pounds so total weight around 740. So around $1,100 plus extra for packing/protecting horn tips for transfer.

Are there any other venues/haulers available to get game home from Alaska for the DIY'r that would be a less costly option than Alaska Air Cargo?

Thanks and Cheers!

 

[Titan]

Do you know anyone with a large fedex business account? I have found that it is extremely reasonable to overnight boxes. I spent about $125 for two 50 lb boxes of halibut with a saturday delivery. That was anchorage to TX.

But I will say it was a pain to figure it all out myself.

 

[Molon Labe]

I put a friend of mine in touch with Charlie and I think they are working out the details for passing the torch.
SO I wouldn't quite give up on Alaska Express as of now.

I will talk to him tomorrow and update the thread with info.
I know Charlie will be hard to replace because he is such a funny great guy that ran an amazing business.
But my buddy will do a great job as well if he takes it over.

Stay tuned!

 

[ArrowCrazy]

That is good news - I will be looking forward to updates. Thanks!


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[keller]

you could always drive up with a freezer and generator in the truck.thats what I'm going to do.im looking forward to the experience

 

[PMcGee]

I flew all my meat and antlers home on Alaska air. $75 for 100lbs unlimited checked bags. We bundled 2 racks together and that was $75. We got my meat the 2 racks and all our gear home for $800.


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[Pronghunter]

....following

 

[wooduckman]

My dad and I did this also. Incredibly easy and cost effective.

I flew all my meat and antlers home on Alaska air. $75 for 100lbs unlimited checked bags. We bundled 2 racks together and that was $75. We got my meat the 2 racks and all our gear home for $800.


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[Molon Labe]

Ok so I just got word from my buddy and looks like Alaska Meat Express is going to be open for business in 2018!
My friend is taking over the business and website etc.

Obviously phone numbers contact info is going to change.
I will probably put up some sort of post for him once all that goes through.
I may also volunteer to be contact point for all the sliders out there as well...we will see haha!

I'm just pumped because I am going to have meat locker to door service

 

[austinphps]

awesome news your buddy is taking over. I'll be keeping tabs on the site and this thread for when my AK adventure comes!

 

[AlaskaTrophyExpress]

Yes indeed Charlie did retire - however the torch has been passed and the new business is called Alaska Trophy Express. As hunters out of Wisconsin, we used Charlie several times and found his operation to be a great bargain and least amount of hassle. There is a website and gmail account with the same name. So if you are looking to get UNSPLIT antlers, cape, and moose, caribou, and/or sheep meat hauled from Alaska to the lower 48 give this website a look or send an email.

 

[austinphps]

Awesome news; site looks good. Definitely going to keep you guys at the forefront for when we head up to AK. Hopefully in 2020