Shipping gear for a hunt

[Surveyjohn]

It’s a long drive from Virginia to Montana. But when I fly I just can’t take all the gear I would like to. Any of you fellas ever tried shipping gear out before a hunt? Also wondering if I could ship firearms and pick them up at a FFL when I get there. Don’t really love flying with a gun case. It would be great to ship a duffel bag of gear, fly out and rent a truck. When I do drive, I end up missing an extra week of work and running a whole lot of extra miles on my truck. Any ideas or personal experience out there?

 

[Southern Heritage]

I have guys ship duck hunting gear every year to my cabin in North Dakota. Minus the cost it seems pretty awesome when they show up with just a back pack and all there gear is at the house. Vs the guys waiting on bags. Then hauling them through the air port etc.

However ive seen guys stuff bot show up but that happens flying as well

 

[def90]

You can ship a gun to yourself, no need to send it to an ffl. The only issue would be where are you shipping your stuff to? A friends house, an outfitter, a hotel?

 

[Shootinsurveyor]

You a surveyor?

I shipped all my misc gear-extra clothes, bow arrows knives out two weeks before I was heading out. Granted it was shipped to my buddy’s house so your location may vary in difficulty. I just had to carry on my pack with one set of clothes to airline. Flying with a gun seems to be a big hassle, but if you allow plenty of time it’s not that big a deal.

I can’t see where driving from VA to Montana is cheaper or more efficient than flying. I’m from VA also and can’t imagine trying to hunt around 8k elevation after driving 30 some hours. I was worried and anxious flying with my gun the first time, but it was fairly painless. I did not worry about it getting lost because worse case my buddy had a gun I could use.
I even had a mule deer processed and shipped home after my last hunt. Still cheaper than gas and used vacation time.

 

[hunterjmj]

I've shipped my rifles to myself a few times in Alaska. I can't remember the details but it was certified mail and I picked it up when I arrived. Very painless. If you have a buddy to ship your gear too that would be the ticket. Good luck.

 

[fmyth]

It’s a long drive from Virginia to Montana. But when I fly I just can’t take all the gear I would like to. Any of you fellas ever tried shipping gear out before a hunt? Also wondering if I could ship firearms and pick them up at a FFL when I get there. Don’t really love flying with a gun case. It would be great to ship a duffel bag of gear, fly out and rent a truck. When I do drive, I end up missing an extra week of work and running a whole lot of extra miles on my truck. Any ideas or personal experience out there?

I'd pile it all up. Put it in a box/case weigh it, measure it and get a shipping quote. You might be surprised at how much shipping it will cost these days. I'd also check with the airline you plan to fly. Some have pretty reasonable additional and oversize baggage fees and some are horrendous.

 

[hunterjmj]

I'd pile it all up. Put it in a box/case weigh it, measure it and get a shipping quote. You might be surprised at how much shipping it will cost these days. I'd also check with the airline you plan to fly. Some have pretty reasonable additional and oversize baggage fees and some are horrendous.

This is true. The last thing we shipped didn't seem to big and it was around $60 for a 16x16x16 box approximately.

 

[Team4LongGun]

I’ve done it years ago. It made things much simpler and less stressful. It was pricey but worth it to have my gear I trust on a long AK hunt.
We joked that the cost of shipping both ways I could have purchased new gear and left it there for another trip which would have payed for itself.
Before moving to MT, I kept a storage unit with all my gear and an SUV, along with a small enclosed trailer and a quad. It looked like a sporting goods store with shelves and racks, depending on the hunt I’d grab what I need and be off. It was minutes from the airport and I’d show up with a backpack.

 

[Boarmaster]

I used to ship my gear to my friends at various locals where I hunted. At the time I was ridiculously large and no hope of replacing any gear if it got lost on the airlines. I just packed it up in a sturdy box or boxes and shipped it about 3 weeks to a month ahead of my trip. I always packed a duffle bag in the shipping boxes So I had a way to carrying it to the hunt. I carried on my day pack with a few items like optics.
I did check my firearm and ammo. I figured if my firearm got lost there was always a spare around or worse case I could buy a suitable replacement where I was going. Never had a firearm lost on the airline.
This worked great for me and I never had an issue. On the way back I just put the stuff back in the shipping boxes and dropped them off at UPS before returning.

 

[Surveyjohn]

I am a surveyor down at Lake Anna. I have flown to western hunts, and driven it a couple of times. This time doing OTC elk in Colorado, then Mulie rut hunt near Miles City in MT. I would love to take a lot of gear. Biggest problem with driving is I miss so much work it just makes the hunt that much more expensive. And flying I get to use a rental truck instead of beating my own truck to pieces. I tried to ship my gun to myself last year and UPS made me ship it to an FFL. I will probably wait until the last minute to decide. And probably end up driving. Shipping a large duffel was definitely a lot more expensive than I expected. Plus I would like to take 3 guns. Fun to poke at the ditch chickens with my old 16 guage if I get lucky enough to tag out with a few days left.

 

[rcb2000]

Another Virginian here, crazy simple to fly with your gun. Last year I had one big duffel bag for all my bulky non fragile stuff (sleeping bag, clothes, etc) and my carry on bag had my optics and heavy stuff.

 

[cnelk]

When I go to Alaska, I send a few boxes of gear to the Palmer Post Office - addressed to myself 'General Delivery' to the address of the Post Office.

The Post Office will hold it for 30 days and when you show up, just show your ID and off you go.

Inside the same boxes I have premade labels and tape so upon my return trip, I stop at the same Post Office, tape up the boxes, attach the new labels and ship it back home.

Easy Peasy

 

[NRA4LIFE]

I've only done it once, a number of years ago. I boxed it all up, figured out that UPS was a bit cheaper than USPS or Fedex and shipped it out. Only to find out it would been much cheaper to pay the extra bag fees on the plane (didn't do my homework too well). However, bag fees have gone up dramatically since then so it may be the best route to ship. You can go online and figure out exact costs for USPS and UPS plus the airline baggage fees to compare. Just an FYI, I shipped a whitetail rack back a few years ago with UPS and it was around $70. It is not cheap sending large boxes, regardless of weight.

 

[Gutshotem]

Try using pirateship. You'll usually get better rates with big bulky packages. You can also play around with the numbers adjusting the sizes. An inch or a pound difference can have a huge impact on prices at times.

 

[TriIceS]

It only cost you 30-35 bucks one way to fly with your guns... And it is typically a lot smoother than shipping guns. Just make sure you don't go above the 50lbs limit.