Shipping meat and antlers from alaska

[Hessticles]

Thanks kevin! You have been very helpful!

 

[KChunter71]

Thanks Kevin


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[Legend]

Not sure where you found the known shipper prices. This is the price chart

Alaska Air Cargo | Specific Commodity Rates

Get a quick estimate for shipping Specific Commodities with a minimum weight of 100 pounds using our easy-to-use rate charts. Rates are based on actual or dimensional weight, whichever is greater.

www.alaskaair.com

.47 to .80 cents /lb depending on destination. And it stays in refrigeration if (when) your flight is delayed.

 

[PAbow84]

Not sure where you found the known shipper prices. This is the price chart

Alaska Air Cargo | Specific Commodity Rates

Get a quick estimate for shipping Specific Commodities with a minimum weight of 100 pounds using our easy-to-use rate charts. Rates are based on actual or dimensional weight, whichever is greater.

www.alaskaair.com

.47 to .80 cents /lb depending on destination. And it stays in refrigeration if (when) your flight is delayed.

Good info, that really looks like a great option

 

[Thess87]

I talk to them the other day and they told me that it can take 6-8 weeks to become a known shipper.

 

[william schmaltz]

These are our 3 flights

Sorry to derail, but why you flying Ravn to Bethel when AK Airlines has 2 daily flights out there? I would suggest shipping everything in advance if flying Ravn. Either that or have a firearm in each bag so it has to fly. I once brought 3 pistols plus a rifle on a hunt when I had to fly Ravn. Buddy made fun of me until he had to wait 2 days for his bags to arrive. Just be aware that them small airlines are notorious for dropping bags

 

[wellerd379]

Fellas,

I transported my moose intact with just the skull plate on Alaskan Airline and checked it as normal luggage a few years ago. I wrapped the tips in foam and wrapped up the plate and antlers in plastic wrap.

I am headed back from AK in October with hopefully a velvet caribou and want to keep the antlers in tack, not split. I plan to do the same procedure and check it as regular luggage, but in addition, add garbage bags over the velvet with borax to help preserve the velvet. Anyone have any other thoughts or recommendations?

Thank you,

 

[Chugaglug]

Fellas,

I transported my moose intact with just the skull plate on Alaskan Airline and checked it as normal luggage a few years ago. I wrapped the tips in foam and wrapped up the plate and antlers in plastic wrap.

I am headed back from AK in October with hopefully a velvet caribou and want to keep the antlers in tack, not split. I plan to do the same procedure and check it as regular luggage, but in addition, add garbage bags over the velvet with borax to help preserve the velvet. Anyone have any other thoughts or recommendations?

Thank you,

Our experience has been that caribou shed end of August, early Sept. We’ve stripped ours taken during this time because it just wasn’t attached well anymore. We got fake velvet applied on one and it looks sweet but expensive. Fairbanks fur tannery does a good job of freeze drying and shipping

 

[wellerd379]

Our experience has been that caribou shed end of August, early Sept. We’ve stripped ours taken during this time because it just wasn’t attached well anymore. We got fake velvet applied on one and it looks sweet but expensive. Fairbanks fur tannery does a good job of freeze drying and shipping

I appreciate the info. would you care to share roughly what that fake velvet cost was for you?

 

[Chugaglug]

I appreciate the info. would you care to share roughly what that fake velvet cost was for you?

Sure, I stripped and split them in AK, covered tips with garden hose, wrapped in bubble wrap and took as baggage home. My taxidermist sent them to an outfit in North Dakota I think? There was a base price of 100$ and then it was like .90 cents and inch? And it was a 400” bull so somewhere around 460$ plus 200$ shipping to and from velvet place. If it wasnt such a damn nice bull and an awesome hunt I wouldn’t have considered it, I usually like just skulls but I have to say it looks pretty sweet. They actually color matched the velvet from my pics. The fake velvet does have less volume than the real stuff so the antlers don’t look as thick as I remember.

 

[wellerd379]

Sure, I stripped and split them in AK, covered tips with garden hose, wrapped in bubble wrap and took as baggage home. My taxidermist sent them to an outfit in North Dakota I think? There was a base price of 100$ and then it was like .90 cents and inch? And it was a 400” bull so somewhere around 460$ plus 200$ shipping to and from velvet place. If it wasnt such a damn nice bull and an awesome hunt I wouldn’t have considered it, I usually like just skulls but I have to say it looks pretty sweet. They actually color matched the velvet from my pics. The fake velvet does have less volume than the real stuff so the antlers don’t look as thick as I remember.

That sounds like one heck of a great bull, congrats man! I appreciate the feedback on the cost aspect too. Gives me a piece of mind that it looks good and is worth it if we are able to connect on a mature bull. A bit costly, but usually all good things are...

Cheers bud,

 

[Kevin Dill]

Real velvet is 'wet' and thick. Very difficult to get it dried and secured before a flight home. I suppose you could do a bunch of wrapping and try to keep it securely covered, but know this: If it smells of stench or chemicals it won't fly. If it leaks a drop of blood or fluid during the trip it will be removed and held somewhere for you to then locate and hopefully recover. If in-velvet taxidermy or wall display is what you want, you should probably decide between leaving it with a competent person in AK to prep and ship later.....or strip it yourself and have it 'faked' later. I don't have an opinion on which is better.

 

[wellerd379]

Real velvet is 'wet' and thick. Very difficult to get it dried and secured before a flight home. I suppose you could do a bunch of wrapping and try to keep it securely covered, but know this: If it smells of stench or chemicals it won't fly. If it leaks a drop of blood or fluid during the trip it will be removed and held somewhere for you to then locate and hopefully recover. If in-velvet taxidermy or wall display is what you want, you should probably decide between leaving it with a competent person in AK to prep and ship later.....or strip it yourself and have it 'faked' later. I don't have an opinion on which is better.

Great feedback to consider Kevin Thanks! Velvet is a new game to me and it sounds like a bit of a challenge, especially in remote AK.

 

[chinook907]

As was said, caribou here shed their velvet in late August/early September. So I'm not sure how that fits with leaving AK in October with a velvet bull.

That said, I have exactly 1 experience preserving a velvet caribou. Shot a good one around August 17 or 19. Nice bull and perfect velvet. And the tips were not real rubbery like they would have been earlier in the month.

On a whim, decided to try and keep the velvet.

Something like 3 or 4 days after I killed it, I put it in a walk in freezer. For a month or more. Then moved it outside to a covered space for months.

Basically freeze dried it. Turned out great. And on another whim, I had it mounted.

Makes me wonder if you could freeze one for a couple days before you got it on the plane with you. And then refreeze at home.

Not a great pic, it's the caribou on the right. It's been hanging in an office building for years. Folks ask about it everyday, they tell me.
.

 

[wellerd379]

As was said, caribou here shed their velvet in late August/early September. So I'm not sure how that fits with leaving AK in October with a velvet bull.

That said, I have exactly 1 experience preserving a velvet caribou. Shot a good one around August 17 or 19. Nice bull and perfect velvet. And the tips were not real rubbery like they would have been earlier in the month.

On a whim, decided to try and keep the velvet.

Something like 3 or 4 days after I killed it, I put it in a walk in freezer. For a month or more. Then moved it outside to a covered space for months.

Basically freeze dried it. Turned out great. And on another whim, I had it mounted.

Makes me wonder if you could freeze one for a couple days before you got it on the plane with you. And then refreeze at home.

Not a great pic, it's the caribou on the right. It's been hanging in an office building for years. Folks ask about it everyday, they tell me.
.
View attachment 182813

That is a great story and thanks for sharing the picture too, what a nice bull.

It sounds like preserving it yourself is going to take some work with the freeze dry process, but something that wouldn't be terrible if logistically it works out from the field, all the way back home to the midwest.

Thanks for your input and feedback.

 

[PA Hunter]

For you guys that fly into Fairbanks or Anchorage and rent a u haul van do you get an Uber to get the u haul? Also when taking the meat to the airport and dropping off the van do you get an Uber back to the airport?

 

[PA Hunter]

I have that Alaska Air credit card, when flying a moose rack on Alaska Air does it have to be in a box or can I clean it good put hose on tips and just duct tape a garbage bag around the skull and check it as checked baggage to fly from Fairbanks to East Coast?

 

[PMcGee]

Doesn’t need to be in a box. Just wrap it up. I didn’t forget about you just been busy.


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[TheWanderer]

I leave for Alaska in 4 weeks to hunt out of Bethel with 2 buddies via Renfro's. I was planning on just checking extra baggage for my meat and antlers but I'm seeing that Alaska Air institute restrictions for "peak travel times" and list 2 checked bags max with everything else thats checked flying stand-by. They then go on to list the whole freaking year as peak travel times out of Bethel.

Has anyone had experiences with packed meat being delayed out of Bethel and following them home? Does it stay in a cooler or will it be at risk of spoilage?

 

[Wapiti1]

I leave for Alaska in 4 weeks to hunt out of Bethel with 2 buddies via Renfro's. I was planning on just checking extra baggage for my meat and antlers but I'm seeing that Alaska Air institute restrictions for "peak travel times" and list 2 checked bags max with everything else thats checked flying stand-by. They then go on to list the whole freaking year as peak travel times out of Bethel.

Has anyone had experiences with packed meat being delayed out of Bethel and following them home? Does it stay in a cooler or will it be at risk of spoilage?

Given the current state of affairs, I would call them (the desk in Bethel) and ask. What happened last year may not follow the same protocol this year.

Jeremy