Shipping gear
Contributors to this thread:General Topic
From: bou'n08
07-Jul-20
Really weighing the option of flying out west this year for an elk hunt. With that said, I’ve also kicked around the idea of shipping gear ahead to save on the hassle of the airlines. Talked to UPS, I can ship to a store and they will hold until I arrive to pick up. So my question is - has anyone had any experience with this? What did you ship and what kind of container did you use? Estimate cost? Would you ship a bow to avoid some potential pitfalls of the airlines? Any advice or experience sharing would be greatly appreciated.
From: JTreeman
07-Jul-20
I shipped some food/camp type stuff to AK a couple years ago. I used plastic totes, zip tie lids closed. It was moderately heavy (40ish lbs each) and it was wayyyyy more $ than I expected. I would have been way better off paying for additional baggage or buying when we got there. Not even close.
But I also know guys who have a different experience than mine. My main suggestion would be to get a price quote before deciding. Probably ship to AK made a difference as well...
—Jim
From: Spiral Horn
07-Jul-20
If it were me I’d seriously consider driving this year - from WV it would be about a 2-day drive each way. That said I’ve never had any hassle taking a bow in a locked hard-sided case as checked luggage within CONUS. Also once shipped some of my gear to Smithers BC via DHL well in advance of my hunt. Worked out well. Don’t think this is worth the trouble in CONUS, but with numerous trips to northern Canada some of my gear or weapon didn’t show up with my flight. That’s a huge issue when catching a bush flight - and I usually try to arrive about a day ahead of time for this reason.
From: cnelk
07-Jul-20
I’ve shipped gear to myself using the USPS General Delivery to the nearest town. They will hold it for 30 days and all you do is show your ID to get it.
From: altitude sick
07-Jul-20
Maybe someone could haul it for you. I would do it. I’m leaving for Colorado the end of August.
From: caribou77
07-Jul-20
Why not drive? pry be cheaper this year than flying and shipping gear. Though i do realize the time savings. I do know shipping anything, even usps is higher than ever. Prices have gone up with corvid 19 and EVERYTHING being shopped for online.
Altitude sick has a good idea as well. We drove all our gear up north to Rory King one year on a fishing trip, then he drove it to Quebec for us on his caribou hunt. We picked it up from his truck when we arrived. Saved a lot of time and messing around at the airport.
From: bou'n08
07-Jul-20
Thanks for the replies so far guys. Please keep the responses coming. We’ve drove every year in the past, problem is - to where we hunt in Wyoming (this will be 3rd trip) it’s a solid 28hours.... that’s losing nearly 4 days for driving to and from of my 10 day vacation. As of today I could get a round trip from Columbus Ohio to my destination for $266 round trip with only one connection. I’m going mid week +10 days to a Saturday. I definitely need to check weight vs cost. Maybe cheaper to just add a check bag.... thanks again for all the feedback
From: BC
08-Jul-20
I shipped gear to Alaska and back when we hunted there. I'm sorry I don't remember the cost but it was worth the money to me to avoid the airport hassle. It was a DIY hunt so it was more gear than just a bow case and duffel. Check on the cost based on how much gear you're traveling with. Good luck.
From: jstephens61
08-Jul-20
Flew with a SKB double bow case to RSA. Had 2 bows and gear. It cost my an extra $50 to fly with it. Don’t figure I could have shipped cheaper. IMO, shipping adds one more thing to go wrong. Guess that’s why I always drive unless I absolutely can’t.
From: Ollie
08-Jul-20
I take extra time to drive to all my hunts. Too many hassles and restrictions with flying. I can carry unlimited gear and have several coolers available to hold meat if successful.
From: fisherick
08-Jul-20
If flying take your gear with you. We had used SWA for our elk DIY hunt because you get two free 50# checked bags and a carry on. Our trips we used a double bow case with bows packed with clothes, each of us had a rolling duffle bag loaded with personal gear, and a 60Qt wheeled cooler loaded with our camping gear. Our carry on backpacks contained a change of clothes, bino's and electronics. When we killed an elk we shipped our gear home 5-day ground UPS on a corporates account. We took the frozen elk meat in waxed cardboard boxes or Rubbermaid containers on the flight home. No issues on the 7 trips so far. I have driven the 2-day 35 hour trip from Mass to Colorado twice and bring 4-60qt or 2-120qt coolers to pack gear and/or meat. We are able to bring a larger, more comfortable camp by driving. In light of the Covid situation I would drive instead of fly this year.
From: Shawn
08-Jul-20
28 hrs is basically a day, if more than one guy drive straight through. I drive to Kansas most years for the last 6 years and it says 25 hrs. I do it by myself and do it in 27. When I got Iowa I sleep at the World's Largest Truck Stop for 3 hrs or I would make it in 24 hrs. Shawn
From: Bob H in NH
08-Jul-20
Flying isn't bad. Check the bow, pack the case with clothes, arrows, release. optics.
The "fun" is coming back if you have meat, now you go over the 2 bag limit and it gets costly. That's when I'd ship the equipment home.
From: pav
08-Jul-20
I've shipped gear to Alaska, but never in the Lower 48. I have flown my gear west with me to hunt mule deer, but would not consider doing that for elk. Would not want to deal with the logistics of getting meat/antlers home if successful.
From: caribou77
08-Jul-20
One thing that always helped on my caribou hunts was flying 1st class. Could usually pick up a ticket for slightly more but then got 2 65 pound bags free and the bags after that could be 65 pounds as well rather than the normal 50. Better seats, meals and faster boarding was nice as well. Did that 3 times after I realized how much nicer and easier it was.
From: EMB
08-Jul-20
A friend and I UPS shipped bows, arrows, a set of camos, and other gear to the outfitter for an elk hunt using SKB double bow cases. We previously mailed him keys. Upon arrival, he was to open the cases to be sure all was in order. He called us to verify all was in order. We flew with our back up bows and remaining gear. Upon departure, we reversed the procedure. Worked like a charm. Money and space was not the issue. We just wanted to be sure we had a bow and gear to hunt with in the event ours got "lost" in transit. We'd hunted with the outfitter for several years. Trust was also not an issue.
From: standswittaknife
08-Jul-20
I'm shipping to Alaska this year as I have in the past and it's work it. I can track it and have insurance on it.
From: rjlefty3
08-Jul-20
I've done both - driven 32 hrs straight and fly. I usually fly, as my trips at 7-10 days usually, and to lose 3 days from driving alone really cuts into hunting time. If I fly, I can usually get to my destination with time to spare (have actually made stalks that same night) or at the very least, be ready to go first thing the next day.
Driving in certainly nice and easier overall, but at some point it's just too far to make it worth it. The trip we drove was a 17 day trip, so the tradeoff was much more worth it. Having your own vehicle is significantly better than having a rental - for many reasons.
With that said, I've had good luck flying. I've yet to be charged for 'oversized baggage', haven't had any issues with my pack as carry-on (I use an exo 3500 and don't stuff it full, but it's not small either), and all my luggage has shown up when it should have. I do expect all that to change eventually, but it's certainly the minority of times.
No experience shipping gear to a place, but I would venture it would be much more expensive than checking on a plane.
From: JohnMC
08-Jul-20
Talk your buddies into driving and leaving a day early and picking you up at the airport!!
From: IdyllwildArcher
08-Jul-20
I've shipped gear from CA to AK USPS ground. Its cheap. Use plastic totes and tape the crap out of them. They put them on the barge from Seattle to Anchorage if you go USPS ground so you're looking at a minimum of 6 weeks if you want to go the cheap route, so keep that in mind. 8 weeks is plenty.
No way I'd ship stuff this year though. I'm swallowing the extra price and flying with all my stuff this year. Too much up in the air. I already had to switch air taxis.
From: Aubs8
08-Jul-20
Make sure you secure the tag to the tote...take pictures and inventory what is in it.
From: 76aggie
09-Jul-20
The only time I have considered shipping gear is to AK. All of my hunts there have been DIY and involved bush planes so weight was always a critical factor anyway. I always decided against shipping in advance because because our group meticulously plans our gear as not to duplicate items and go to the extreme on avoiding excess weight. We have always been able to bring all our gear with us on the airline. We do pay some additional fees due to the number of bags we fly with but have not found it to be totally unreasonable. We've been lucky in that all of our gear has always made it with us and nothing was lost. We always plan a day or so extra on the front end in Fairbanks in case anything does not arrive with us. We have never really wanted for additional gear although we do have a Spartan camp. Only thing we have ever had to pay extra for is having meat or antlers shipped back home.
From: bou'n08
09-Jul-20
Thanks for all the feedback guys. You’ve definitely given me some options to consider. It may end up being cheaper bringing it on the plane and paying the extra baggage fee.... if we do end up flying- then I’ll have to search for best luggage options for bow and gear.
From: pav
10-Jul-20
Bull elk is not an antelope....have you figured out those logistics yet?
From: bou'n08
10-Jul-20
No I haven’t.... that’s also on the “to-do list”. Not sure if there is a limit on checked bags. I could always add pick up 3-4 coolers At Wally World if successful for the meat. I do have some butchers lined up. I’m sure shipping from them is an option (albeit expensive). I need to research some threads on shipping meat. This may be more evidence That driving is the best option.... I just hate all the time we give up getting out there, not too mention feeling like crap for driving straight through.
From: Owl
10-Jul-20
More often then not, I ship gear. The vagaries of baggage handling are just too inconsistent to wager against the overall expense of a hunt. That said, knock on wood, I've never had a lost bag hunting. I have had skis lost a few times and that was enough to teach me I can never have that with a bow out in the middle of nowhere on a hunt that cost over $10k.
I usually ship my primary bow with 1 set of full clothing and arrows, etc. That would allow me to hunt and take advantage of the 1 free bag on the flight - when they were still doing that sort of thing.
From: MathewsMan
10-Jul-20
I’m shipping some bear spray and Jetboil canisters to Kodiak just in case they are short when we get there
From: Owl
10-Jul-20
I wouldn't do bear spray on Kodiak unless it was a + 1 scenario ( as in .45 +bear spray). And I'm a guy who would choose spray over side arm in every other scenario. BTW, unless you're going directly from your connector to your bush flight, you should have an opportunity to buy bear spray on the island.
