Anybody Ship Gear to Alaska?
General Topic
Have a trip planned for this fall and we are thinking of shipping a box of gear up ahead of time. Need to get it to Kotzebue. Anybody done this? Best method? Or just take it on the plane?
I've always just paid any extra baggage fees and taken it with me. Not too bad if you fly Alaska Air.
Depends on weight, how many people will be flying (aka how many luggage’s you get), etc. if you live within a reasonable driving distance of an Alaska airlines city shipping gear and potentially shipping home a lot of meat the cheapest way would be to look into signing up as a known shipper with Alaska Air Cargo ASAP and having the paperwork ready to go. Takes a month or so in most cases.
I’ve shipped my gear to myself using the USPS and General Delivery to the town you visit. They will hold it for 30 days. Present your ID and off you go.
Be sure you know the address of the post office in case there are 2 or more in town.
Easy peasy.
I believe you can ship Alaska air cargo without being a known shipper or is that just in state Trevor?
Go to the Alaska Air Cargo website and see if it’s feasible for you. Very easy if there’s one close.
cnelk - Can you USPS a handgun to yourself?
Alaska Air Cargo is easy for anyone instate but for out of state shipments you have to register as a known shipper to pass TSA requirements and have someone come inspect your home or place of business registered. It’s a formality. I think it cost me $100 for the year but was able to ship hundreds of pounds of meat south over the course of that year for 1/3 the cost of fed ex or UPS rates.
But I agree in a lot of cases extra baggage fees are usually the easiest route
Zbone I don`t think so....I believe it must be from a dealer to dealer....FFL?
I didn’t ship firearms. Only gear.
But yes, you can mail firearms. Take the bolt out and ship it as gun parts. Keep the bolt with you.
From ATF FAQ
"May a nonlicensee ship firearms interstate for his or her use in hunting or other lawful activity? Yes. A person may ship a firearm to him or herself in care of another person in the state where he or she intends to hunt or engage in any other lawful activity. The package should be addressed to the owner “in the care of” the out–of–state resident. Upon reaching its destination, persons other than the owner may not open the package or take possession of the firearm."
That said, I think USPS is an issue with handguns.
We used to ship our handguns up all the time. BUT, the last time I checked, a few years ago, it was impossible. USPS will not take them. Any other method (UPS, FedEx), it must be shipped to the owner by overnight shipping AND the owner MUST be there to accept it. ATF may not have an issue but ultimately, it's up to the shipper.
I shipped a longbow up to a hotel in Kodiak. Ended up arriving late and never staying there but the driver taking us to the float plane docks swung by there and my 5.5' PVC tube was leaned up behind the front desk. Girl at the desk said everyone was wondering what was in it.
Cnelk knows the process. I’ve been doing it for 20 years. Always ship my stuff early and have the air taxi pick it up for me and store it.
It sure is peace of mind knowing much of your gear is there wondering where in the heck you are!
Yes, we did and I'm certainly happy that we did.
Thanks for the tips, I will do some checking around tomorrow.
Cnelk +1
Have shipped gear to Alaska on a couple of occasions...via USPS. Was able to ship directly to the transporter both times. I will offer, the more remote the transporter, the longer the lead time for delivery. When we flew out of Fairbanks, the gear arrived at the transporter in about a week. When we flew out of the village of Bettles...the transporter suggested mailing gear a month in advance.
I ship everything COD to Nick’s house. Hehe
If you ships USPS Parcel Post (most inexpensive) it can take 3-5 weeks. Basically your gear will travel by truck to Seattle and then get loaded on a ship headed to Anchorage. From there it will travel by ground (or air only if necessary) to the final destination. It's pretty much impossible to track most of the way, with a few exceptions I believe. Someone correct me if I'm wrong on that. USPS Priority is 3 days but dreadfully expensive when you ship a plastic tote with 30-50 pounds of weight.
.
Also, be sure you know the size and weight limits on shipped packages. My experience with the post office is they measure every box or container across its maximum L/W/H and they have never shown a tendency to grant any favors that way.
I personally don't recommend shipping to hotels unless you know their security routine. I recall (last season) the Best Western in Fairbanks had a storage room full of gun cases, totes, duffels and so on. They were letting guys go in there and shuffle things around while looking for their stuff. Not a stretch to imagine something getting lost or worse. A friend of mine had his video camera and related stuff stolen at a Fairbanks hotel several years ago.
I shipped my gear USPS, minus my bow, when we did a DYI caribou hunt. Shipped it to the air service we were using and it was no problem. Same thing on the way home.
Here is the usps shipping calculator. Fill in zip code to zip code and select box size - see link
I shipped some gear to Kodiak via UPS this past fall. Gave myself about 10 days, though, if I recall correctly, UPS said 5 days. Cost over $300 but extra baggage fees would have been almost as much with carrier switches...without the peace of mind of knowing your gear is waiting for you.
Bonus Tip: When you call the hotel to confirm the reception of your gear don't freak out when the desk clerk says, "No." He or she is probably just too lazy to look in their storage room. I had to make 3 phone calls and explain S L O W L Y to the clerk where to look for their gear shipments (This is Alaska; shipping gear out is routine.)
I use USPS too. Better tracking.
I hunt/fish Alaska on a regular basis. Most trips I bring home upwards of 300+ lbs of gear, meat, antlers, etc. By far the cheapest way is to go is shipping with you via airlines. It is roughly $60/50 lb bag, box, etc. on Alaska Air.
Here's a few tips that will save you big $. Gut the foam in a large rifle case on wheels. Fill the rifle case with clothes, bow, arrows, fishing poles, trekking poles, tripod, etc. until it meets the 50 lb limit. Next, buy a large Rubbermaid action packer. Fill it with gear and other items until it reaches the 50 lb limit. It's possible to place other boxes on top of your wheeled rifle case to tote through the airport.
Load your large hunting pack (mine is a Kifaru EMR2) with gear, clothes, and other gear and pack it so it meets the required overhead baggage dimensions. I can often get 60+ lbs of gear into the carry-on pack. Next load a large camera case/bag with spotting scope, cameras, binos, range finder, etc. I actually carry on my large pack plus very large camera case and have never given a hard time on Alaska Air. I usually carry on approximately 80 lbs of gear. It is a pain in the rear toting through the airport but saves another $60 each way.
A final tip is to buy larger 55 lb fish boxes at Walmart, Sportsmans, or Cabelas in Anchorage. Fill these boxes with meat, capes, etc (possibly already frozen) for your trip home. You will likely find that it is a lot cheaper going this route plus you'll have all your equipment, meat, capes, etc with you on both ends of the trip.
My buddy and I went on a DIY Caribou hunt to Alaska and flew out of O' Hare in Chitcongo. I had a bow and he had a rifle...they sent us to a special area and dismantled EVERYTHING. They cut open duct taped coolers...opened both cases and emptied our bags.
Trying to utilize space we put some gear in the bow and gun cases. When they repacked the cases they just stuffed the gear into the case helter skelter and literally smashed the case closed and laid on the case while his buddy snapped it shut.
There is a line on the ground we are not allowed to cross, 2 security guards stand there to make sure you don`t. As they were smashing our cases closed they would look at you and smile. Then the guy used an entire roll of tape retaping the coolers closed just to bust our balls.
Ever since that time we have sent our gear and just had our local gunsmith send any guns to a local FFL. I will drive to any and all hunt that I can....screw flying unless their is no other option.
Flew out of a small airport in Tn to AK for past three yrs. never had an issue with checking guns you can’t use a TSA lock found that out it has to be just a regular lock so that your the only person with the key, we flew home a caribou and bear last year froze and packed with clothing in two Rubbermaid contractor totes we bought in Fairbanks, we lucked out and didn’t have to pay any extra other than 60$ once checked with AK air lines they checked the bags in through delta when connecting and everything made it back safe and sound.
" It is a pain in the rear toting through the airport but saves another $60 each way."
Screw that - Ill budget the $60 - money well spent
Count me with cnelk's comment just above. I do everything I can to dispense with carrying bags aboard/into the cabin. I pack 2 duffels with 50 pounds in each and check them as baggage. I pack a rollaboard carry-on as heavy as possible and take it with me to the gate. Once there I ask about gate-checking it through (as baggage) to my destination. This has never failed. They print baggage tags at the gate and I hand the carry-on to a worker at the bottom of the jetway. I pick it up at the carousel when I arrive. The only thing that goes on the plane with me is a shoulder bag with my travel essentials, and I stow it under the seat. I never need an overhead bin, and therefore it makes no difference to me when I board the the plane. I just go to my seat and sit down.
.
The only stuff I'm typically shipping up is foodstuff. I order most of it from REI in one order and take advantage of free shipping to Alaska. My pilot/friend receives the box and it's in his truck when he picks me up to go fly.
I had a brain fart and booked back-to-back hunts which will require me to go from one hunt to the other. To avoid packing for both hunts, I hope to send some clothes in advance to the second outfitter who is in the Yukon. How difficult will that be and what carrier would you use?
Informative thread, thanks all for sharing...
But situations like Franklin's scares me... Kevin and cnelk - How do you pack your firearms and bow, I ain't going to Alaska without a bow and gun...
These were my 2 checked items for baggage. All I carried thru the airport was a small daypack
Along Zbone's lines..... interested too about shipping firearms to yourself in AK. Looking into things in a few years and possibly be flying low and slow to AK via Canada. Handguns verboten...... and likely the AR platform as well.....
I have an older SKB double case, pretty large but It’s needed for the bow I have.
AK air these days let it slide? Or at the mercy of checkin counter? It’s over the 62 linear max. 08 09, no issue.
On their site it looks like it will fall under “Individual sports equipment pieces”
I have a buddy in Anchorage. I have made 5 trips up there. I sent some clothes & fishing stuff ahead of time. Going home I sent everything back except - coolers full of meat, antlers and my Rifle. As long as my meat got back with me I didn't care when my gear showed up.
If someone hasn't already answered about shipping handguns/firearms, it is illegal to ship handguns via ups ground, all handguns have to be shipped via air (2/two day or next day air), here is the UPS link for firearms shipments, https://www.ups.com/us/en/help-center/packaging-and-supplies/special-care-shipments/firearms.page
I’ve always shipped a tote that’s approximately 20 gallons in size and sometimes two . Cheaper than flying with it and less I have to handle at the airport .
