Contributors to this thread:
I’m essentially exactly one month away from departing for more northerly parts in chase of Bullwinkle. I will be flying into Whitehorse, YT and crossing on into BC where I’ll be hunting with Scott Mackenzie and Big Time Hunts. I’m planning on devoting a separate thread to the hunt, but thought I’d devote some time to sharing some of the prep work and logistics (gear, packing, travel, etc) as I always find those threads useful. I’m always open to feedback and pointers on what works and what doesn’t from those that have done it before as well.
First, I thought I'd cover the approach I'm taking on packing. It'll be a little tricky on this hunt, as I've got a few objectives I'm trying to hit regarding what I want to pack and plan for. Firstly, we will be accessing camp via floatplane and there's a limit on how much gear I can bring with me. Not including what I will be wearing, I need to limit my personal gear to 50 lbs. This means I need to almost approach this like a backcountry backpack hunt. Secondly, if I happen to get lucky - I always need lots of it :) - and drop a moose, I want to make sure I'm prepared to deal with meat and antlers. I'll start with my approach to the meat and antlers first.
Dealing with meat - especially on travel hunt where you're flying - is always a challenge. It's not always convenient and easy to travel with large hard coolers. And generally speaking, soft coolers are fairly limited in size. Each have pros, but each also are lacking in areas. For this trip, I'm trying something new. I looked for large soft coolers that looked rather robust, and came across a number of companies that make insulated fish bags.
These are essentially large, soft sided coolers that are waterproof, sealed, and airtight. The one I settled is made by a company called Buffalo Gear, and has a storage capacity of 100L. I will supplement this with a 40qt Yeti soft sided cooler I already own. I've traveled with the Yeti before, and it works great. This Buffalo Gear is almost like a large soft-sided Yeti - maybe not quite as rigid, but definitely seems more rugged than most coolers I've handled.
I will be packing a couple of Kuiu duffel bags too. They will serve double duty as they will handle my clothes on the float plane trip and will serve as luggage for a cape on the return trip home.
To handle the antlers, per the advice of Eric Bethune (bowjangles), I packed some heavy duty plastic wrap and some pool noodles. Essentially, the antler tips will get the pool noodle treatment, the antlers will get covered in cardboard, and the whole package will be wrapped with plastic wrap.
Here’s the luggage for meat and antlers all laid out.
The good news is it all fits within the large Buffalo Gear cooler (which is about 44” long). Kuiu duffels and plastic wrap go in the Yeti, the Yeti goes in the Buffalo Gear, and the pool noodles fit around the Yeti.
And it all zips up. Amazingly, the whole package weighs 21 lbs, and will be fairly easy to travel with. If I'm lucky, this one bag will likely turn into four for the return trip home (two coolers full of meat, a duffle with a cape, and a separate set of antlers).
Very organized - looks good.
We flew out of Atlin a few years ago. Not many moose in the area we were in - more white sheep and caribou. Best thing about sheep vs moose … smaller coolers. Good luck.
WTF, I felt like I had to be organized! When they found out I booked the hunt, I had multiple Bowsiters reach out to me telling me to take steps to bring meat/antlers home with me. They were on the same hunt and had the outfitter handle logistics - and it ended up costing multiple thousands of dollars to get things home. I've always kinda winged it in the past with trophy logistics in the past - figured it was worth a little more prep on the frontend and extra baggage fees on the backend this time.
Bigeasy, You will have a great time with Scott & Conner! I was there in 2018 and had a great time and several other bowsiters have told their stories too.
Following along on this one Jason. Seems like a great approach to save money. Good luck on your hunt!
CD34, yeah, Kyle Hudgins talked me into going and I know a few other Bowsiters have been up there recently (Kronyak, Ned Greer). I know they all spoke pretty highly of Scott and his outfit!
Randy, we should get together and fling some arrows before I head out!
Sounds like an amazing trip. Stay safe and have a blast!
Good luck, Jason! The prep has got to be half the fun!
What percentage of a moose's meat do you think you can get into those two coolers? Seems like a relatively small percent? But I don't know?
I took a roller carry on that I used to bring meat home was able to bring home 50# in that suitcase alone I had all the meat frozen at the hotel before I left and it was fine when. I got home… as I think we spoke about previously… bring your antlers home with you if you can… it ended up costing me just over $3000 to have Scott clean them and ship them home. My fault for not asking.
Sounds like you are super prepared. Hope your trip goes smoothly
I always loved BC and the Yukon. My first trip to BC was in the early 70s. Lots of changes but still an awesome place.
Can’t wait to read your write up!!
Thanks all. Like I said, I’ll post some more up the next few days.
JohnMC, I don’t really know how much I’ll be able to fit or what percentage of meat I’ll be able to take home. I was shooting for about 75lbs in the big cooler and 50 lbs in the small cooler. Thinking that’s be maybe 1/4 to a 1/3 of a moose. My wife won’t eat it, so I’ll end up giving a lot away I’m sure.
Regardless of how much you can stuff in a cooler, I think 50lbs per is gonna be your magic number. I think you’ll be able to get the hocks and all the neck meat. The rest will have to stay.
If you’re looking for a place to have dinner in Whitehorse, try Klondike Ribs and Salmon. The owner is quite a gal - ask her about the time she leg wrestled a moose hunter in the restaurant. Might have been me. :)
I took a roller carry on that I used to bring meat home was able to bring home 50# in that suitcase alone I had all the meat frozen at the hotel before I left and it was fine when. I got home… as I think we spoke about previously… bring your antlers home with you if you can… it ended up costing me just over $3000 to have Scott clean them and ship them home. My fault for not asking.
Jason, that set up looks great.
Mind if I use the same set up? ;^)
Question for you. I’d imagine your going to take the antlers off the skull and have a “pin” mount done?
If I’m as lucky, this is one thing I’m contemplating.
Regardless of how much you can stuff in a cooler, I think 50lbs per is gonna be your magic number. I think you’ll be able to get the hocks and all the neck meat. The rest will have to stay.
You thinking that because of float plane limitations?
And the plan is to get in to Whitehorse with an extra day to spare on the front end. If travel goes to plan, I'll have some time to kill so definitely open to more recommendations. I'll be sure to ask about the leg wrestling!
Mind if I use the same set up? ;^)
Steal away, Rich! That's why I posted it up! ;-) (despite the bad luck that Treeman says this would bring me...and he's probably right haha)
Question for you. I’d imagine your going to take the antlers off the skull and have a “pin” mount done?
My plan is to travel with them intact with this method. Eric (Bowjangles) shared a picture with me of how he handled his and said it worked flawlessly. I'll see if I can dig it up (I'm assuming he won't mind if I post it).
This is essentially what I’m aiming for regarding packing the antlers.
The float plane only cares about total weight. But pretty sure the commercial airlines have a 50lb limit per piece. You might be able to pay extra for an overweight bag, but I think you’ll be happiest if you limit your pieces to 50 lbs. … take a luggage scale, you don’t want to be repacking meat at check-in.
Recently went salmon fishing and they had it to a science -every cooler weighed between 48 and 50 lbs.
On the leg wrestling … tell her I want a rematch. Gonna get my belt back. :)
If you’re lucky, you’ll shoot one that’s too big to go in the plane. Float planes pilots need a special endorsement to fly with stuff tied to the pontoons - so there’s an outside chance you’ll have to split em.
The float plane only cares about total weight. But pretty sure the commercial airlines have a 50lb limit per piece. You might be able to pay extra for an overweight bag, but I think you’ll be happiest if you limit your pieces to 50 lbs
Gotcha. I’ve been looking pretty hard at the baggage fees on Air Canada. If you pay for an extra bag - which I will no doubt end up doing if I am bringing back meat and antlers - the oversize/overweight fees are waived on the extra bag. They charge $105 CND per extra bag, so it becomes a question of how much is worth bringing back. I will probably try and limit the Yeti cooler to 50 lbs and then get as much as I “reasonably” can in the other cooler, but won’t be worried if I go overweight.
Ur all over it gator. And remember, $105 CAD is almost free.
Yup…when you compare the price to bring that moose meat home to the price of beef (plus the exchange rate), it is practically free (pay no attention to the hunt cost)! And it’s all good…being this prepared means I’ll probably eat tag soup haha
Final preparations are being made. I will use the Sitka Nomad to pack all the gear you see in the photo (with the exception of the pack which I will carry on). Gear is limited to 50 lbs, and I’m there with a few pounds to spare even after adding a few camp luxuries). Also took the V3X out for a final spin, and it’s dialed (last 3 arrow group from 60 yards in the pic). It’s wheels up on Sunday, a free day in Whitehorse on Monday, and then into camp on Tuesday.
Love the Croc’s and the Kuiu bag
Should be a gooood hunt!
I have a feeling it’ll be epic no matter the outcome! Thanks for all your pointers as well!
Love the Croc’s and the Kuiu bag
Absolute essentials…along with the whiskey flask!!
Good light camp shoes are essential. I love my Kuiu bag like that. I Bought it on a whim to try it and now it’s an essential piece of gear. I’m sure you know this. Carry everything heavy you can fit in your pockets on your body when they weigh everything and yourself. You won’t be near the person max weight limit
I love the organization J! I can't go into a hunt without all of my ducks in a row and I get a bit obsessive about packing, unpacking, checking gear list and repeating the process 3-5x before I actually leave. It's exhausting!
Looks like all the bases your are covered. I love the soft cooler idea. I've been doing the 18 gallon Rubbermaid totes but those aren't a packable option.
With the plastic wrap, noodles and card board you'll be totally fine with the antlers. I would suggest leaving some of the bases and an area of both paddles exposed. They wanted me to completely unwrap the antlers so they could scan them for bomb residue since they wouldn't fit in the scanner. I flat refused and asked for a supervisor. Once the supervisor showed up I explained what they were, the financial commitment it took to get them and then politely explained that I'd turn green and tear the airport apart before I let them remove all the protection from my antlers. lol. She was agreeable to a compromise so I unwrapped 3 sections for them to scan and I was on my way.
Best of luck my friend and I can't wait to see your mega moose!!
Leaving these areas exposed should eliminate any issues.
