Future DIY Alaska moose hunting plans. Target is every 2-3 years

[actionshooter]

I hunted moose out of Dillingham this fall. I am very familiar with the research you are doing and I can probably answer some questions you may have. It sounds like you are interested in going the Air Taxi route. What I found when talking to Air Taxi's is they aren't allowed to handle the meat, only a Transporter can do that for you. If your plan is to keep the meat then you need to come out of the field with it and get it in cold storage. Then you can choose to get flown back out in to the field which adds another paid leg on to your trip total. I chose to go the transporter route because I considered the trip a once a decade thing and days in the field were the highest priority. I didn't like the idea of coming back to town and messing with meat and potentially having my return trip get delayed. I was successful in a (meat on bone) unit. My transporter brought my bull back to town. He delivered it to a meat cutter who broke it down, vacuum sealed it and delivered it to Air cargo who flew it to Anchorage. There it was packed in to 7 insulated fish boxes and shipped Alaska Air cargo down to Seattle where I picked it up at the airport. Total cost of getting meat from the field to my freezer was $1800 and I ended up with 425 lbs. of meat. I know it can be done for less. I was willing to pay a bit extra for peace of mind. I didn't want my time in AK to be spent worrying about logistics. I did meet a group at the hotel who has hunted up there numerous times. They provided all of their own gear and have numerous local connections. They were able to do it all for a lot less than we did. I would we happy to chat more about my experience if you PM me we can set something up. You can see photos of my trip at https://www.instagram.com/northwestskyler

    Does that $1800 include process (cut and wrap)  if so, that's not terrible... Alaska Air Cargo is a little cheaper than regular baggage but requires another trip to the airport to pick it all up.  Looks like a great bull in your pics! And a wolf!?

[sburreson]

I hunted moose out of Dillingham this fall. I am very familiar with the research you are doing and I can probably answer some questions you may have. It sounds like you are interested in going the Air Taxi route. What I found when talking to Air Taxi's is they aren't allowed to handle the meat, only a Transporter can do that for you. If your plan is to keep the meat then you need to come out of the field with it and get it in cold storage. Then you can choose to get flown back out in to the field which adds another paid leg on to your trip total. I chose to go the transporter route because I considered the trip a once a decade thing and days in the field were the highest priority. I didn't like the idea of coming back to town and messing with meat and potentially having my return trip get delayed. I was successful in a (meat on bone) unit. My transporter brought my bull back to town. He delivered it to a meat cutter who broke it down, vacuum sealed it and delivered it to Air cargo who flew it to Anchorage. There it was packed in to 7 insulated fish boxes and shipped Alaska Air cargo down to Seattle where I picked it up at the airport. Total cost of getting meat from the field to my freezer was $1800 and I ended up with 425 lbs. of meat. I know it can be done for less. I was willing to pay a bit extra for peace of mind. I didn't want my time in AK to be spent worrying about logistics. I did meet a group at the hotel who has hunted up there numerous times. They provided all of their own gear and have numerous local connections. They were able to do it all for a lot less than we did. I would we happy to chat more about my experience if you PM me we can set something up. You can see photos of my trip at https://www.instagram.com/northwestskyler

    Does that $1800 include process (cut and wrap)  if so, that's not terrible... Alaska Air Cargo is a little cheaper than regular baggage but requires another trip to the airport to pick it all up.  Looks like a great bull in your pics! And a wolf!?

Yes that includes cut and wrap. It was a rough job but better than nothing. Loins were cut into steaks, trim into burger and large muscles cut into 5lb roasts. Now I can finish it at home as I wish. And yes I did get a wolf. A pack of wolves watched us cross the lake and then that guy stalked in on us to 20 yards before winding us. He ran off to 200 and turned to look back and then he got to ride in a plane!

[Pathfinder101]

Just lurking and taking notes...

No worries pathfinder!! Did I read your story on roklide the other day of your moose hunt?? If so it sounds like you guys had a rough go.

No, that wasn't me.  I lurk on Rokslide, but I don't really post much there.