Why fly domestic, you're a citizen?

[Ridge Runner]

Flying because of business is one thing, flying from east coast to west coast or visa versa; well okay, maybe(?)(for anything but hunting).

Knowingly.....You are going on A HUNT IN NORTH AMERICA OR CANADA (or what ever country YOU are a resident of)....You can bring home the meat....So why is it you choose to fly when it is so much more hassle free and economical to drive to your destination?? (After thought: take a train, if possible)

You to your friends and/or coworkers:

OOOO--OOOO...I'm using 10 days vacation time to hunt 7 days in Africa (or where ever) in June (or when ever).

DAH...

("I'm" going on) a Colorado elk hunt (or what ever type of hunt (could be a Texas bison hunt) in (when/where ever); fot 7 (8, 9, 10 15, how ever many ) days.

Why not use those same extra travel day(s), to save on flight ticket? Why not make memories that will last a lifetime for you, and your family (or friend(s) /hunting buddy(ies))?. And as a bonus....bring home the meat.

IF time is so important to you why not just pay some assh*le to release an overpriced "cage bred" animal into a feed lot, shoot it at your leisure, beat your chest like you're a great hunter (snowflake), and call it like it is....you are a sham!!!......and go home!!.

Would it not be better spent driving and sightseeing, having quality time (if married) with wife and kids, your best friend(s), hunting buddy(ies), touring your home country and making lasting family (hunting/travel) memories .... or the telling of.......those stories about: this is what happened vs this is what really happened?

Isn't vacation time....meant to forget about punching a time clock? Rushing to get what has to be done before the "weekend" is over? Completing that "Honey Do, list"? etc, etc, etc.?

At the end: I: wish, could of, should of, would of: DOES NOT MEAN ONE DAMN THING!!!!.(PERIOD)

 

[mikecatt13]

Because time can be a big deal. My wife has a corporate job, and I'm self employed. Though she has a set number of vacation days, my days off can be just as valuable or more because they are directly connected to my income.

Not everyone can spare the time, after a certain distance it can get quite miserable driving. I put on 40-50k miles a year, im used to it and yet I'll still prefer to fly sometimes. If it's over 18-20 hour drive I'm almost definitely flying. That's 2 solid days just with that, no way im traveling 3 days each way to drive when I can fly the same day, those 4 days are valuable. A lot more can go wrong covering those miles to put your trip in jeopardy too.

I hunt and shoot competitively all over the country, and it's very rare to see sights on the drive, I certainly have but I'm mostly focused on getting where I need to go safely and efficiently.

Maybe I misinterpreted something in your post but IMO it's not at all fair to judge anyone's method of travel. It has zero effect on the actual hunt or vacation once you're there. People bring meat back from hunts on flights by way of coolers as luggage or shipping it all the time. I've done it from Texas and Hawaii, my uncle hunts elk multiple times a year exclusively traveling by plane and does it, flying doesnt mean you're all the sudden leaving the meat and should go on a canned hunt instead, that's craziness. I've also donated meat to folks who need it a lot more than me, whether the meat is being taken home or donated, as long as it goes to good use it seems odd to me to criticize those and travel choices, especially on an Africa Hunting forum where it's very common for meat to be used locally and the hunter to leave with just trophies.

 

[sestoppelman]

Flying because of business is one thing, flying from east coast to west coast or visa versa; well okay, maybe(?)(for anything but hunting).

Knowingly.....You are going on A HUNT IN NORTH AMERICA OR CANADA (or what ever country YOU are a resident of)....You can bring home the meat....So why is it you choose to fly when it is so much more hassle free and economical to drive to your destination?? (After thought: take a train, if possible)

You to your friends and/or coworkers:

OOOO--OOOO...I'm using 10 days vacation time to hunt 7 days in Africa (or where ever) in June (or when ever).

DAH...

("I'm" going on) a Colorado elk hunt (or what ever type of hunt (could be a Texas bison hunt) in (when/where ever); fot 7 (8, 9, 10 15, how ever many ) days.

Why not use those same extra travel day(s), to save on flight ticket? Why not make memories that will last a lifetime for you, and your family (or friend(s) /hunting buddy(ies))?. And as a bonus....bring home the meat.

IF time is so important to you why not just pay some assh*le to release an overpriced "cage bred" animal into a feed lot, shoot it at your leisure, beat your chest like you're a great hunter (snowflake), and call it like it is....you are a sham!!!......and go home!!.

Would it not be better spent driving and sightseeing, having quality time (if married) with wife and kids, your best friend(s), hunting buddy(ies), touring your home country and making lasting family (hunting/travel) memories .... or the telling of.......those stories about: this is what happened vs this is what really happened?

Isn't vacation time....meant to forget about punching a time clock? Rushing to get what has to be done before the "weekend" is over? Completing that "Honey Do, list"? etc, etc, etc.?

At the end: I: wish, could of, should of, would of: DOES NOT MEAN ONE DAMN THING!!!!.(PERIOD)

Sort of a challenging post. Not real sure what your point is as you lay out so many different scenarios. We do things that best fit the constraints of time and money usually. Lot of wet real estate between many places we choose to hunt, trains not really an option. My brothers first wife was so stupid she thought you could drive to Hawaii!

 

[Tra3]

Time = money...
I’m lucky to be able to hunt out west and leave meat in a deep freeze at my parent’s home. That allows for driving out and back, and then adding another trip (or more) in between before bringing the vehicle home with meat. The meat is a major reason I hunt.
I’m contemplating a hunt in Alaska. I’ve driven there once and that was enough. So I will be restricted in the amount of meat I can return with.

 

[JimP]

If I can do it with a 2 day drive I'll drive, perhaps further if I stop and see friends.

I just did a 15 hour drive from southern Arizona one way. Driving is a lot nicer since you can take all the equipment you need plus some and as you mentioned you can bring all the meat home with you. I know a few hunters who have tried to make arrangements to get a bull elk home when they are flying and it gets real expensive real fast

 

[Ridge Runner]

Sort of a challenging post. Not real sure what your point is as you lay out so many different scenarios. We do things that best fit the constraints of time and money usually. Lot of wet real estate between many places we choose to hunt, trains not really an option. My brothers first wife was so stupid she thought you could drive to Hawaii!

LMAO......she wouldn't by any chance be from a 30 mile radius of Winston-Salem, North Carolina? My first wife had a bit of the same intelligence.

 

[CAustin]

I am looking forward to the time when I can take however many days I want to hunt. And yes sir I will drive to US and Canada hunts!

 

[Ridge Runner]

Time = money...
I’m lucky to be able to hunt out west and leave meat in a deep freeze at my parent’s home. That allows for driving out and back, and then adding another trip (or more) in between before bringing the vehicle home with meat. The meat is a major reason I hunt.
I’m contemplating a hunt in Alaska. I’ve driven there once and that was enough. So I will be restricted in the amount of meat I can return with.

Why??? Are you driving a sports car or truck?

Really, A 10 cubic foot freezer fits nicely into a pick up truck, with room to spare, of course bigger the truck bed=bigger the freezer=more meat to bring home.

And if needed, there is always the option of a trailer to handle multiple freezers or renting a trailer. Dry ice and use of a power outlet at a motel helps.

 

[Tra3]

A sexy Minivan!!! I have kids in the house and so do my hunting buddies. We built a bunk for the minivan so we can turn shifts sleeping or driving. Sending 4 guys out west with gear, rifles, and coolers is an impressive packing job. The cooler space needed to move 500 lbs of meat is impressive.
I personally really enjoy driving because it allows me to decompress. But time away from work (and away from family!) is precious so significant coordination is important.

btw: it is amusing to see people’s reactions when three big bearded men (and little me) get out of a minivan. The emasculating effect of a minivan helps to balance the egos.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Last I looked @BRICKBURN was a Canadian and a North American but beyond that detail, it’s simply a matter of time.

For those of us who will go to work tomorrow morning for a business that limits how much vacation time we get, your scenario is possibly just not feasible. If you live in northwestern state, a road trip to hunt in British Columbia is quite doable. But if you live in the southeast, not so much.

 

[Pheroze]

I do my drive to camp over two days. I could do it in one but I don't like getting in after dark, trying to set up the tent etc. But I love the drive. Both my boys have commented that once I get north of North Bay my entire body relaxes, face muscles etc. Flying is the worst as far as I am concerned. It's actually a big hurdle to getting back to Africa

 

[Red Leg]

Flying because of business is one thing, flying from east coast to west coast or visa versa; well okay, maybe(?)(for anything but hunting).

Knowingly.....You are going on A HUNT IN NORTH AMERICA OR CANADA (or what ever country YOU are a resident of)....You can bring home the meat....So why is it you choose to fly when it is so much more hassle free and economical to drive to your destination?? (After thought: take a train, if possible)

You to your friends and/or coworkers:

OOOO--OOOO...I'm using 10 days vacation time to hunt 7 days in Africa (or where ever) in June (or when ever).

DAH...

("I'm" going on) a Colorado elk hunt (or what ever type of hunt (could be a Texas bison hunt) in (when/where ever); fot 7 (8, 9, 10 15, how ever many ) days.

Why not use those same extra travel day(s), to save on flight ticket? Why not make memories that will last a lifetime for you, and your family (or friend(s) /hunting buddy(ies))?. And as a bonus....bring home the meat.

IF time is so important to you why not just pay some assh*le to release an overpriced "cage bred" animal into a feed lot, shoot it at your leisure, beat your chest like you're a great hunter (snowflake), and call it like it is....you are a sham!!!......and go home!!.

Would it not be better spent driving and sightseeing, having quality time (if married) with wife and kids, your best friend(s), hunting buddy(ies), touring your home country and making lasting family (hunting/travel) memories .... or the telling of.......those stories about: this is what happened vs this is what really happened?

Isn't vacation time....meant to forget about punching a time clock? Rushing to get what has to be done before the "weekend" is over? Completing that "Honey Do, list"? etc, etc, etc.?

At the end: I: wish, could of, should of, would of: DOES NOT MEAN ONE DAMN THING!!!!.(PERIOD)

Are you drinking again? It is all the bold caps where you are shouting at me that have me worried. I am still trying to decipher the intent of your rant. "Hunt where you can drive to rather than fly to and feel superior"? I'll assume, or at least hope, your tongue was at least partially in your cheek?

Let me offer an alternative world view. First of all, I hate, loathe, detest, etc. driving cross country. Did I mention that I really don't like it? Probably too many decades in the Army moving from sea to shining sea and back again. I'll take a flight to Billings, rent a SUV, and head off to my destination in a heartbeat. But drive from South Central Texas to Montana? Sorry, I have much better, less stressful things to do with my time. And I don't know about the rest of my fellow correspondents, but these long range road trips seem to be always devolve into an odyssey of getting there - numbing hour after numbing hour - rather than a cross-country tour "enjoying" the sights along the way. I am grateful for every such experience that I don't have to remember when sorting through a lifetime of woulda shoulda coulda. Just saying.

My spouse and I do travel together - a lot. 39 years and we are still romantically involved. We enjoy hanging out together. We will often combine a few days of my hunting with ten days to two weeks of playing tourist. Other times we just play tourists. But then I love spending a day in the Prado every bit as much as I do a deer stand or duck blind. Together we have done Italy, France, Spain, Austria, Germany, the UK, and have the Czech Republic, Hungary, Morocco, and Spain again already scheduled. We gladly fly to all of those places. Retirement is a great thing.

Not sure where you hunted Africa, but I have never hunted a feed lot - in Africa or Texas. You might try flying to Mozambique and having a wade about in the Zambezi Delta - you will feel like you accomplished something.

 

[Jfet]

It is all about Time.

My wife did a bear hunt on Vancouver Island in 2016. It was to be a 6 day hunt. At 1:30pm on the second day she shot an amazing black bear. The hunt was over. If we had flown, we would have been flying out the next day. However, we had driven up from Texas, and because we were teaching at the time and it was early June we spent the next 20 days driving and camping our way back to Texas.

I am doing a DIY black bear hunt on Prince of Wales Island the first week in June of this year. Currently I am retired. I have the time. I am going to spend 5 to 8
days camping and fishing my up to POW. I will catch the ferry in Bellingham, WA to Ketchikan, AK and then to POW. My sons on the other hand have real jobs and they are in the process of financing my elephant hunt. Therefore, they have to fly. I will meet them at the airport in Klawock, AK. We will camp, hunt, and fish for 8 days. I will then take them back to the airport. Hopefully, they will have boxes checked as luggage that contains frozen fish and bear meat.

I will drive back with coolers containing the rest of the meat and fish. I will take considerably less time driving back. My idea is not to freeze the meat but to keep it cold until I get it home and then freeze it. I will being using two high end roto-molded coolers and an ARB refrigerator.

My camping rig will look like this.

If you have the time, desire, and equipment, this is a great way to extend the adventure of your hunting trip. If you have a limited time frame, get on the airplane.

Go on the ADVENTURE regardless of how you can get there.

 

[Jfet]

Probably too many decades in the Army moving from sea to shining sea and back again.

... and then courtesy of the U. S. Government you got to go out of the country to some unique location that contained in many cases less than friendly people. Where as I got to spend my career in small rural schools in Texas and on fields measuring 120yds by 53 yds that contained some less than friendly people too. I can see where our two different life experiences can bring about two very different points of view. I will be happy to pick you up at the airport in my truck. You won't even been embarrassed because my AGGIE stickers are on my coolers not my truck.

 

[Pheroze]

Let me offer an alternative world view. First of all, I hate, loathe, detest, etc. driving cross country. Did I mention that I really don't like it?

Give it another chance! The adventure is real! Like the time the snow storm was so bad we barely made it to a hotel in the middle of nowhere.....just to find out it had bedbugs....ahhh,yes good times....

 

[Ridge Runner]

Because time can be a big deal. My wife has a corporate job, and I'm self employed. Though she has a set number of vacation days, my days off can be just as valuable or more because they are directly connected to my income.

Not everyone can spare the time, after a certain distance it can get quite miserable driving. I put on 40-50k miles a year, im used to it and yet I'll still prefer to fly sometimes. If it's over 18-20 hour drive I'm almost definitely flying. That's 2 solid days just with that, no way im traveling 3 days each way to drive when I can fly the same day, those 4 days are valuable. A lot more can go wrong covering those miles to put your trip in jeopardy too.

I hunt and shoot competitively all over the country, and it's very rare to see sights on the drive, I certainly have but I'm mostly focused on getting where I need to go safely and efficiently.

Maybe I misinterpreted something in your post but IMO it's not at all fair to judge anyone's method of travel. It has zero effect on the actual hunt or vacation once you're there. People bring meat back from hunts on flights by way of coolers as luggage or shipping it all the time. I've done it from Texas and Hawaii, my uncle hunts elk multiple times a year exclusively traveling by plane and does it, flying doesnt mean you're all the sudden leaving the meat and should go on a canned hunt instead, that's craziness. I've also donated meat to folks who need it a lot more than me, whether the meat is being taken home or donated, as long as it goes to good use it seems odd to me to criticize those and travel choices, especially on an Africa Hunting forum where it's very common for meat to be used locally and the hunter to leave with just trophies.

I'm in no way criticizing, degrading, or belittling anyone who wishes to fly and I apologize if I came off sounding that way.

It's just with all the BULLSH'T regarding air travel with weapons, the cost of air travel continually increasing, why not take/make time to see our great country?

YES, those doing the driving lack the opportunities to see some sights along the way, because we are constantly having to watch out for the other assh*le drivers on the highways.

So your wife has a corporate job and your self employed.... DAH.... Do you and your wife travel to Africa? Rhetorical question... Do you travel to various states to hunt game?... again rhetorical question....

40-50 thousand miles a year driving on your vehicle, WOW, flashback, I remember those days, 10 months out of the year, constantly having to be somewhere, for so long, and onto somewhere else for so long, if I was lucky, I might visit my apartment at the time 3 days a month, no body knew when or where as was at or what I was doing! or when I would show back up.

After 3 1/2 years, I made a choice, [wish, should of, could of]!]. I slowed down, concentrated on college, focused more on what and where I wanted to be in my future: retirement.

If a person can't or won't slow down to live the life they have what good is it to have a life?

Vacation time, is meant to relax, forget punching the clock and find enjoyment in life, why the need to work hard,....play harder.

I'm just asking, why are we putting up with all the hassles of flying domestic when we can save money, save the flying BS, and enjoy the benefits of seeing "our" country (respectfully: be it Canada, the US, or both).

Let's face it you can bring home more meat by driving, or traveling by train than you can bring home traveling by air.

My OP is about slowing down, enjoying the life we have, with those in our lives, taking/ making time to relax,...take the next exit off the fast lane highway at 90 mph to the slow road at 30 mph for a few days.

As I anticipated, and why I highlighted (bold, italicized, underlined type), I am referencing about people rushing here and there, traveling within their respective country. Being I am an American and I can travel to and from Canada relatively easily,...since there are so many members on this forum from all over the world....I chose to try to include everyone to reflect on my OP.

 

[sestoppelman]

Guess I should mention I haven't hunted stateside since probably 15 years ago when I was in Montana hunting prairie goats. Got one too. Late buddy and I did that a few times, we drove from WA to MT and back. I have never flown for a domestic hunt but again, they have been in the west so no need to fly.

 

[Red Leg]

... and then courtesy of the U. S. Government you got to go out of the country to some unique location that contained in many cases less than friendly people. Where as I got to spend my career in small rural schools in Texas and on fields measuring 120yds by 53 yds that contained some less than friendly people too. I can see where our two different life experiences can bring about two very different points of view. I will be happy to pick you up at the airport in my truck. You won't even been embarrassed because my AGGIE stickers are on my coolers not my truck.

My daughter is an Aggie - crossed that bridge a long time ago. Besides LSU evened things up pretty well this year.

Give it another chance! The adventure is real! Like the time the snow storm was so bad we barely made it to a hotel in the middle of nowhere.....just to find out it had bedbugs....ahhh,yes good times....

When I was 25 maybe. Now? It sounds absolutely horrible.

 

[Ridge Runner]

Are you drinking again? It is all the bold caps where you are shouting at me that have me worried. I am still trying to decipher the intent of your rant. "Hunt where you can drive to rather than fly to and feel superior"? I'll assume, or at least hope, your tongue was at least partially in your cheek?

Let me offer an alternative world view. First of all, I hate, loathe, detest, etc. driving cross country. Did I mention that I really don't like it? Probably too many decades in the Army moving from sea to shining sea and back again. I'll take a flight to Billings, rent a SUV, and head off to my destination in a heartbeat. But drive from South Central Texas to Montana? Sorry, I have much better, less stressful things to do with my time. And I don't know about the rest of my fellow correspondents, but these long range road trips seem to be always devolve into an odyssey of getting there - numbing hour after numbing hour - rather than a cross-country tour "enjoying" the sights along the way. I am grateful for every such experience that I don't have to remember when sorting through a lifetime of woulda shoulda coulda. Just saying.

My spouse and I do travel together - a lot. 39 years and we are still romantically involved. We enjoy hanging out together. We will often combine a few days of my hunting with ten days to two weeks of playing tourist. Other times we just play tourists. But then I love spending a day in the Prado every bit as much as I do a deer stand or duck blind. Together we have done Italy, France, Spain, Austria, Germany, the UK, and have the Czech Republic, Hungary, Morocco, and Spain again already scheduled. We gladly fly to all of those places. Retirement is a great thing.

Not sure where you hunted Africa, but I have never hunted a feed lot - in Africa or Texas. You might try flying to Mozambique and having a wade about in the Zambezi Delta - you will feel like you accomplished something.

I haven't started drinking yet, but I'll be pouring myself one soon.

All the bold, italic, underlined, caps isn't meant to be yelling. It's meant to draw attention that I am mainly referring to those of us in North America. And to reference those in other countries to consider forget flying if your able to drive to your hunt location.

The "Cage Bred" comment has nothing to do with CBL hunts in Africa. It has everything to do with this kind of local operation that was finally shut down...we hope the is operation has just moved and started somewhere else....but I think he has....here's the short version:

This particular outfitter would go to a fenced pasture, pick out the animal a customer wanted to shoot, release the animal from his barn into a 1/4 +/- acre fenced in corral, and the customer would shoot the claiming he hunted it. Of course his version made it sound like a story out of any number of hunting magazines articles.

I'm sure some PH's and guides on here know these types:

So called hunters arrive in "camp", supposedly claiming they are there to hunt (whatever animal), only to sit around drink and play cards the whole time they are in "camp".

Red Leg, how much have you had to drink?

I don't know how or where you "deciphered": "Hunt where you can drive to rather than fly to and feel superior ".

My OP, is about enjoying vacation time, relaxing, and skipping all the airport BS.

The rest of your thread, is what the concept of my OP is meant to get others to consider.

 

[David AK 53]

It is all about Time.

My wife did a bear hunt on Vancouver Island in 2016. It was to be a 6 day hunt. At 1:30pm on the second day she shot an amazing black bear. The hunt was over. If we had flown, we would have been flying out the next day. However, we had driven up from Texas, and because we were teaching at the time and it was early June we spent the next 20 days driving and camping our way back to Texas.

I am doing a DIY black bear hunt on Prince of Wales Island the first week in June of this year. Currently I am retired. I have the time. I am going to spend 5 to 8
days camping and fishing my up to POW. I will catch the ferry in Bellingham, WA to Ketchikan, AK and then to POW. My sons on the other hand have real jobs and they are in the process of financing my elephant hunt. Therefore, they have to fly. I will meet them at the airport in Klawock, AK. We will camp, hunt, and fish for 8 days. I will then take them back to the airport. Hopefully, they will have boxes checked as luggage that contains frozen fish and bear meat.

I will drive back with coolers containing the rest of the meat and fish. I will take considerably less time driving back. My idea is not to freeze the meat but to keep it cold until I get it home and then freeze it. I will being using two high end roto-molded coolers and an ARB refrigerator.

My camping rig will look like this.


View attachment 331731


View attachment 331729

View attachment 331732

If you have the time, desire, and equipment, this is a great way to extend the adventure of your hunting trip. If you have a limited time frame, get on the airplane.

Go on the ADVENTURE regardless of how you can get there.

Hope you are keeping up with the operating status of the Alaska Marine Highway System. Right now it isn’t operating. Major budget cuts and extreme lay up for maintenance schedules have resulted in only one short haul ferry operating and no long haul ferries currently in service. This is causing major hardship for all southeast AK. June is 3 months in the future, perhaps there will be service back in place by then.