Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Don't laugh. Transporting antlers with skull attached

Can a set of bull Elk antlers (lets say 325") with the skull attached fit inside a 5th gen Toyota 4runner? The rear seats will be folded down and gear with coolers will be in there too.

Plan on using the roof rack if I get lucky?

325? Really depends on antler conformation. How wide, long etc.

This was around a 300’ish bull in the back of my old 05 Unlimited






It was tight but with the rear seat removed it worked fine. I’d think the 4Runner is similar in size.

Maybe.

Check state laws on moving bone across state lines. Skull cap OK, unprocessed skull, not OK in many states.

Yes.

Who'd you end up booking your hunt with?

Use the roof rack either way. Always loved seeing elk horns going down the interstate.

If you carry them on the top, take them inside if you’re stopping overnight enroute. I always take guns in too.

I believe Arkansas has a regulation about transporting antlers and skull, etc due to CWD. There were some cases a few years ago about guys stopping to eat and their racks and meat were confiscated when a warden happened to see them in their vehicle.

I’ve carried them inside a GMC Acadia with three big coolers as well. Put the coolers in with the drain plugs facing the rear door where you can just pull them aft a bit and drain any water from melted ice as required. Then fit the antlers in and pack around them. Soft bags beat suitcases by a mile when it comes to packing.

Idaho prohibits entering the state with the brains or spinal tissue if the animal comes from a state with documented CWD.

They might fit inside but for sure can be strapped to the roof rack. Bring some ratchet straps and rope and you will be fine. Regarding the skull/CWD issue if you don’t skull cap it and want the full skull for a euro mount. Just bring a metal coat hanger and drill and it’s easy to remove the brain and you are good to go.

That skull will still be confiscated in many states.

I transport every elk I’ve killed in the back of my truck all the way to GA, including those killed on the ranch Sako is hunting this fall. My route takes me through Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Memphis, Mississippi and Alabama. Six months ago more mine rode back just fine. I pulled into several spots to gas up, eat, etc and not one LEO or GW had anything to say but congratulations and lets hear the story….

Just curious why would it be confiscated? Most states are no spinal cord/brain matter.

I know NC says all meat must be deboned and skulls have to be clean i.e. no brain and no traces of meat. Hard to clean a skull in a mattef of a few days.

They even want you to label coolers with hunter info, state harvested.

https://www.ncwildlife.org/Hunting/Chronic-Wasting-Disease/CWD-Related-Regulations

Pretty much the same experience, only different states. I have driven with multiple times with multiple elk racks in the back of my truck, from New Mexico, through, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, and Minnesota. The racks were very visible to others that we passed or passed us on the hiway.

A little time with a Havalon and most meat on a skull is pretty much gone. I do know some people bring a pot and burner and simmer them on-site also.

You can get most with a garden hose and maybe a screw driver .

Many SE states are processed taxidermy only. Or skull plate that is cleaned. I'm not saying GW enforce it, but get ready for it. I know a guy who went through alabama and had a deer skull and all his meat confiscated.

Many states, no non-taxidermy bone is allowed from out of state.

Your skull will be cleaned… hide, brains, and for the most part be relatively clean if you choose to euro. If you choose to mount your bull it will be caped, and cut appropriately therefor clean as well.

Thanks Greg.

Get the brain out and the lining in the cavity then take it to a car wash and power wash it carefully to get the meat off.

A few years ago I killed this 400" Caribou in Quebec. I had flown out of and back to Denver. I knew that those antlers would make B&C so I didn't split them. Then when I drove home to Montana there was no way the rack would fit inside my Subaru, so I strapped it on the roof. On my trip home, I got a lot of thumbs up, and a few people at gas stations asked if they could take a picture of it.

A couple of months later, I returned to Denver and ended up driving a new Subaru home. Just a couple of miles onto I-15, and with only 58 miles on my odometer, I was in a middle lane of that 8-lane speedway, a wood block fell off of a 18-wheel flatbed and hit just behind my windshield rear view mirror. It shattered the windshield, knocked the mirror off the glass, and put a dent in the roof just above the mirror. If I would have had those Caribou horns on top of my car that day, that block of wood would have shattered them.

The republic of Kalifornia has had the no CWD regulations for several years - we have always come back with animals - they stopped us & asked the right questions only once. I try to put antlers inside the truck cap out of sight. If we get something worth mounting we have it done in Colorado. Some guys have 1 day European mounting done.

Odds are you won’t have any issues at all. On the other hand it would be a huge PITA to have those issues to deal with if it could be easily avoided.

I would strongly recommend looking at the regulations for each state you will need to pass through. The CWD-related regulations have been changing frequently, and sometimes annually. Worse, some have been changing even during the season.

A couple years ago my NY nephew came out to hunt WY. He found out while he was here that NY state CWD regulations had changed after he left there. The WY season opened prior to the NY opener, and NY wanted to have new regs in before the NY season opened. Therefore, just before he was to go home with a head, we had to scramble to meet the new regulations. His head had to be fully cleaned of all brain and flesh. Pretty much all states now are requiring only boned meat cross state lines.

In WY, most recently, if an animal is killed in a CWD unit, you pretty much need to bone it at the kill area and leave skeletal material where it was killed, so you are not even supposed to transport skeletal parts inside the state from a CWD area.

Each state is a bit different. Some states prohibit brain, spinal cord, bones leaving the state, others prohibit such parts entering the state. A few appear to only allow cleaned skullplates to travel - no full skulls for Euro mounts. It is best to do the homework and plan accordingly.

Also echo the recommendation that if you get something big enough you can't get it inside the vehicle that you never leave it out where it can be stolen, especially overnight, because that could be very likely in some places. Would certainly take the shine off a hunt. Seems like you should be able to make them fit, but as someone else noted, soft duffels and smaller containers will probably make packing stuff around them easier. You could also consider shipping some gear home once you don't need it.

It would be helpful if the states could come up with a uniform set of regulations. Note that I said STATES, not federal. We sure don't need the feds messing with it.

Rock Chuck. Sound advice and exactly was I was thinking about doing once the hunt got closer. I might book mark each states regs that I am going through too and maybe print them off.

Just make sure you tie them down good when carrying them on the outside of a vehicle or trailer. In the 90's on the way home from Idaho, we saw a set of elk antlers from a really big bull laying on the shoulder of I-80 in Ohio. Can't imagine explaining to everyone they called home and told about the kill, and no antlers.

Rockchuck, trying to imagine ALL states agreeing on anything...It sure would be nice though.



Add plenty of paracord to the packing list, add "making antlers well secured" to checklist for travel. (Not a bad idea to check around your vehicle when packing up - we once found a nice pair of hunting boots left on a retaining wall at a motel. "Oops, what happened to my boots?" And a few useful items hanging in trees around camping spots.)

Best of luck on the hunt, hope you get one too big to fit inside anything.

I don't know if it's legal but I see trucks from WA state blowing thru I-90 in N. Idaho with deer and elk head and sometimes who animals from Montana. I see it in pickups and trucks pulling atv/utility trailers.

Heres my 320-330 type 6x7 that would not fit in my camper shell on my Tacoma with a layer of coolers in the bed. He was abnormally wide though I believe, 47" inside. Had to ride from CO to AL like this, which was fine with me. We did stop in Trinidad before leaving Colorao and skull capped it so we didn't break any transportation rules crossing state lines. Ran into Wal-Market to buy a hacksaw. Good times!

That is awesome

Trim with knives. Then hit the car wash

Depends on the volume of the accompanying gear. Once tried repacking my Toyota Landcruiser and could still not fit the hardware inside. Tied it to the hood and made a dawn run into town. That was not an interstate run, however, and present rules here (Oregon) are demanding an extremely thorough skull cleaning probably at least up to a boil.

345” 6x6 rode all the way from NM to GA just like this.

He stayed in the hotel room with us for two nights. Sweet wife thought I was crazy. 😏

Does this apply to pronghorns? I wouldn’t think so.

Do everything you can to clean a pronghorn skull thoroughly if you plan to have it inside your vehicle. I left mine a little too long and I had the most Godawful stench in my truck you’ve ever seen.

700 miles left to get back home. Windows rolled down

Pronghorns are not susceptible to CWD so transportation is not an issue.

That’s what I figured.

From experience, wrap the elk rack and/or skull in double or triple heavy duty garbage bags. Then parachute cord
and trailer ties to top-or inside.
Protects rack a 4-runner top. Protects U and rack and SUV.

(I have 2 4-runners).

It must have been quite a stench to have seen it.

I wonder how these laws apply to flying a skull and rack home. I intend to fly from Oregon to Tampa, if all goes according to plan, with a blacktail skull wrapped and taped in my checked duffle. Naturally, it will be as flesh free as possible given available tools and time constraints between tagging out and the flight home.

Glad I came across this thread. I think I had better do some research. If anyone has any experience, please post.

Look up CWD Florida:


If you’re planning to hunt outside of Florida:
logo for chronic wasting disease program
Be aware of rules that prohibit importing or possessing whole carcasses or high-risk parts of deer, elk, moose, caribou and all other species of the deer family originating from any place outside of Florida.

Under these rules, people may import into Florida:

De-boned meat
Finished taxidermy mounts
Clean hides and antlers
Skulls, skull caps and teeth if all soft tissue has been removed
The only exception to this rule is deer harvested from a property in Georgia or Alabama that is bisected by the Florida state line and under the same ownership can be imported into Florida. See this infographic about the new rules.

These rules went into effect July 2021, and replaced FWC Executive Order 19-41. They do NOT include the permit option allowed under FWC Executive Order 19-41 to import whole deer or high-risk parts from properties in Georgia or Alabama provided certain requirements are met.

These rules continue the FWC’s work to protect Florida’s deer populations by reducing the risk of chronic wasting disease (CWD) spreading into the state. CWD has not been detected in Florida

Non-stop would avoid many problems, I would think.
Just need to deal with each end.

Travel at night and keep them out of sight. I shot my moose on the far side of Yellowstone Park and asked The Pine Pigs at the gate if I could take the moose through Yellowstone. They told me they would rather have me go back through Red Lodge, than take the moose through the Park. I got up at 5:00 AM and drove through the park. Screw them and their stupid ideas...

I bet they stuck out of the bed just a little!

This thread brought to mind two incidents from over the years that I found amusing, and testifying to the benefits of discretion and common sense in transporting game.

'67 or '68, Several of us underage USFS seasonals were were pretty well tanked at 2 a.m. in St. Maries when a station wagon came rolling by. A half-block later the city cops had it pulled over. July probably isn't a good time to go through town with a big bull elk strapped on top.....

Rolling north out of Fairbanks one time, at Fox we saw a brand new fancy truck with a couple GI looking guys tending it, hood up, steam making a huge billow above.

That situation might have had something to do with a stupendous moose rack strapped across the front of the grill (there was room in the PU bed).

Good luck on your hunts, guys- just 19 days to my season's first up here.

Last year we traveled from north of Fairbanks to Sterling- some 600 miles with large and medium caribou antlers strapped to the back ATV racks which were up on the trailer towed behind the pickup camper. It was the best option of the limited room, but did garner some looks and comments, none of them negative.

That may not be the case down there in funny country.