Leaving behind a bear hide

[ICEMAN]

I am a bear novice, only two bears under my belt.

For the guys who have already placed enough bear rugs on the wall, what does it feel like to claim your bear meat from a kill, and to walk off and leave a hide behind....?

[Machias]

Couldn't do it.  Lots of taxidermist will buy your hide for $100+.  No reason to walk away from the hide.  I have two rugs and two shoulder mounts.  Someday and the right bear I'll get a 3/4 mount, but until then I like to have the hides tanned.  I hope it's not common practice to walk away and leave the hide.

[RadSav]

I've never been able to leave a bear hide behind.  Even ugly bear hides have made it home.  Back when there were quite a few hound guys I'd give hides to them for collars.  Guess it's super tough stuff they like for that.  Used to also have a drop off at the local elks club where they raised money tanning hides.  Haven't seen one of those for a while.  Not sure if they still do it. 

I still have about two dozen bear hides in boxes and laying around the house.  Given a few away to guys starting out as taxidermists needing some to not worry about while they learn.  Given quite a few to traditional archers for making quivers and whatnot.  Even made bear hide pillows for Christmas gifts some time back.  It's starting to get dang expensive to tan then just to give them away.  But I feel a stronger respect and connection with bear and their hides than deer or elk.  Probably why I still haven't been able to leave one in the woods.  At the price and delay for tanning these days I should probably learn to tan them myself. 

Sometimes wish I could do it.  Just doesn't seem right to me, but I have no issues with guys that can do it. 

[huntnnw]

left 1..it was horrendous! almost just skin

[boneaddict]

I usually pack the damn thing out then shove it in a freezer for 5 years or so until Momma gives me the sharp stick.

[billythekidrock]

I am a bear novice, only two bears under my belt.

For the guys who have already placed enough bear rugs on the wall, what does it feel like to claim your bear meat from a kill, and to walk off and leave a hide behind....?

I have never felt bad about leaving one (or 10) behind. Meat first, then think about the hide if it is in good shape.

[h2ofowlr]

I don't need anymore bear rugs, so I don't have any issue leaving the hide.  Just packing the meat out.  Same for deer and elk.

[BOWHUNTER45]

A guy would love to have them all but you only have so much room to get all your trophies and rugs take up a lot of room ...Sometimes if it is late in the year when they are fully prime I will pack them out and give them away ...you can always find someone who would love to have one 

[halflife65]

Take it out and sell it to a taxi or get him to trade it for cleaning up the skull for you (bugs or however the guy wants to do it.)  You can also just get the hide tanned for now and store it in case you ever want to use it for something later.  Considerably less expensive and if you get a real big one or a unique color you might be sorry you left it.

[h20hunter]

In a nutshell I'd say it is your bear. As long as you don't waste the meat intentionally I say do whatever you want. My first bear...I had no space for the hide nor the funds to have it worked over. In hindsight I should have offered it to the taxi in trade for work or simply given it to a newbie taxi for practicing on. However, once you shoot and tag it...it is your bear. If you don't want it, leave it.

[ghostshell]

i have no money for taxidermy this year although if i am fortunate enough to shoot a bear or two the hide will be packed out. not one to waste... if i take a bear that is the one, my credit card will have ta do for my rug.

[180-GRAIN]

I have left 2 out of 12 hides in the woods. Took meat, head and claws. After tanning 7-8 and having a couple rugs done it starts to get hard to want to spend the money on them. I left one because i forgot my bone saw in the truck 3 miles away and had no time toget to it before dark, so made the decision to bone it out and take what i could get. The other was 350+ pounds 8 1/2 miles in the wilderness. I had to pack it myself so taking head and meat was all I could carry. my buddy had all our gear so his pack was equally heavy otherwise we would have taken part of the hide for a 3/4 mount. I do believe once the tag is notched its your hide to do what you want with though, if you dont want it dont feel bad about leaving it as long as you take the important part... Meat.

[shanevg]

I've shot 9 bears and only packed out 4 hides.  2 of those 4 just ended up in the garbage can.  Tanning hides is way too expensive to tan every bear I shoot and I don't need a box of tanned hides laying around.  Plus, most the places I shoot bears, it's pain in the but to skin them (and keep the hide intact) let alone pack it out. 

I'm hunting for the joy of hunting and putting meat in the freezer.  I love bear meat but generally I'm not hunting for a hide anymore than I'm hunting for a deer hide.  That's also why it doesn't make any difference to me whether I shoot a bear on August 1st or October 31st. 

[bearpaw]

When I first started hunting and fishing as a child we were very poor, hunting and fishing was about having fun and getting food, I can remember how happy my mom and dad were when I started being more successful because it meant more meat in the freezer and food on the table. I never had anything mounted or tanned until I was 18 or 19. I don't even have a lot of my early horns as my family moved one summer while I was away doing summer work and they were forgotten when they moved. But, I have accumulated quite a few mounts since then and now find it hard to let a bear hide go to waste because there are so many uses for them.

[seth30]

Are you skinning in the field or at home?  I dont know if I would want to stick around too long out there all those darn yellow jackets. 

[Wazukie]

I've never kept a one 

[Hunt4ever]

I usually pack the damn thing out then shove it in a freezer for 5 years or so until Momma gives me the sharp stick.

Had the same problem until she found the frozen "good luck" pecker pole! She went out and bought us our own freezer that day! haha

[woodman]

I've never kept a one 

Probably saved yourself a lot of money.

[xXLojackXx]

I left the hide of my cinnamon bear in the woods last year. Unless its a damn near perfect hide I'm not going to pay the $1200 for a rug. I'd rather just bleach the skull in that case.

[trophyhunt]

I've never left one, to each his own. After a full and shoulder mount I just do hair on tan now, it's not that expensive and some day ill have a cabin to hang them all in. 

[grundy53]

If I'm not going to use it l, I'm not going to waste my energy packing it out. I don't see them as any different then a deer or elk hide.

sent from my typewriter

[CoryTDF]

I left the hide on two bears last year. Hell, I left the meat and the air in their lungs as well. I think bear meat is freaking nasty!!! It makes good sausage but i have enough of that already. No point shooting something I don't want to eat. I have one rug made from the one bear I have killed. Don't think I'll shoot another one unless I find somebody who really wants the meat. I do buy a tag every year but I have let many bear walk. I'm not into killing them and letting them rot.

[NRA4LIFE]

Since I already have a rug (1 is enough according to the CEO), it would largely depend on how far I had to lug the darned thing.  It wouldn't be worth the $$ from a taxidermist to haul one out 2+ miles or straight up a canyon.  I would be OK with leaving one.

[Gringo31]

I think the "what am I going to do with it" question is real.  The cost is high.

That being said, I'd pack it out as long as it wasn't WAY back in there.  I didn't weigh it but the hide and head on the brown bear I shot was not a fun pack. 

[CoryTDF]

I think the "what am I going to do with it" question is real.  The cost is high.

That being said, I'd pack it out as long as it wasn't WAY back in there.  I didn't weigh it but the hide and head on the brown bear I shot was not a fun pack.

That little guy in your avitar? it's just a cub!

[alecvg]

I kept my first and tanned it... doubt I would ever keep another unless it was a late season cinnamon, or a blonde.  They are expensive and take up a lot of space!

[beaslayer6]

I tan all mine.. love looking at them.. plus they make good planks in the winter...

[Machias]

I'm kind of suprised so many leave the hides.  It's like leaving a $100 bill laying in the woods.  Most of you guys wouldn't leave $100 just laying in the woods, would you?

[huntnnw]

But not all taxis will buy them, and if I shot a bear a long ways in and can only get the meat out..the hide sure as hell isnt worth $$ to money unless it was an exceptional or unique.

Tanned hides are not good forever, to look at yes. To mount them they need to be done fairly soon

[Machias]

Not trying to give anyone a hard time, it's just the trapper in me, I CANNOT waste a hide.  I'd lose sleep over it.    It's pretty easy to call around before the season and see who will buy your hides.  Not much extra effort for some extra money.

[huntnnw]

Very few in Spokane..I drive to Libby,Mt sometimes

[bmonti76]

I wish I had all these problems! I'm a newbie I think I will strip down to my hide and cover myself with the bear hide and hike out like a friggin caveman!!!! Yeehaw spirit of the wild!!!


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[ICEMAN]

I wish I had all these problems! I'm a newbie I think I will strip down to my hide and cover myself with the bear hide and hike out like a friggin caveman!!!! Yeehaw spirit of the wild!!!


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Make sure and wear your orange hat on your tripout...

[BOWHUNTER45]

When I first started hunting and fishing as a child we were very poor, hunting and fishing was about having fun and getting food, I can remember how happy my mom and dad were when I started being more successful because it meant more meat in the freezer and food on the table. I never had anything mounted or tanned until I was 18 or 19. I don't even have a lot of my early horns as my family moved one summer while I was away doing summer work and they were forgotten when they moved. But, I have accumulated quite a few mounts since then and now find it hard to let a bear hide go to waste because there are so many uses for them.

Happy to say I seen some of those mounts  Some fine mounts for sure