Poll: Bear rug, mouth open or not??

[trophyhunt]

Having trouble deciding on my bear rug, I know the traditional way is to leave the mouth open. But I have always felt it looks so fake, I've never seen a bear with it's mouth open in the woods snarling.  I think the more natural way is with it's mouth closed but, I also know it's the traditional way to leave it open!!!  Curious what you guys think or would choose.

[jrebel]

I chose to have my rug done with mouth shut.  When I get it back, I will gladly post pics.  I thought mouth open looked fake and like you pointed out.....never seen one in the wild with mouth open.   

[lokidog]

I've had my two rugs done mouth open (1980 and 1984), but would probably do it closed if I did another.

[BlackRiverTaxidermy]

Trophyhunt,
Something to keep in mind is that there is a 'relaxed pose' that is available with rugs and mounts when it comes to bears. Everyone's opinion is everyone's opinion but I tend to agree with you, the open mouth always looks a little un-natural, no matter how good the taxi work is; plus it gives them an 'angry' look. On the flip side, the close mouth sometimes looks a little too much like Boo-Boo Bear unless its a specific type bear like a sow or a younger bear. Again, this is solely my opinion and I have customers that choose either closed or open mouth on a regular basis.
The flip side is a fairly new pose called the relaxed or 'slack-jawed' pose which displays the bears mouth at a slightly open pose displaying the canines but keeps from the typical open mouth/angry pose. Take a look at it on several websites, and I will try and pose a pic if I have one. Take a look at this pose though, kind of the best of both worlds.
Best of luck!
Joel- BRT

[BlackRiverTaxidermy]

Not a pic of my work, but a pic of the type of pose that I was referring too.

[jackelope]

That's what I'd do. Right there.

[lokidog]

I like that as well.   

[trophyhunt]

I forgot about the relaxed look, my full mount has that same mouth.  I do think it's a good alternative, I wonder how it looks on the rug though?  Thanks for the input guys.

[jjdavis2222]

I struggled with this decision also. I ended up going with the open mouth. It turned out better then I was expecting. Not all that fake looking not over the top aggressive looking. I just got it back last week. Here is a pic.

[PolarBear]

Partially closed with a cigar hanging out.