What are my bear hide options? (Rookie)

[PastorJoel]

Assuming that I am fortunate enough to get a bear, what are my lower cost options for dealing with the hide?

Maybe just a basic tan or rug ( without head and paws or something)? How much are these lower cost options?

Do most people use the hide?

Is it unethical or illegal to not take the hide?

In this state they can't be sold, correct?  Can they be given away?

I don't have the time or interest in tanning something myself. Either I will pay someone else or not use the hide.

Thanks!!!!

[Boss .300 winmag]

You can give it away, or just tan it which is cheaper than a rug. Or like a deer, some just throw it away, but if you post it on here someone will take it for free.

[trophyhunt]

People with normal budgets just don't need full rug bear mounts for every kill.  I have killed a lot of bears and most my bears are hair on tan, leave the head and claws on.  I also get some skulls Beatled, I personally couldn't imagine leaving the hide out in the field but I'm sure it's legal and ethical.

[Machias]

You can sell the hide, it's not illegal to sell the hides.  Get them tanned and later on when you have more funds available you can have a rug made.  I have one at the taxidermist I show 5 years ago being made into a rig right now.

[BULLBLASTER]

You can sell the hide, it's not illegal to sell the hides.  Get them tanned and later on when you have more funds available you can have a rug made.  I have one at the taxidermist I show 5 years ago being made into a rig right now.

I really like the soft tans (keeps head and claws on) and hang them on a coat hook. I think the taxi I use does them for 50-55$ per foot.

[bearpaw]

I would tan it and hang it on the wall or over a chair or something. We have several done that way, affordable and looks good. Don't waste it if you don't want to tan it, you can sell it if the hide is OK and spring bear are usually the best. If you sell the hide you have to sell with claws and hide together, you can't sell claws or teeth separately.

http://wdfw.wa.gov/help/questions/122/Can+I+sell+the+non-edible+parts+of+wildlife+legally+harvested+or+obtained+in+Washington%3F

[Mr Mykiss]

I have the same question except that I already have it tanned. Is there a better way than hanging it over the back of a couch? I feel that only really shows 1/3 of the beautiful pelt.
Is there a way to get the whole thing on the wall so we can see it all? Or cut a board in a bear pelt shape and pin it on there?
Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[Karl Blanchard]

I have the same question except that I already have it tanned. Is there a better way than hanging it over the back of a couch? I feel that only really shows 1/3 of the beautiful pelt.
Is there a way to get the whole thing on the wall so we can see it all? Or cut a board in a bear pelt shape and pin it on there?
Any thoughts would be appreciated.

how about you life size mount my bear so he can be admired by all!  Least you can do since you shot my precious.......




 

[Mr Mykiss]

I think I life-sized effed up the skinning him out so even a rug is outta the question at this point...sorry

[Squidward]

If you tan it now and plan to later have a rug made. get info from your taxi as to what / how it was tanned. I have one that when I looked into having it finished into a rug. I was told that unless you know how it was tanned. it's a gamble as to how to wet it back down and have the hair stay in it. saved me some money.. Good Luck! Squidward

[BlackRiverTaxidermy]

PastorJoel,
You have all kinds of options for the bear. It  completely depends on the bear that you harvest. If you get a bear that is rubbed out real bad in the hind end then a half-mount/shoulder mount with some habitat look really good on the wall and are cheaper (at least at my place) than a full rug. Rugs are always the most common, but for a good quality rug you are going to pay around $700-800 and up. Like a lot of people have suggested, you can have the hide 'trapper tanned', which is essentially the bear prepped like a rug and soft tanned to hang on the wall or drape over a couch, etc....you have about 5-6 years after this is tanned that you can still turn it into the rug which requires rehydrating the hide.  Rehydrating a tanned bear after about 6 years for a rug shell really runs the risk of hair degradation. I do a ton of these for people each year that are either still deciding, don't have the funds currently, or get bears every year and just like the hides around to remember. They cost about half the price of a rug. If a full-mount is something your considering down the road it can be skinned, prepped and tanned with the  paw pads still intact as well.
As some have also suggested as well, you can sell the hide to either a private party OR a taxidermist that is interested. RCW's in the State of Washington dictate you can sell the hide, you just CANT sell parts from the hide, such as cutting out the claws and selling them separate. The last resort is to just store the hide in the freezer until you decide. With  some added, out-of-the-field preparation and fleshing of the hide it can last a LONG time in the freezer if you prep, fold, and cover it correctly. Recently had a customer bring me a hide that was in the freezer for 7 years, he did a wonderful job of fleshing as much as he could and triple-bagged it for storage. The hide turned out beautiful with no evidence of freezer burn or damage.
Sorry for the long winded response, hope this helped!
Joel- BRT

[sumpnz]

PastorJoel,
You have all kinds of options for the bear. It  completely depends on the bear that you harvest. If you get a bear that is rubbed out real bad in the hind end then a half-mount/shoulder mount with some habitat look really good on the wall and are cheaper (at least at my place) than a full rug. Rugs are always the most common, but for a good quality rug you are going to pay around $700-800 and up. Like a lot of people have suggested, you can have the hide 'trapper tanned', which is essentially the bear prepped like a rug and soft tanned to hang on the wall or drape over a couch, etc....you have about 5-6 years after this is tanned that you can still turn it into the rug which requires rehydrating the hide.  Rehydrating a tanned bear after about 6 years for a rug shell really runs the risk of hair degradation. I do a ton of these for people each year that are either still deciding, don't have the funds currently, or get bears every year and just like the hides around to remember. They cost about half the price of a rug. If a full-mount is something your considering down the road it can be skinned, prepped and tanned with the  paw pads still intact as well.
As some have also suggested as well, you can sell the hide to either a private party OR a taxidermist that is interested. RCW's in the State of Washington dictate you can sell the hide, you just CANT sell parts from the hide, such as cutting out the claws and selling them separate. The last resort is to just store the hide in the freezer until you decide. With  some added, out-of-the-field preparation and fleshing of the hide it can last a LONG time in the freezer if you prep, fold, and cover it correctly. Recently had a customer bring me a hide that was in the freezer for 7 years, he did a wonderful job of fleshing as much as he could and triple-bagged it for storage. The hide turned out beautiful with no evidence of freezer burn or damage.
Sorry for the long winded response, hope this helped!
Joel- BRT

Great info.  Hoping to get a bear in the fall. 

If a customer brings in a hide how much fleshing to you expect them to do?  Does fisting the hide work well with bear to minimize the fleshing necessary?  Is it best to leave the skull and paws in the hide if it can be brought in quickly after killing?  If the skull is left in the hide do you incorporate that into the rug/trapper tan, or is it returned separately?  If separately, do you clean it, or freeze it or what?  Should the hide be salted?

So, if I'm reading that right a "trapper tan" is about $400?

Hope you don't mind all the questions.

[BlackRiverTaxidermy]

No problem with the questions, informed means better results for both customer and taxidermist! Yes, the ballpark figure is around $400 (trapper tan only), but it all differs with the size of the bear and work needed. It always best to try and remove the large chunks of meat and fat from a bear. I've had guys bring bears in with roast sized chunks left on them before ...as a taxidermist its part of the job to remove this, however its more of an issue of leaving this much meat/fat on the hide can cause slippage of the hair faster, improper cooling, and lots of more weight! Complete fleshing down the hide isn't needed by the hunter unless you have had practice at it. Fur hide, such as bear can easily be cut through with minimal effort so as long as most of the big hunks are off and you allow the hide to cool before rolling it up for the pack out/freezing then you should be golden. DONT SALT!!! Unless you are completely off the grid on a hunt an extended amount of time and you don't have access to cold temps, even a cold creek, then salt should be your LAST straw. Plus, to effectively salt a hide you have to take the hide all the way down to the skin layer, which again...unless you've have lots of practice  . Bring the hide in to your taxi as soon as you can. If you are on a backcountry hunt and have access to a cold creek, take a few large plastic bags with you, roll the cooled hide up, flesh side in, and double/triple bag it and put it in the cold creek...will last for quite a while.
I always prefer the customer leave the paws and head in the hide. The head/skull can be taught fairly easily to remove with minimal practice. If your planning on any other work such as a rug or shoulder-mount this step must be done carefully as you run the risk of cutting off/through the membranes around the eyes, nose, lips, and ears that we (taxidermists) have to have in order to correctly complete a mount. The paws are even trickier and its best to just skin down to the pad (stop at the pad) and cut the paw off at the wrist joint and let a taxi to the rest.
As far as the skull goes...I remove that obviously, and do the European for the customer as part of the tanning/job. I have two large colonies of dermestid (flesh eating beetles) in my other shop/building so I just throw the skull in with them for a day and its clean as a whistle in 36 hours and move onto the degreasing and whitening portion.
, another long winded response...but you asked!  Hope this helped! Joel-BRT

[Humptulips]

You could put it in perpetual storage with Michelle. 

[BLDtraLR]

Tag     And great info here   Wish i would have done more research i would have dealt with joel at brt    instead of taking it to another taxi     And paying close to 1200  and 1yr 7 months still haven't got it back  and now no answer to my phone calls