How to save your bear hide for taxidermy.

[Antler_Creek_Taxidermy]

I made this post to hopefully save your taxidermist a few headaches.

1. With this weekends forcasted warm weather it is a must that you skin your bear as soon as possible and freeze the hide as soon as you can.

2. DO NOT CUT THE THROAT! It might seem like a no brainer for most of you, but you would be surprised at how many deer and bear come in with with the throats cut.

3. Don't tie a rope around the neck to drag or hang you bear. This will pull hair out and you will be able to see where the rope was. Use a sled or a game cart to haul your bear if you can. If you have to hang the bear to skin it out then skin the hide legs and tie a rope around the leg bone then hang it.

3. Dont skin out the paws or head.

4. Don't put your license tag in the ear. Put the license tag around the breast bone or a leg. It is much easier to patch a hole there, then the ear.

5. Don't completely split the brisket and try to make all skinning cuts as straight as possible.

6. For a shoulder mount, Leave atleast 6 inches of skin behind the front shoulders. For a 1/2 mount or lifesize mount bring the whole hide.

These are just a few tips and if I think of more I will post them. If anybody has questions or can think of anything that I missed please share.

Good Luck Hunters!

P.S. This is not intended to be commercial in anyway. Please do not ask for contact info, as I can not give you any.

[Neiko]

If you want to do a full mount should you skin it out from the top back and avoid cutting the belly?

[picksbigwagon]

great tips, something I had never thought about.

[harvey lee]

Thanks for the skinning and hide care tips Chad.

[Antler_Creek_Taxidermy]

If you plan to have a lifesize mount, it would be great to skin your bear down the back. This way of skinning can be more difficult and take awhile longer. When you field dress the bear people ussally cut the belly anyway but if you could skin the bear before field dressing it would be a good idea to skin down the back, as this would save your taxidermist a good amount of time sewing. It would be best to contact your taxidermist to see what they prefer. Also most taxidermists would have no problem skinning your bear for you if you are unsure about it.

Another thing I forgot to mention is for those of you planning to have a lifesize mount or rug, before you skin your bear, a measurement would be helpfull. Take a measurement from the tip of the bears nose to the base of the tail, this is best done with a cloth like tape measure. This measurement should be taken with the bear lying on the ground in a somewhat natrual pose. This measurement will be helpfull to your taxidermist in determining what form to order.

[EatSleepFish]

For a rug, would you skin the whole thing out leaving the legs and head attached to the hide or skin around the head and paws leaving it on the body? Any other things I should know in order to prepare for a rug?

[Antler_Creek_Taxidermy]

I'm not exactly sure what you are asking but here it goes. Skin the bear as you normally would and cut the head off at the base of the skull and cut the paws off an inch or two from the wrist. Your taxidermist will prefer to skin out the head and paws themself. Also its good to have an idea what you want as far as the color of the felt and wether or not you are going to hang it on the wall or lay it on the ground. Hopefully that answers your question?

[Gofishleech]

Hey Antler, what are we looking at to have a rug made, do you charge by the foot? How about a "from behind the shoulder" mount?

[Antler_Creek_Taxidermy]

Most taxidermists charge by the foot (tip of nose to base of tail) and average seems to be about $125/ft in my area.

A shoulder (like a deer head mount) runs about $450 for an open mouth and a half mount which includes front legs and belly runs about $650 for closed mouth and $750 open mouth. These prices are what I charge and are about average to slighty above average for my area. You can probably expect to pay more as you get closer to the Twin Cities. It is a good idea to check a few taxidermists out and to compare their prices and their quality of work, remember you tend to pay for what you get. Good luck tomarrow!

[EatSleepFish]

thanks antler creek, thats the info I was looking for.

[Random guy]

Good info thanks

[hanson]

I agree. Great Info!

Most hunters AND anglers have no clue what to do when a trophy animal or fish is on the ground or in the boat. A few key points to remember will make that trophy that much better!