Any advise would be much appreciated. I took my first black bear this past spring. Small (44") from nose to rear. I would like to do a lifesize on it myself. My experience consist of approx. 50 WT shoulder mounts and as many ducks. Never a full bodied mammal.
I have made preparations with a tannery to wet tan the hide. I have the option to have it soft tanned but the guy at the tannery advised the wet tan. At this time the bear is frozen with the skull and feet remaining. The bear was skinned by the outfitter for a rug but I was told the manner it was skinned would suffice for a body mount too. My plans for the bear are closed mouth standing on all fours. I feel confident with the work needed on the head (ear and lip turning) but I have never been into the feet of any animal.
Any tips or advise on a first time bear would be very welcome. I'm not doing this myself to save money. I'm doing it because I want to. All my experience is with personal, family and friends specimens. I am not a professional taxidermist. Any information that would help me avoid mistakes that first time bear mounts experienced would be great. Advise on video's, etc.
All comments welcome and thanks,
Bob
Huntsville, AL
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FIRST THING: Get yourself a mounting cradle. You're going to be doing lots of sewing and with the animal needing to be sewn underneath, you need to have some way to lay it on its back. You can make a cradle out of scrap wood. I use 2 inch nylon strips betweent the forks just to keep from accidentally gouging the hide.
You will need DEEP relief cuts in the armpit areas. I designed a tool for tucking these things and it's carried by WASCO. It's called the TaxiTuk and it won't puncture your hide or pull the hide back out like a screwdriver will.
And use a good hide paste. YOU WILL HAVE WRINKLES. A good hide paste will allow you to work the hide a couple days after the mount is complete and for you to "pack" the hide together to reduce or eliminate wrinkles.
If your form comes with toes, cut them off. Each toe needs to be packed with clay so that you can position it just like you desire.
Ear position is the most critical thing in my opinion. Too flared, they look like Goofy and too laid back, they look aggressive. Get good reference materials and if you can want them to look the best, buy the preformed ears with butts. Place them on the mannikin before you mount and prep the form so they will go exactly where you want them to. Often times, I'll mount the bear and then make a short dorsal cut from the forehead the the back of the head so that I can rework those earbutts afterwards. This sews up rather easily and a good hide will easily hide it.
Good luck. This is going to be one of your most remembered "fun" mounts. Enjoy it.
Bob, I would recommend that you purchase the VHS Tape from WASCO on mounting a Full mount Bear. It brings you through the whole process. That's what I did for my first bear (A full standing mount 6' P&Y Bear).I wet tanned it myself and did the whole thing. The tape was a big help and if you are not sure of something, just watch the tape again. Now it's like mounting a Giant Fox Squirrel! Good Luck.
Dear George and Emile,
Thanks for the quick and informative advise. I will definitly look into the video and tools from WASCO. I just spent last weekend at a Taxidermy Convention here in Huntsville, AL. and have all the latest catalogs for reference and supplies. I also attended several seminars (but no mammal seminars were offered) that have my confidence high. It has been a while since I have performed any taxidermy. I actually learned back in the mid 70's (with my last mount being approx. 1986) and as you know taxidermy technology has come a long way since then.
This is a great site for information and I appreciate your help. If you think of anything else you may have forgotten please feel free to provide more info. Meanwhile I'll be making plans to do my first bear. My hunting friends think I'm crazy to even think about mounting a bear but they don't realize I do have some background in the field. I live to hunt, love to cook what I harvest and what could be more rewarding than doing your own taxidermy. The art of taxidermy can be very intimidating to one that has never even skinned a cape.
Sincerely,
Bob Heinisch
Turn the skin inside out before mounting. Line up all the cuts on the belly and legs. use a permanant marker and make lines across the incisions to help keep them lined up while sewing, and I would also go all aroudn the cuts and punch small holes with a very thin and sharp awl so you do not have to push the needle through the skin, all you will have to do is keep looping the needle in and out of the skin. This will also save a lot of time.
Also, keep the skin wet. it will start to dry and will not strech as much. A spray bottle will be great for this. If you keep the fur around the cuts wet, it will help in sewing too.
Don't try and mount it willout the cuts under the arms and legs either. you need to be able ot tuck the skin, and as far as cutting the toes off like George says, that is one way, you can also cut inbetween the toes and tuck the skin. As long as you have some thick hide paste, or caulking, it will fill up the spaces and will allow you to move the skin around.
Also, make sure the pads are fully thinned and fill them with clay so they fill out like they should.
Get a lot of referance ofthe face from differant angles, perferably of a smaller bear as they look differant from the larger bears.
More dog like.
I sew mine up if they are skinned like yours is and recut them. I do a dorsel cut, they mount much easier, an dit is allot easier to sew up that way when the bear is on the form. Most guys will say that's stupid, and why sew more than you need to, but for me, I like to do it that way. If I didn't skin it, it's way easier to figure out how they cut it and sew it up right before i put it on the form. George is right, make big releif cuts in th earm pits an drear leg junctures if needed. I put a roll of clay down th esides of th erelief cut that I can squeeze around in place after i have the skin tucked, to help mak eit look good. I also put liquid nails in the bottum of the relief cuts to help lock th ehide in place. Just my 2 cents.
The form (#76 in the McKenzie catalog with limb)I plan on using will have the bear laying on a limb. When finished it will be hanging on the wall about 15 feet high. The left front leg will be running paralell to the limb with the right hanging down. The rear legs will be in a downward position against the verticle part of the limb attached to the wall. The belly will be lying on the limb. This particular bear (44' long) has an above average thick coat. This form for the most part will have most incision areas covered by the limb it will be lying on. Would you still recommend that I sew the existing incisions and do a dorsal cut?
Thanks for your input. Much appreciated.
Bob