Had a customer bring by a Kodiak that he shot in November. His outfitter just got it down to him. It has been salted and dried. Pulled a tape across the pads.. 10'3, nose to tail 10'. My question is where to get a form. I have looked in all my catalogs and the largest I can find is 9 ft. Also looking for a detailed jaw set to fit. thanks
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Have you tried the Rayline they are apart of McKenzie company they should have something in that size?
If that is salt dried it's a huge bear.At any rate you need to get it tanned,rehydrate it,then measure it.That's the only way you are going to know exactly what you have.Research has a couple large Denver museum forms that are app.100-106 inches.Rayline should have forms that are about 100 inches.Jonas has some in the 96 to 98 inch range.A 100 inch bear is a very big bear.I have seen a lot of brown bears and the largest I have ever seen,had a finished form size of 124 inches if I remember right.These will be the largest forms available.If your bear is a lot bigger than that you will have to take one of these and expand it.Doing a bear of that caliber is about twice the work of doing one in the 90-100" range.You'll probably pay $900 for a form,$100 for shipping and who knows how much for foam to alter the form.Don't jump to any conclusions yet though,till you get the hide back.Just remember,if it is measureably bigger than those form sizes,you will have a lot of work to do,more than the run of the mill brown bear.I hope you will be able to charge for it.Sometimes(I say sometimes)these guys like to brag that they had to pay extra,because there bear is so big.Don't low-ball the price!Good luck.Let us know how it goes.
Thanks for the help. We measured again and still the same. BIG. Looks like we'll be doing a bit of modification to the form. Out of curiosity, what do you charge to do a bear this size?
anywhere from 250.00 t0 350.00 per linear foot. that adds up quick.