I had a man come to my shop today with a 1/2 bear mount,he picked it up last week. after I looked at it,the bear was tanned with cream or some paint on tan.I don't know if it was degeased.the bear has a stinky smell, not rotten and the hair is not slipping.The bear goes about 450 pounds.He paid $400.00 for the mount.I told him you got what you paid for. He gave me the job to repair it or remount it.Can I take this bear mount apart and send the skin to my tannery? I don't want to mask the odor.
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Classic dry preservative symptoms on a bear. And the $400 price tag fits right along with it.
For any of you beginners out there, this is ONE ANIMAL you should never DP and never home tan. Send them out and you'll money ahead in the long run.
Talk to the tanner that you have in mind.I believe it is possible,but some may not want to fool with it.
Just finished my first home tanned bear half mount two weeks ago.You have to get everything off and after pickle(with degreaser in it)Wash, wash,wash with Dawn then soak for 30 minutes in mineral spirits.Came out great.No smell and every bit as fluffy as a tannery done skin.If you are not willing to go the extra mile on the cleaning then yes, send it to the tannery or you'll be in trouble!
...done because it can be. Many taxidermists, however, don't have that kind of patience to insure it's done correctly. And when you do, most will agree that they'd consider sending them out before tackling a job like that again.
for your
input.I don't tan animals,I look at it this way. Tanning is a art unto it self,I let my tannery do it for me,I give them good cleaned hides and I get back good tanned hides and always get good mounts.
I put up a new post.The stinky bear mount.It's what I did.