Gave my husband a Canadian bear-hunting trip for his birthday. He succeeded and brought a field-dressed black bear back from the trip. Here in So. Carolina, his taxidermist says our bear rug won't be ready for 9 months. Seems excessively long. Any thoughts on this? I want my rug!
Thank you,
Norman's wife
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After you spent all that money on the hunting trip, trophy, and import permit and fees, you want a quality job done NOW? Can't wait for quality?
Go buy a bear rug and let that tide you over until yours is ready.
9 months seems very reasonable, considering that some tanneries don't get the skins back to the customer (taxidermist) for 6-8 months. Give the poor taxidermist a break.
I appreciate your response. We want the job done skillfully and would like to understand the process. What is involved in the 6 to 8 month process?
PS: The ticket for having a radar detector, although not turned on and not speeding, was pretty pricey, too. Did not know it was illegal to own in Ontario. At least the truck was not siezed!
Thanks again,
Norman's wife
is 18 months for a rug. You have to wait on the tannery (3 to 6 months), then install the headform ( 6 months)(and you can't drop everything your working on just for that) then you have to send it out to have the felt and backing put on (6 months) = 18 months. 9 months is a great turn around time. Chances are most of the steps will be done sooner than 6 months but as soon as the 9 month mark gets here you'll be calling the taxidermist wondering why it's not done yet. He'll say a couple more weeks and you'll call again and it won't be ready yet,etc... I prefer to quote a longer turn around time so I can have some room just in case.
Taxidermy tanneries are not as common as the quickie marts most Americans are accustomed to. In fact, I only know of ONE tannery in the state of South Carolina and it's over towards Aiken and it's a small operation without a lot of history. There's one in North Carolina and one in Alabama which are the nearest reputable BIG tanneries that I know of. Now just imagine how many thousands and even millions of hides these tanneries process during the year for an area like that. One bear is going to be pebble on the beach and just keeping track of a single bear hide in that tide is simply amazing to most of us. You should be very thankful that your taxidermist is professional enough to have it commercially done instead of trying to do it himself. There really IS a difference. And remember, your taxidermist has more work to do than just your bear rug. Everyone thinks they're the most important customer we have, but each of our customers is important. I'd bet he's still working on deer mounts from last years season if he's any good. Now why should he put your bear in front of customers who've already been waiting and who had their hides to him 6 months before your husband showed up.
BTW, radar detectors are illegal many places. Contrary to what their owners believe, the police look at them as a blatant example of "I'm planning on speeding until I know you have radar operating and then I'll slow down only as long as necessary." Right? With today's technology, they're already outdated anyway. Most of them only detect the burglar alarms of businesses along the way. Laser is more accurate for police and undetectable by even the fanciest radar detector. Those little boxes on the dash are seldom more than expensive St. Christopher's medals anyway.
i consider myself "professional enough" and i dont send out my bears to a tannery! what say you?
Though some taxidermy shops are certainly large enough, staffed well enough, and have equipment enough to handle jobs like this, the MAJORITY OF TAXIDERMISTS are not so well blessed. If you don't fall into that category, you'll one day find out the time you're wasting that could be spent on other moneymaking projects. Professional tanneries produce far better results consistently than home or shop tans. That's not just my opinion, it's based on the fact that MOST professionals just contract out their most tedious work so they can profit from work better suited for their small operations.
I too Tan My bears. as well as my dear bobcat, elk, and everything else. I produce a tan that rivals any commercial tannery. we are set up to do tanning, with tumblers, and scrubbers. But lets face it 99% of taxidermy shops are not set up to tan. And it just would not be real profitable for them to set up to do so for the 10 or 20 bear an average shop gets. when kit type tans work fine for mounted hides.