DIY bear hide tanning??

[skaldugwas]

I was lucky enough to tag my first bear, a nice chocolate phase, and was surprised at the cost to have the hide tanned- let alone made into a rug.
While the wife says spare no expense in getting my first bear properly done, my tightwad scottish norwegian DNA says that thats just too much bling to throw around.
I have been asking around and find a 50/50 split between folks who say tanning a bear hide is easy and folks who say its really difficult.

I have been studying up on youtube, and various books and feel as though I might be able to do this myself.... even though I HAVE ZERO TANNING EXPERIENCE... but I have skinned and processed a good deal of animals over the years and im pretty good with my hands.
What say you?


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[hush]

I am a taxidermist. Have it professionally done by a reputable taxidermist/tannery. It is a load of work that needs to be done properly. This is not the hide you want to learn on. They need to be fleshed and salted, rehydrated and pickled, degreased, shaved and degreased and then tanned. Anyone who says it is easy has either not done a bear, or not done it properly. Shaving a bear without a fleshing machine is not easy. Proper tanning procedure, timing, measuring the appropriate chemicals, takes experience. Your first nice bear is not a good learning hide. Nice to have the wife on board to have it done! Do research on a GREAT taxidermist or tannery. Have them do it.

 

[Fitzwho]

I tanned a bobcat it college... that was 10 plus years ago, lots of work and I still have the skin... That said, I wouldn’t even consider attempting to tan an animal any larger.

 

[colonel00]

Man, I hear ya about being cheap. I'm probably too cheap sometimes doing way too much research to find the best price on the perfect thing. But, there are things worth paying for and things worth paying maybe even a little more for to have someone who knows what they are doing work their magic. I live in KC and send all of my mounts to two taxis up near Chicago. One guy is a wizard at fish and big game and the other is an absolute artist at waterfowl. Yeah, I pay more but I end up with mounts that aren't just skin stretched over a form. Every mount is amazing and even evokes a bit of personality.

All that said, get a rug made! It's your first bear and a chocolate at that. I'd love to have a color phase and I would for sure get a rug made out of one even though I already have a nice rug of a "plain ole black bear". Again, I understand wanting to save some coin but unless it will be a financial hardship, get it done right the first time.

Also, if you happen to have any hair slippage on the hide, a good taxidermist can probably catch that and hopefully salvage the hide.

 

[30338]

Rugs here run around $900 and tanning the hide is going for about $300. If your time is worth about $4 an hour, I'd do it yourself.

 

[colonel00]

Rugs here run around $900 and tanning the hide is going for about $300. If your time is worth about $4 an hour, I'd do it yourself.

I'm lost on your statement here. Are you saying that it would take 75 manhours to tan the hide?

Also, something that hush mentioned above. Most taxidermists, at least the ones I know, outsource the tanning and don't do it in house. There's a reason for this.

 

[gelton]

I tried to tan my first deer hide back when I was 12 years old. It was before the internet so I hopped on my bike and rode down to the library. Checked out a book on tanning, went to the store to get the ingredients and proceeded to put it in my dads new cooler for it to soak in the prescribed solution after fleshing it out. My parents had no idea that I was doing it. About 3 days later everything stunk so bad that my plan was outed. Long story short I ended up having a ruined hide and having to buy my dad a new cooler.

Granted I was only 12 years old, but I dont think I will ever try tanning a hide again.

 

[hush]

I do all of my own tanning. I have tanned hides for a VERY large taxidermy studio as well. Small black bears to huge coastal brown. I assure you, not an easy task to do properly. Not blowing my own horn, just establishing credibility that i can authoritatively speak on this subject. Many send them out. It takes time and experience to do properly. Many taxidermists can mount them, but aren’t the best tanners. Others just send them out, let the tanning professionals do the tanning, and focus on the mounting. I do all of it myself as I don’t like sending a hunter’s irreplaceable trophy to someone else. I have the equipment and the technique, might as well do it in house. I can take measures to save a cape/hide if it looks questionable, rather than sending out and seeing what comes back. And @30338, unless you have the equipment, chemicals, and the process, DIY can end with a ruined hide. A good taxidermist is not trying to rip anyone off. You are paying for their specialized equipment and skill. I am all for someone giving it a shot, practicing, and learning to do it themselves. That’s where I started, but the OP has a special hide that they want done right, not a hit-or-miss attempt to begin learning how to tan, if I’m understanding the post correctly.

 

[Bear_Hunter]

Is the hide currently in the freezer, or is it fleshed and salted already? If not fleshed, do that and see how you feel. By the time I finish fleshing/turning lips, ears, etc./ and salting all my bears in the spring, I'm more than happy to pay someone else to deal with the rest of the process.

If it's a nice enough bear you're considering a rug, then don't risk screwing up the hide. Bring it to your taxi, and have him send it to the tannery they use. It won't be cheap. If a rug is out of your budget, just get it tanned and have a wall hanger. If you want to save money by doing something yourself, do the skull.

 

[30338]

I'm lost on your statement here. Are you saying that it would take 75 manhours to tan the hide?

Also, something that hush mentioned above. Most taxidermists, at least the ones I know, outsource the tanning and don't do it in house. There's a reason for this.

I'm just saying that by the time the various items needed to tan 1 hide are procured, and your time is factored in, that you are not going to save a lot if any and the quality will be much less than a professionally tanned hide. So being a little sarcastic about the hourly rate, but it would be a no brainer to send that off for tanning if the hide is important.

 

[colonel00]

I'm just saying that by the time the various items needed to tan 1 hide are procured, and your time is factored in, that you are not going to save a lot if any and the quality will be much less than a professionally tanned hide. So being a little sarcastic about the hourly rate, but it would be a no brainer to send that off for tanning if the hide is important.

Gotcha. The way I was reading it, it sounded like you were saying he should do it himself because of the low cost of personnel time. I see what you are saying now.

Also, +1 on doing the skull yourself. That's pretty easy to do.

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[kwikfish]

I'd recommend going for it. Several year ago I took on self tanning, knowing it would be lots of hard work. Everyone else here has recommended against it, assuming you take it on yourself imagine the sense of accomplishment. Tanning solutions, and instructions are pretty straight forward you'll be supplying the elbow grease and learning a skill set along the way. My inquisitive nature and sense of self reliance is probably a notch above most, but to date I've tanned multiple bears, mountain goats, caribou, fox, ect at home in my garage with my young children assisting.

feel free to pm if you'd like-

 

[Glendon Mullins]

I have assisted in a taxidermist shop for a while, a few years back. A Bear hide is pretty much the toughest to tan and the most work, fleshing takes a long time especially if it is a fat bear. The more fat= the more fleshing. PLUS remember bear hides are more apt to spoilage than pretty much any other hide, it would majorly SUCK, to spend an entire weekend fleshing a bear hide only to have the hair slip on it as you start the tanning process.

Either take it to a taxidermist or send it off to be tanned