landmark success and rug alternatives

[T3clay]

Hello everyone, I have been a forum member for a few years and haven’t posted a lot but this fall
Has been quite the experience so far, so I thought id share a story.

I have been building points for 7 years to hunt bears in MN (it usually only takes 4 but several times I had conflicts). This spring (April) I knew I’d have time to hunt and enough points to draw a tag. so myself, my son, and several Others applied for tags, and we ended up
With a group of 5 of us getting tags (3 adults and 2 kids)

Fast forward to May 12, 2023 at 32 years old I was diagnosed with Cancer, specifically, stage 4 classic Hodgkin’s lymphoma. So that sucked… but I started chemo almost immediately and was determined to make the hunt work. In late June I had a follow up scan which showed extreme progress and “no signs of active disease”. At this point my doctors are Hopeful that the cancer can be completely cured

We went and started baiting and put in 13 baits opening weekend. Throughout the baiting season, we continue to bait and monitor trail, cam pictures, and had some good action from a variety size of bears. With acorns starting to drop or baits slowed down the week before the season opener

The first day of the hunt I sat morning and evening and was able to harvest the biggest bear coming into this bait with my bow. This is also my first Bear harvest. She field dresses 195 LBS. I know this isn’t a record bear by any means, but for central MN this is decent size sow.

The 2nd day of the hunt I sat with my son(15). we started battling acorns and brutal heat wave. One night on stand was 95 degrees… One of the kids in the group ended up shooting his first bear which field dressed 138 Lbs.

We will be headed up next weekend to see if we can fill the remaining tags. We are hoping that cooler temperatures and a week of bears eating acorns might push them back onto the baits a little more.

I’d like to get something done with my bear… to
me it signifies (Hopfully) beating cancer…but I’m not sure I have the $$$ laying around for a rug. So I’ll looking for other options. It’s also not a huge bear so I’m probably not looking for a shoulder mount.

Anyone have any less common ideas? Ever made a rug yourself? Or had a rug made without the head mounted? More like just a flattened out tanned hide?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

 

[dtrkyman]

First off good luck with your health issues!

Congratulations on the bear, I have read around here somewhere of guys sending their hides in directly to a tannery so they cut out the middle man(IE) taxidermist.

Maybe do a search I can not remember where I saw it, I plan to do a DIY or send it myself if can get my bear!

 

[colby12]

Bro, getting after it while dealing with cancer is impressive! Congrats on the bear and good luck with the cancer.

I just got my spring bear back from the taxidermist who also happens to tan. I dropped it off in May and got it last week tanned. Not sure what I’ll do with it but I think it’s pretty cool. I’ll probably hang it on the wall or leave it draped over my recliner. Wife didn’t approve it being on the bed.

 

[yycyak]

Maybe take a look at the "Trapper Nelson wall mount" ideas out there on the Google.

You could maybe just tan-in-a-can the hide, fold it up, and lash it to a frame.

I've DIY'd a few frames myself (Alaska packboards) so if you can't find a trapper Nelson for cheap locally (they are pretty trendy right now for some reason) you could try that option.

Hello everyone, I have been a forum member for a few years and haven’t posted a lot but this fall
Has been quite the experience so far, so I thought id share a story.

I have been building points for 7 years to hunt bears in MN (it usually only takes 4 but several times I had conflicts). This spring (April) I knew I’d have time to hunt and enough points to draw a tag. so myself, my son, and several Others applied for tags, and we ended up
With a group of 5 of us getting tags (3 adults and 2 kids)

Fast forward to May 12, 2023 at 32 years old I was diagnosed with Cancer, specifically, stage 4 classic Hodgkin’s lymphoma. So that sucked… but I started chemo almost immediately and was determined to make the hunt work. In late June I had a follow up scan which showed extreme progress and “no signs of active disease”. At this point my doctors are Hopeful that the cancer can be completely cured

We went and started baiting and put in 13 baits opening weekend. Throughout the baiting season, we continue to bait and monitor trail, cam pictures, and had some good action from a variety size of bears. With acorns starting to drop or baits slowed down the week before the season opener

The first day of the hunt I sat morning and evening and was able to harvest the biggest bear coming into this bait with my bow. This is also my first Bear harvest. She field dresses 195 LBS. I know this isn’t a record bear by any means, but for central MN this is decent size sow.

The 2nd day of the hunt I sat with my son(15). we started battling acorns and brutal heat wave. One night on stand was 95 degrees… One of the kids in the group ended up shooting his first bear which field dressed 138 Lbs.

We will be headed up next weekend to see if we can fill the remaining tags. We are hoping that cooler temperatures and a week of bears eating acorns might push them back onto the baits a little more.

I’d like to get something done with my bear… to
me it signifies (Hopfully) beating cancer…but I’m not sure I have the $$$ laying around for a rug. So I’ll looking for other options. It’s also not a huge bear so I’m probably not looking for a shoulder mount.

Anyone have any less common ideas? Ever made a rug yourself? Or had a rug made without the head mounted? More like just a flattened out tanned hide?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

 

[Erict]

If I were you I'd get it tanned ASAP. Send it to Moyle's and all you need to figure out is if you want it garment (soft leather) or taxidermy (less soft) tanned. They do a great job at a very reasonable price. After it's tanned, it's stable and you can figure out what to do from there. Congrats and good luck!

 

[AKBC]

I like to have bears tanned and hang them on a nail by the nose. Much cheaper than rugs and take up less wall space. Many taxis around here will do the fleshing and tanning for $400-600 for a black bear. If you know how to flesh, turn lips/ears, do the feet, and salt, you can save yourself a few bucks and then send to someplace like Moyles.

 

[marcbateman]

Nice bear, congrats

 

[cornfedkiller]

I killed a bear in May, and didn't really want a rug, and I didn't feel he was big enough to warrant a shoulder mount, so I will be doing the rustic pack frame thing. My taxi is having him soft tanned, and then will stuff the head and front feet, and then I'll roll it up and put it on a frame.

Congrats on the bear and the cancer battle as well!

I've DIY'd a few frames myself (Alaska packboards) so if you can't find a trapper Nelson for cheap locally (they are pretty trendy right now for some reason) you could try that option.

Have any pics?

 

[North Idaho Stickbow]

The backpack mount is my new favorite. This was taken before I put all the cool stuff on the pack frame though.