Question about a bear skin

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Silverado

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I'm going to carry a bear tag this fall, but I'm not sure what to do with the skin, and by that I mean two things.

Firstly, I think I'd like the skin done as a rug, but like a sheepskin rug, without the head or paws. Is that odd?

Secondly, what do I need to do with the hide to get it ready for tanning? This won't be the year that I try to do it myself, so just the basics to prep it for a tanner. Can I freeze the hide until it's time to have it done?
 
I got my first bear this year. Due to the size and weight and the fact that we were carting it out the old fashion way, we skinned it without the head and paws. I am having that made into a rug. I kept it in the freezer for a couple months til I could get it to a taxidermist. If anything, without the head and the paws it didn't cost as much.
 
Looking at getting into this myself. I have no experience but have done a lot of reading, so take this for what it's worth. De-fleshing and salting are important if the hide is not to be tanned right away. There are special knives available for a good de-fleshing job. Non-iodized "pickling" salt is recommended. I found some at the grocery store but it was course so I ran it through a coffee grinder (now a dedicated salt grinder). The finer the better to get into all the little areas. Rule I've heard is a pound of salt per pound of hide. You can tack it to a board and salt it and let it dry out or salt it and freeze it. I'm not 100% sure but I believe you can just freeze it without salt after pulling it off the animal.
 
Either freeze it or salt it. I prefer freezing. It does not have to go to a taxidermist. You can take it to Edmonton fur tanners and they will tan it for you. Chances are the taxidermist will send it there.
 
Salt or freeze. If you choose to salt it fold the salted sides together and roll it up. Try not to have any meat and fat on it if you can help it. I use either hi-way salt or cow salt in a bag from the feed store. The guys that work for me salt 20 plus hides a month and we just store them in an old grainery until the halford truck shows up. Never had any trouble.
 
It seems to me I read once that you fold the hide with the flesh side in, then roll it up?

Can it be frozen in a large garbage bag, or should it be contained in something else?

Edit: billdick posted just before me LOL.
 
Yeah mate it goes with anything you want to Tan or get Taxidermied , If you are heading home that day then you can wait until you get home, then Flesh it out as best you can, Dose it in Salt an then you can Freeze it but remember it will leak Juices first up so some people will take out Salt again an then continue the Freeze for however long until you take to Taxi/tanner.. Fold up skin on skin as much as you can, basically as in a 2d bear shape, once that happens you can then roll it up

A Hessian bag is good to sit it in but avoid plastics.

Salt will preserve it an limit hair slip, but careful not to freezer burn it..

I recently tanned out a Dingo using Kerosene and Bicarb Soda... sutable for floor rugs an such, not for a jacket LOL

WL
 
If you're going to salt it, don't just dump it on and then roll the hide into a ball stuffed in a bag, that can cause you problems on something like a bear hide. The salt is there to draw the moisture out of the hide. You should lay the hide hair down with salt on the flesh side for a couple of days, preferably under a roof so it doesn't get dew on it and it's in the shade. Dump the salt and reapply. You'll probably have to repeat this a couple of times. it's also a good idea to let it hang for a few hours after dumping each batch of salt to let juices drain, it help dry it out faster.To be done properly, you also need to split the lips and skin out paws,etc. and get as much of the fat off as possible, fall bear have lots.

Freezing is much easier. Let the skinned hide cool for 1/2 an hour, roll it into a ball, grab a garbage bag and throw it in the freezer. The only people that really salt anymore are those who aren't near a freezer.
 
BigUglyMan said:
I froze my muskox without doing any fleshing then packed it off to the taxidermist. Shoulder mount and back skin came out nicely.
Click to expand...

That can happen, Sometimes the Taxo sees enough of that stuff an wants Extra for fleshing it for you, fleshing isn't that difficult, After all You shoot it You clean it :)


WL
 
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To the guys who want to try this for the first time have you searched the internet for Taxidermists?
Some of them offer some free general information on their web pages on the basics of do's and don'ts.

With the hides salted and rolled up allow the hide to drain the fluids (the salt is drawing this out of the hide)
I'm just spit balling here, but again their are shops who offer free advice and willing to share .

Now, when you have read some info and it maybe as clear as mud maybe then others can give more detailed steps.
The greater the care of the hide the easier it will be for the taxidermist and greater the chance the hide will turn out to your
satisfaction.

From google http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=wildlifenews.view_article&articles_id=19

There are many opinions on the right way and the wrong way to skin and prepare a hide and the link posted is one of many.

My buddies wife has a standing order for bear fat for rendering for use in pie dough making.(another good use of the harvested bear)

I hope my opinions offer a little bit of info that in turn gets you looking deeper.

Best Regards and cut Tags guys.
Rob
 
Salt is a second choice, if you can freeze do so. bearkilr's run down is exactly what is used in remote locations worldwide if you're in warm weather and salting. The skin will keep long enough in most fall and spring weather to get to the freezer. Careful not to keep it too long in the freezer, as others have mentioned it will burn, a garbage bag is swell.

Do your own skull, it's only slightly harder than making soup, and will save you some bucks. Shoot me a message when you get to that if you want a hand, I'm no pro but have boiled a lot of noggins. YouTube will probably be a lot smarter than me too, and same to be said for skinning advice. Be careful when skinning out to keep your cuts straight and where you want them, lest you end up ragged looking and with lots of trimming which will shrink your rug a good deal. It's easy to rush and try to get it done, important to go slow. I'd recommend Olfa / disposable box cutters as skinning knives. Like razors and a sharp blades always a snap away.

Flat skins / no teeth etc are my preference too for rugs, so nothing weird about that, even had my Lion flat skinned.
 
billdick said:
Salt or freeze. If you choose to salt it fold the salted sides together and roll it up. Try not to have any meat and fat on it if you can help it. I use either hi-way salt or cow salt in a bag from the feed store. The guys that work for me salt 20 plus hides a month and we just store them in an old grainery until the halford truck shows up. Never had any trouble.
Click to expand...

What sort of creatures?
 
Lots of good advice here and quickly freezing is always the best option. If you do have to salt because of no facilities to freeze, take extra time skinning the bear and leave no meat or fat on the skin. it's much easier to do while skinning than to flesh afterward. I've kept bear hides for up to two weeks in warm weather with just salt but the key is to get it dried out quickly and get salt into every crack and crevice. Pay particular attention to the face. Once out of the bush, I will throw the rolled up, salted hide into the freezer until I can get it to a taxidermist or tannery. If you can get it frozen within a day or two of shooting it....don't salt. We just have a lot of tanned bear hides, including a couple grizzlies, hanging on the wall...I like the way they look.
 
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