# Bear hides



## fiddlinduke (Dec 4, 2018)

where do y'all take bear hides to be tanned, hair on? How much do they charge?


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## ddd-shooter (Dec 4, 2018)

Trophy Taker in Cornelia does them. Look them up for prices.


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## GAbullHunter (Dec 5, 2018)

Chris Carter, in Cornelia, bears are like 3 N up I believe. For soft tan, rugs are per foot.


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## Killer Kyle (Dec 6, 2018)

I am going to spend this winter learning to do my own. I already have the right fleshing knife and plastic drums at my disposal. Trophy Taker ships his hides and outsources them. $350.00 for a 135 lb bear seems like an insane price to me. I have 4 hides lined up to practice on now. I think I can do one for $75.00 plus labor. It requires a TON of work to get one right, but if I can do one for $75.00, I will never even think of sending one to the taxidermist again. 
I'm hoping to practice on these hides this winter and hopefully be able to offer them to forum members here for a far cheaper price. If you take a hide to a tazidermist, I can easily expect you to pay $350.00 or thereabout for a soft tan.


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## fiddlinduke (Dec 7, 2018)

Killer Kyle said:


> I am going to spend this winter learning to do my own. I already have the right fleshing knife and plastic drums at my disposal. Trophy Taker ships his hides and outsources them. $350.00 for a 135 lb bear seems like an insane price to me. I have 4 hides lined up to practice on now. I think I can do one for $75.00 plus labor. It requires a TON of work to get one right, but if I can do one for $75.00, I will never even think of sending one to the taxidermist again.
> I'm hoping to practice on these hides this winter and hopefully be able to offer them to forum members here for a far cheaper price. If you take a hide to a tazidermist, I can easily expect you to pay $350.00 or thereabout for a soft tan.


I took my bear to Wildlife Taxidermy in Lawrenceville to have a shoulder mount done. He is sending the rest of the hide to California for hair on tanning. He's only charging me $150 for the hide.
That may be cause I'm doing a mount too.


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## Joe Brandon (Dec 7, 2018)

Killer Kyle said:


> I am going to spend this winter learning to do my own. I already have the right fleshing knife and plastic drums at my disposal. Trophy Taker ships his hides and outsources them. $350.00 for a 135 lb bear seems like an insane price to me. I have 4 hides lined up to practice on now. I think I can do one for $75.00 plus labor. It requires a TON of work to get one right, but if I can do one for $75.00, I will never even think of sending one to the taxidermist again.
> I'm hoping to practice on these hides this winter and hopefully be able to offer them to forum members here for a far cheaper price. If you take a hide to a tazidermist, I can easily expect you to pay $350.00 or thereabout for a soft tan.


Just to clarify one thing. Chris at Trophy Takers told me they now do their own hides in house. Hence the four month wait. They did used to ship them out. I thought that was pretty neat!


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## strothershwacker (Dec 7, 2018)

Just done my daughter's soft tanned deer hide. Turned out real nice. Got me wanting to try a bear hide. Lot of work. Hide guys earn their $. I just like doin stuff myself. I'd post a picture but I'm sitn under a big rock on pigeon mtn as the victim of another lying weather man. Maybe it'll let up soon....


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## GAbullHunter (Dec 8, 2018)

Joe Brandon said:


> Just to clarify one thing. Chris at Trophy Takers told me they now do their own hides in house. Hence the four month wait. They did used to ship them out. I thought that was pretty neat!



Really 4 months even when paid up front? WOW! 

Hey Kyle if you ever get any extra hides you wanna send this way I'm up for it as a practice thing myself id just hate to ruin my first hide. So hence anything else that isn't going to be a rug is do myself. Rug prices are crazy!! I can figure out out how to sew felting on once i get the tanning part down. I really don't like how some rugs are felted..

Gotta start practicing on more deer hides an cow hides an see how that works to learn more.


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## Joe Brandon (Dec 8, 2018)

GAbullHunter said:


> Really 4 months even when paid up front? WOW!
> 
> Hey Kyle if you ever get any extra hides you wanna send this way I'm up for it as a practice thing myself id just hate to ruin my first hide. So hence anything else that isn't going to be a rug is do myself. Rug prices are crazy!! I can figure out out how to sew felting on once i get the tanning part down. I really don't like how some rugs are felted..
> 
> Gotta start practicing on more deer hides an cow hides an see how that works to learn more.


As of late September he already had 30 bears up front! He said this is the largest bear harvest he's ever seen likely do to the poor acorn mast and the deer baiting law. He said he has never seen a year like this.


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## Christian hughey (Dec 12, 2018)

I got my skull back from buckmasters taxidermy in Macon. Got it done for $150 with pedestal. Waiting on my rug, taxidermist said 165$ per foot still waiting on it to come back before I will know a price. Next bear holding out for a big one to get a shoulder mount and he said he would do a mount for 750$. That kinda cash is steep but when that memory is preserved perfectly it's worth it.


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## GAbullHunter (Dec 13, 2018)

Rug prices seem cheaper, but the others a bit higher then Trophy Takers. Mount looks good. My first year having work done by a Taxi. So seeing the prices is good. Sometimes its worth the little extra drive when you check prices out. I only checked out two prices before I dropped mine off with a taxi. But for next season when I get the big one I will definitely be price checking when it comes time for a rug.


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## Christian hughey (Dec 13, 2018)

GAbullHunter said:


> Rug prices seem cheaper, but the others a bit higher then Trophy Takers. Mount looks good. My first year having work done by a Taxi. So seeing the prices is good. Sometimes its worth the little extra drive when you check prices out. I only checked out two prices before I dropped mine off with a taxi. But for next season when I get the big one I will definitely be price checking when it comes time for a rug.


I used these guys because they are close to the house and there work looks good, impressive  show room


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## j_seph (Dec 13, 2018)

Killer Kyle said:


> I am going to spend this winter learning to do my own. I already have the right fleshing knife and plastic drums at my disposal. Trophy Taker ships his hides and outsources them. $350.00 for a 135 lb bear seems like an insane price to me. I have 4 hides lined up to practice on now. I think I can do one for $75.00 plus labor. It requires a TON of work to get one right, but if I can do one for $75.00, I will never even think of sending one to the taxidermist again.
> I'm hoping to practice on these hides this winter and hopefully be able to offer them to forum members here for a far cheaper price. If you take a hide to a tazidermist, I can easily expect you to pay $350.00 or thereabout for a soft tan.


Not sure if it will work but thought about trying it on a deer hide. On my alligator I used a pressure washer to flesh the hide. I have a small pressure washer that could possibly do it. I actually had to borrow my neighbors gas one for the gator cause it was over 3000 psi.


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## j_seph (Dec 13, 2018)

GAbullHunter said:


> Really 4 months even when paid up front? WOW!
> 
> Hey Kyle if you ever get any extra hides you wanna send this way I'm up for it as a practice thing myself id just hate to ruin my first hide. So hence anything else that isn't going to be a rug is do myself. Rug prices are crazy!! I can figure out out how to sew felting on once i get the tanning part down. I really don't like how some rugs are felted..
> 
> Gotta start practicing on more deer hides an cow hides an see how that works to learn more.


4 months is a short time, Alligator is like 8 months


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## southernforce7 (Dec 13, 2018)

Shoulder mount for $750?! maybe I got lucky, but my half body mount on a 150lb bear was about that much, maybe $800. I thought it looked great too, but maybe im crazy?


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## Rabun (Dec 13, 2018)

That's a great looking mount!


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## Christian hughey (Dec 13, 2018)

southernforce7 said:


> Shoulder mount for $750?! maybe I got lucky, but my half body mount on a 150lb bear was about that much, maybe $800. I thought it looked great too, but maybe im crazy?
> View attachment 952578View attachment 952580


Nice, I think the difference is that I told him I'm looking for something 300 plus now. My first bear that I shot and found went right at 175. I shot one earlier in the bow season made that one look like a baby and we never recovered it. But next one I get like that will go for a full shoulder. I will pay if it looks good. That mount you have there is a very good lookin mount for the cash sir congrats!

And now I'm thinking of doin something more like that. Thanks for the idea!


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## GAbullHunter (Dec 14, 2018)

Christian hughey said:


> I used these guys because they are close to the house and there work looks good, impressive  show room



Thats good to know they got good work may be worth me giving them a call next round on a rug. Let me know how yours turns out on the rug love to see some pics when you get it back.


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## Christian hughey (Dec 14, 2018)

GAbullHunter said:


> Thats good to know they got good work may be worth me giving them a call next round on a rug. Let me know how yours turns out on the rug love to see some pics when you get it back.


Oh yeah, I'll post some pics sure it will be awhile though with the season that was had this year. Rug makers making money this year


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## deadend (Dec 18, 2018)

Having tanned a few hides the $350 to get one tanned seems like a bargain to me.  I can go make more $ somewhere else than the time and effort it takes to tan one myself.


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## fiddlinduke (Dec 18, 2018)

southernforce7 said:


> Shoulder mount for $750?! maybe I got lucky, but my half body mount on a 150lb bear was about that much, maybe $800. I thought it looked great too, but maybe im crazy?
> View attachment 952578View attachment 952580


nice! Who did the mount?


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## Handgunner454 (Jan 7, 2019)

GAbullHunter said:


> Really 4 months even when paid up front? WOW!
> 
> Hey Kyle if you ever get any extra hides you wanna send this way I'm up for it as a practice thing myself id just hate to ruin my first hide. So hence anything else that isn't going to be a rug is do myself. Rug prices are crazy!! I can figure out out how to sew felting on once i get the tanning part down. I really don't like how some rugs are felted..
> 
> Gotta start practicing on more deer hides an cow hides an see how that works to learn more.


I have a moose hide that I may let you experiment on as I have one quote at $700 which is too much to pay. I'll let you know in a week.


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## twincedargap (Jan 14, 2019)

Once fleshed, and they can tell you where to get that done, these guys do a decent job.  Mine is a little firmer, less flexible than I expected, but at $150 shipped to me, its a lot less than quoted in posts above. That said, it was almost 6 months before I got my hide back.   

SEMINOLE FUR DRESSING
3746 OPELIKA ROAD * PHENIX CITY, AL 36870
(334) 298-1704 * (334) 298-1749
EMAIL: seminolefur@bellsouth.net


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## Buckman18 (Jan 14, 2019)

twincedargap said:


> Once fleshed, and they can tell you where to get that done, these guys do a decent job.  Mine is a little firmer, less flexible than I expected, but at $150 shipped to me, its a lot less than quoted in posts above. That said, it was almost 6 months before I got my hide back.
> 
> SEMINOLE FUR DRESSING
> 3746 OPELIKA ROAD * PHENIX CITY, AL 36870
> ...



That’s an incredible price! Is this with claws and head?


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## twincedargap (Jan 14, 2019)

Buckman18 said:


> That’s an incredible price! Is this with claws and head?


  no, claws and head were removed.


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## Christian hughey (Jan 30, 2019)

Christian hughey said:


> Oh yeah, I'll post some pics sure it will be awhile though with the season that was had this year. Rug makers making money this year


Got it back today !


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## model88_308 (Jan 30, 2019)

I had two done last year here in Tn. One a shoulder mount with a nice, natural look and the other a half body. Prices were $400 & $750 respectively...

The mounted skull seen alongside the half body mount was $120.


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## Buckman18 (Jan 30, 2019)

Christian hughey said:


> Got it back today !View attachment 957587View attachment 957588View attachment 957589



Looks good! If you don’t mind me asking, who was the taxidermist and how much was it?


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## Christian hughey (Jan 31, 2019)

Buckmasters taxidermy in Macon ga. This one run 768$


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