It’s the end of spring and that means the hunting seasons for bears in North America are going to a close. the good news is that African hunting is going on, stronger than ever and will end in September for most.
The bear hunters still have a few weeks to harvest one. If you are a D.I.Y. hunter , then all you need is time and patience. The bear usually comes out in late afternoon until dark. So all you have to do is find a few east/south slopes with parks that green up fast and with water somewhere close . Glass a lot and have some luck , you should see your quarry.
If you are a guided type of a hunter then you will be in a tree stand looking over a bait pile, flying over a kill and then snowshoeing in the next day, or a hunter glassing a lot of areas or a hunter running behind a pack of hounds and then deciding on if it’s the bear you want to harvest.
The first thing you should do after you book or decide on your hunt is to contact a professional taxidermist like Capp’s Taxidermy Studio LLC and they will get you info on shipping your trophies,skinning ,salting and packing tips. laminated tags if going in other states,counties. Trust only a professional taxidermist with your predator. It’s not like a antlered game as a deer. If they mess up the skin, you can not get a replacement for a predator as you can for a cape of a deer.
There are many ways to mount your trophy. About 90% of hunter will have their bear rugged out, which here at Capp’s means the hide is professionally tanned and that is the main subject here. A home tanned bear will not last over the years, it will not have all the grease taken out of it , it will have a smell to it in hot weather and it will not be 100% bug proof. A professionally tanned skin will last,will be bug proof,will not smell and will have a luster to the hair.. Also Capp’s will place a Capp’s sculptured rug shell with a open or closed mouth, padded and then double felt of any 2 colors you want and all machine sewn to the hide with d-rings sewn in to hang your prize.
Another way is to do a shoulder mount, either on the wall or on a table or floor pedestal. This is picked mainly if the back hide is rubbed off for the bear.
Then one can do a 1/2 life mount , on the wall or pedestal or the one that shows off the critter the best is a full size life mount, with a open or closed mouth,on the floor mount. One can do anything they want with this one. At Capp’s Taxidermy Studio LLC , I always tell the client to do something with action in it, I just hate seeing a mount just standing there looking off in space for a predator. One can for example have him standing over a winter kill, over a rack of horns, running, have dinner in it’s mouth like a salmon, fighting ,etc… Just whatever one can image can be done.
The last thing one can do is to just tan the hide as a wall hanger. In my opinion, this is just a waste. After a certain amount of time, the hide will lose it’s tanning oils and then you can not do anything with as far as mounting it later. But it the clients decides, not me.
Predator hunting is a great rush,and lots of work, before and after and yes,bears are money for great taxidermy is expensive but it’s worth it years down the road. So use one of the best, Capp’s Taxidermy Studio LLC in Montana…………..
