Got an 8 1/2 ft brown bear last fall, the skull and hide are prepared, ready to be made into a rug. I'm having last minute doubts, thinking I want a full mount. Odds are I won't be getting back to Alaska for another brown bear hunt, so which would you do? Here's a picture of the bear (he's lying where he died, we couldn't turn him over (I have a heart condition)for a more traditional shot) as well as some of the mounts I'm considering. It'll be about $2000 more for a full mount.
I probably have to make this decision no later that early next week. The best answer would probably be to make a rug and then go hunting with Phil Shoemaker and get a 9 plus footer for a full mount, but I haven't been to Africa yet and that's going to take priority. I probably don't have the money or time left to do both. Thanks!


My bear:



Some mounts I like:



Maybe my favorite except for the base.





This one closer to the ground with mouth closed?

Chuck,
When you walk into your trophy room, which one will make you say "wow", the rug or the full body? I know that for me, there's no doubt it's the life size.
Congratulations on a great bear!

Chuck, you have a bear to be really proud of. I faced the same dilemma with my Brooks Range grizzly several years ago. I made the decision to go ahead with the full size mount. I definitely made the right decision. BTW, I like your 1st pic...good luck with whatever decision you make.

Me too, if it's not too late I'm going to have them do the first mount ...

You will not regret it,

LIFESIZE

STILL LIFESIZE

Lifesize all the way. Get it done. You will never ever regret it. You will regret it if you don't do it.

For me a rug is the most classic way for bear and lion. I vote for the rug.

FULL MOUNT FULL MOUNT FULL MOUNT!!!!!!! I shot a mountain grizz a number of years ago which was not as big as I was after but seeing as it was going to bite me,there wasn't a lot of thinking in the trigger pull The taxidermist at the time was going to charge me nearly double the price of my black bear i stupidly said tunr it into a rug and everytime i look at it I kick myself because it was such a fantastic skin and should be a full mount

quote:

Originally posted by houston:
STILL LIFESIZE

That's a great bear and bear mount and wonderful trophy room! I'm asking just for scale, what did your bear square? I'm trying to figure out how high my bear would stand. Thanks, you can PM me if you'd rather...

He was a 9'6" fall bear. Thanks, jeff~

Nice bear. I don't care what you do but I seriously think you will regret doing a rug. The "flying bears" as my buddy Matt calls them take up too much space and you are always worried about them. If you put it on a wall the entire wall is gone. If you put it on the floor you worry about it getting dirty, walking on it both for wear and dirt, still a space issue, and last, got any pets? Too much bother where a full mount although still has a good bit of space issue dosnt have any of the others. It also looks much cooler in my book.

Thanks houston for the size, and I agree Mike. So I'll find out on Monday whether it's too late or not. If it is, I'll just have to get a bigger bear for a full standing mount.

quote:

Originally posted by chuck375:
Thanks houston for the size, and I agree Mike. So I'll find out on Monday whether it's too late or not. If it is, I'll just have to get a bigger bear for a full standing mount.

Two bears. One rug, one full mount. Which do you think is better? I vote for the full mount.

quote:

Originally posted by Todd Williams:
Two bears. One rug, one full mount. Which do you think is better? I vote for the full mount.

That is the solution, Todd.
Chuck, you just have to shoot, at least, a second bear and do both

quote:

Originally posted by Caracal:

quote:

Originally posted by Todd Williams:
Two bears. One rug, one full mount. Which do you think is better? I vote for the full mount.

That is the solution, Todd.
Chuck, you just have to shoot, at least, a second bear and do both

If I could financially, I'd hunt Africa and hunt brown bear / grizzly every year. These pesky kids in college lol ... Though I love both my sons dearly, and thank God they're doing healthy and doing well.

I'm going full standing mount. My wife said Ok, so today I'm calling Animal Artistry setting it up and then have to call Tom Hardesty at Atcheson's and ask him to send my bear Animal Artistry. Tom is a great guy, and I'm kind of dreading the call, but I want the best quality mount I can get.

I've been looking at some live bear photo's to send to Animal Artistry to base the mount on and so far like these, maybe with a slack jaw and no water (though fake water would be cool).





A photo of Bart the bear

I'm not wealthy so i'd go rug. That $2K would go toward another hunt.

My 2 cents, but finally after years of waiting, 2 Canadian cents are worth more than US!

Here's a couple full mounts

Rug....no question. Spend less on taxidermy and more on hunting. Of course, I am the guy who makes flat skin rugs from big cats and would happily just tack a rhino's horns to the wall as something from which to hang binoculars.

Congratulations on a great bear, Chuck. As a taxidermist, I really don't have a professional opinion, but I DO have a personal one. Think about the pose at length before you decide. Open mouth bears are a figament of active imaginations. Only Hollywood bears stand erect and snarl like most hunters demand. Bears charge with their heads down and their mouths closed until right before contact. HOWEVER, old bears such as yours walk around with their mouths opened slightly to breathe through it. There are some great "relaxed lip" or "panting" mouth sets. I use them or closed mouth (like Houston's) on my personal mounts. "Bears don't have horns" is my favorite statement. Posing them in realistic poses tends to give them "attitude.

Thanks George, with two son's in college and a heart condition. I doubt I'll be hunting brown bear again, so I'm definitely going for a full mount (my first ever mounted trophy!) Might as well start big lol. I agree with you. A combination of these (mouth slightly open) and the bear standing in the water (I've seen this) strikes me as a good balance. What do you think?

Great choices.