Yo ! A few years ago I shot a big fuzzy bear in B.C. A chap that I was with got it tanned at some high priced taxidermist in B.C ,, He sent me the bill .. $500 + .. for the tanned skin .. I paid the bill and got the skin .. And it smells !!! I can't have the damn thing in my house so it is hanging in the garage .. and it still smells .. (Been about three years now .. ) What a darn shame ... Any ideas how to get rid of that odor ???

Scruffy comb some baking soda through it and let it sit there for a couple days. Then shake it out and gently vacuum it. The indians I used to work with would use baking soda to clean their white (not smoked)buckskin clothing too.I have one that smelled a little rank but the smell went away on its own.

the chef

I have 10 bear skins, just tanned and not a one smells like anything but leather and I have never seen one that smells. What the hell did the taxidermist do, use bear grease to relax the skin.

Elkman it makes me wonder too. The bear I had tanned was extremely clean and didn't smell like a bear at all when it was fresh....but once it was tanned it was a little funky for awhile. I wonder if it might be from combining with the hides of other unclean/tainted bears during tanning?

the chef

You guys who left your bears in Canada to be tanned got screwed. I have owned a shop in Wyoming for 32 years and never have had a bear, any bear smell at all after being tanned properly. Bring your bears back to the states and have them done right by reputable taxidermists. Also $500.00 for a tan only job on any bear is double normal and a rip.

I agree .. way too much frickin' money ... I have been getting stuff mounted and tanned etc.. for all my adult life (and I'm sort of grizzled now ..) and this is the only hide that I ever got back that was this way .. I'll try the baking soda, of course. (And I live in Alberta so taking the bear to the U.S. was not an option. But I certainly agree with your comments !)

I may cast the desenting vote here, but $500.00 isn't a ripoff. My price on tanning is $75 per lineal foot so a bear that is a little more than 6 1/2 feet would be $500.00. The average grizz is usually in that range. That's for a commercially tanned bear by a reputable tannery, not a home job. The cost of rugging the same bear would be $155.00 a lineal foot or $1,000.00 more or less.

Now you may have been ripped off if it smells as bad as you say. It sounds like it was home tanned and not suffiecently degreased. You may try some Febreeze(no kidding) on it. I use Febreeze on things like Spanish Goats to try and tame them down a bit.

You can also wash the whole thing in Dawn dishwashing liquid. Wash it good and hard and use lots of soap. Now rinse it out and rewash it in Downey fabric softener. Then rinse the whole thing out one more time and hang it over a clothes line to drip dry.

It sounds extreme, but you have nothing to loose.

PM me if you have any other questions.

Good luck.

Hugh

I usually charge 250 to 375 to tan only on a bear and this is pretty standard. I charge 170.00 nose to tail for a rug. 95% of black bears are five foot give or take 4". Again they never stink and never should if done right. www.jamesmarsico.com

I had a 6 foot black bear tanned and it only cost me $300.00. Looks good and smelled like fresh tanned leather for about 4 weeks, now it does not have a smell.

Yo Sculptor;
I take offense at your if its American itsa got to be superior attitude. We've got taxidermists up here that are among the best in their fields and I've seen some work done by Americans that looks like shit, possibly because they've never seen the animal in real life. Just priced out just tanning a bear hide at a local tannery. Cost is $30./lin. foot
Grizz

If you take a hide to a taxidermist who then gets a tannery to do the job, I suspect that the taxidermist will charge extra. That's how people make a living by charging more for goods and services than they paid origionally. Send the hide to the tannery yourself and save some money. You might like I did have to pay extra for additional fleshing, etc which a taxidermist might do on your behalf and also charge extra for it. Suggesting that only American taxidermists do Quality work??? Sheesh what smallminded bullshit.

the chef

quote:

You guys who left your bears in Canada to be tanned got screwed. I have owned a shop in Wyoming for 32 years and never have had a bear, any bear smell at all after being tanned properly. Bring your bears back to the states and have them done right by reputable taxidermists. Also $500.00 for a tan only job on any bear is double normal and a rip.

[/QUOTE}
I take offense at your if its American itsa got to be superior attitude. We've got taxidermists up here that are among the best in their fields and I've seen some work done by Americans that looks like shit, possibly because they've never seen the animal in real life. Just priced out just tanning a bear hide at a local tannery. Cost is $30./lin. foot{/QUOTE}
Grizz






Gotta love this Forum!!!!

Yo Grizzly, Your right hey, I should of said in Canada that came back tanned and still stinking. There are bad and good taxidermists in both countries. I have alot of bears come in from Canada already tanned and I must say I have yet to see even one tanned as nice and soft as the tannery I use here in the states. This is my 32 year at this. Also raw bear hides can only come into the states by or with the hunter in person or by being shipped thru a customs broker and designated USDA approved tannery or taxidermist. Add about $300. total for those extra charges by them.

quote:

Originally posted by calgarychef1:
If you take a hide to a taxidermist who then gets a tannery to do the job, I suspect that the taxidermist will charge extra. That's how people make a living by charging more for goods and services than they paid origionally. Send the hide to the tannery yourself and save some money. You might like I did have to pay extra for additional fleshing, etc which a taxidermist might do on your behalf and also charge extra for it. Suggesting that only American taxidermists do Quality work??? Sheesh what smallminded bullshit.

the chef

If you take a bear hide to a taxidermist, he will flesh and salt the hide before he sends it out to be tanned. He charges for his time fleshing out the hide and the cost of shipping the hide and the tanning process. Sure you can send it directly to the tannery, but you better make sure you took good care of the hide before you sent it. If the hair slips you have no one to blame but yourself. I would rather have the taxidermists do the work for me.

quote:

I would rather have the taxidermists do the work for me.

Thank you Redhawk1

True enough...but if you get the pelt to the tannery as fast or faster than to the taxidermist-it shouldn't be a problem. The tannery I use will flesh,skin the paws, turn the lips etc. all the things the taxidermist does anyway.

Hey Chef;
I assume you mean Halford in Edmonton. They charge $75. to do that, which is the same as what I paid a taxidermist with my one wolf. The taxidermist also took a substantial markup to have my pelt sent to his tannery, which I think is in B.C. Cost me close to 400. by the time all was said and done, for just a tanned hide. This time around I have a frozen,salted hide, that I'll be shipping directly by bus. Frans and I did all the fine work so there should be no extra charge.
Grizz

No it wasn't halford it's some European dude, I can't place the name right now. Maybe European tanners? Something like that anyway, he specializes in tanning for taxidermy and claims to have a nice stretchy result. I dunno anything about that, it was a little smelly for a few days and now it's fine.

The real news is--you and Frans connected, was it a bear???

No, it was three bears, one for me and two for Frans.
Grizz

Congratulations!! How big??? Did Frans use his bow?

quote:

Originally posted by scruffy:
Yo ! A few years ago I shot a big fuzzy bear in B.C. A chap that I was with got it tanned at some high priced taxidermist in B.C ,, He sent me the bill .. $500 + .. for the tanned skin .. I paid the bill and got the skin .. And it smells !!! I can't have the damn thing in my house so it is hanging in the garage .. and it still smells .. (Been about three years now .. ) What a darn shame ... Any ideas how to get rid of that odor ???

I spoke to my good friend that is a taxidermist and explained to him your problem. He told me it sounded like the taxidermist did the tanning himself and did not send it to a tannery. He said that the bear fat was probably not washed out of the hide and that is where the smell is coming from. He suggested to wash the hide in a good soap and rinse it real good. Then put it in the spin cycle in the washer. This will re hydrate the hide. Then stretch it out and let it dry. When it dries, use a good hand lotion on the inner part of the hide to condition the hide. That should get it to smell a lot better. But he was not there so it is just an assumption on his part that is was not sent to a tannery. Hope this helps.

"This time around I have a frozen,salted hide, that I'll be shipping directly by bus"

Freezing and salting is a recipe for disaster. You should never under any circumstances salt and then freeze a hide. Salting dries out the hide so there is no need to freeze it. If you don't let the hide dry out and put it in the freezer, the salt will prevent the hide from freezing. Essentially, the hide can rot in the freezer.

And you should only use fine grained salt, not rock salt, despite what your guide says.

Hope this helps.

Hugh

Take a look at Skupters stuff, he may not have many post but you Taxidermist could learn something from this guy.

Bill Slattery, Cody Firearms Museum, Groves Museum and the Smithsonian huh? Yep, this guy has some good clients.

Loved the Mid-asian ibex pedistal and the crocodiles. Are the crocs repos?

Nice website.

I am orginally from Riverton, but I have been in the Navy for almost 13 years. Next time I am up I will swing through to shoot the shit.

quote:

Originally posted by calgarychef1:
Congratulations!! How big??? Did Frans use his bow?

Nah, got both with the rifle on the last morning. Grizz probably had the truck running while I was still in the woods skinning. The big one got away, but it was exciting nevertheless!! I absolutely want to go back next year and try this again.

BTW, I dropped both skins off at the taxidermy, claws still attached. I paid $250 in advance, don't know what the final bill will be. Just doing nail hangers. I'm saving the $$ for the big one I will shoot next year.

I will hunt moose and mule deer with rifle this year, but I absolutely want a whitetail with the bow!

Frans

I think it would be easier to shoot the white tail with the gun and save the bow for moose!!!

Turns out I forgot to buy a bow hunting license too, so it's a good thing I didn't try for a bear!

But we're drifting from the taxidermy topic here...

F.