Handling black bears

[jt13]

I shot a beautiful bear in Newfoundland this past September. It was loaded onto an ATV, hung up, and skinned out within 2 hours of it being shot. The skin was then rolled up and placed into a chest freezer until it was transported to the shipping company and eventually to cold storage here in PA. At no point was anything thawed out according to the outfitter and the shipping company. I then kept it in my freezer until I took it to the taxidermist on Thursday who thawed it out over the last few days so he could work on fleshing and salting.

I got the phone call this morning from the taxidermist that the hair was pulling out of my bear, about 30% according to him including all the long guard hairs . He's going to keep working on it and see if it can still be tanned so I can use it for something but it wont be the big beautiful rug I was hoping for. If it is at all salvageable I'm having it tanned and will use whatever is left to either hang up with the furs or take a good looking square section and have it made into a pillow or something along those lines.

As best as I can gather we went wrong by not letting the hide hang or cool for very long before rolling it up and putting it into the freezer. Also learned today that the tannery sent me back the wrong coyote from last spring as well. Sent off a 47lb male and got back a poorly handled 1 legged 30lb yote of a different color. Rough taxidermy day

Anyone ever had a bad experience handling bear hides and/or think they know where I went wrong?

 

[Werty]

You have let a hide cool before you freeze them. As soon as i read what you did. I knew what the problem was going to be.

 

[NEWHunter]

^^^ what he said. Rolling it up like that traps the heat which caused the problem.

Sorry to hear about the issues. I had an issue with my first bear with some slippage. It was really warm when I shot the bear and it was probably 16 + hours before we could get it to the taxidermist to get the hide off. Had it all iced down immediately but still had some issues. This was 20 years ago and I wasn’t well versed in best practices for care

 

[thusby]

Hmm. Never had this problem and we have unceremoniously thrown our hides in a chest freezer after cutting. It was pretty chilly spring time in Manitoba though.

 

[Stay Sharp]

rollin up a warm hide (perhaps with meat and fat on it) trapped the heat and may have caused your problem. Where Im tannin it or Im sending it away, I get all the meat and fat off (like this bear hide im working) The hide cools during this time.

 

[jt13]

Hmm. Never had this problem and we have unceremoniously thrown our hides in a chest freezer after cutting. It was pretty chilly spring time in Manitoba though.

Ive been around some pretty shotty hide handling and they came out just fine.

It was relatively warm for September in Newfoundland but never would've though a totally meat/boneless hide would still hold that kind of heat in a freezer

 

[Bigmo58]

The guy who tanned my bear for me got after me because I had rolled my hide up to pack it out without letting it cool first. But I had a couple bags of ice in it when I got to the top of the mountain back at the truck. But it was still a bit warm the next morning when I took it to the tanner and that’s why he got after me. Your ruined how could make a nice coat liner for you if your tanner can’t save it. You’d never get cold.

 

[jt13]

Im holding out hope that it'll tan decent. I spoke to the taxidermist again recently and he said the only total loss is around the bullet hole where there was matted blood and the rest will be at the mercy of the tumbler at the tannery.

It's a learning experience for sure! Not a mistake I'll ever make again

 

[Sask hunter]

Im holding out hope that it'll tan decent. I spoke to the taxidermist again recently and he said the only total loss is around the bullet hole where there was matted blood and the rest will be ar the mercy if the tumbler at the tannery.

It's a learning experience for sure! Not a mistake I'll ever make again

If it’s just around the hole the taxi should be able to cut it out and sew it up

 

[Muley_Stalker]

I avoid these problems by giving bear hides to my Lakota friend. He makes drums from the hide. So, if the hair falls out it won't matter.

I mention this because if I get a nice hide and my friend doesn't need it. Maybe one of you guys would like it? Most all the bears in my area are color phase.

 

[Sytes]

Out in the field... You lay the hide on snow (If snow is close enough) or hang it off a branch, over a large rock, over a heavy bush, along side a water source while prepping the pack out? Is it basically when the warmth to the touch does not seem present or ? I simply gave my hide to the taxi though I did exactly what has been said not to do in this thread. I was rocking through the steps to get hiking... never thought of the hide warmth.

 

[Sasquatchewan]

While we're talking bear, I shot a bear in the spring of 2018, it's been rolled up and frozen since. It's a decent size put procrastinated and haven't done anything with the hide. Is it worth bringing it to a tannery or chances are it's f&cked?

The bear was shot at last light (late May), recovered the next morning, skinned, hide rolled and frozen.

 

[Sask hunter]

Out in the field... You lay the hide on snow (If snow is close enough) or hang it off a branch, over a large rock, over a heavy bush, along side a water source while prepping the pack out? Is it basically when the warmth to the touch does not seem present or ? I simply gave my hide to the taxi though I did exactly what has been said not to do in this thread. I was rocking through the steps to get hiking... never thought of the hide warmth.

When I get home I leave the hide in my garage overnight. Next morning I skin the skull out then toss it in the freezer

 

[Sask hunter]

While we're talking bear, I shot a bear in the spring of 2018, it's been rolled up and frozen since. It's a decent size put procrastinated and haven't done anything with the hide. Is it worth bringing it to a tannery or chances are it's f&cked?

The bear was shot at last light (late May), recovered the next morning, skinned, hide rolled and frozen.

Will be fine

 

[Sytes]

When I get home I leave the hide in my garage overnight. Next morning I skin the skull out then toss it in the freezer

For Sask or others:
How best to handle the hide in the field? Seems from posts - let the hide cool as much as possible before rolling it for the pack out? or is this over analyzing the topic? The one bear I had... I used the gutless method. I didn't pay any attention to the hide cooling... in fact, never crossed my mind. My goal was to take care of business. Get it done. I didn't pack out that night though. Raised the game bags, left the hide attached to the body and camped a bit (1/4 mile or so) from the site. In the morning pulled the hide off the body, rolled it up and packed out. I suppose it cooled incidentally.

 

[Sask hunter]

For Sask or others:
How best to handle the hide in the field? Seems from posts - let the hide cool as much as possible before rolling it for the pack out? or is this over analyzing the topic? The one bear I had... I used the gutless method. I didn't pay any attention to the hide cooling... in fact, never crossed my mind. My goal was to take care of business. Get it done. I didn't pack out that night though. Raised the game bags, left the hide attached to the body and camped a bit (1/4 mile or so) from the site. In the morning pulled the hide off the body, rolled it up and packed out. I suppose it cooled incidentally.

I think your over analyzing it a bit. Once I skin it and quarter it then I’ll put it in bags and quad out. When I get home that night I leave the hide in the garage overnight and skin the head out in the morning. I think that helps with the cooling cause then you only have hide and no meat insulating. My bears are spring bears where it gets down to 30-45 degrees at night so that would help too.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

Out in the field... You lay the hide on snow (If snow is close enough) or hang it off a branch, over a large rock, over a heavy bush, along side a water source while prepping the pack out? Is it basically when the warmth to the touch does not seem present or ? I simply gave my hide to the taxi though I did exactly what has been said not to do in this thread. I was rocking through the steps to get hiking... never thought of the hide warmth.

All 4 of mine I shot, started skinning within 30 min and really only left the hide lying flat long enough to breakdown and bone out the bear, maybe 30-45 min? Then I rolled it up and got it to a cooler as fast as possible.

@Jt13 Maybe that extra 90 min you waited to skin it out?

 

[Firedude]

Probably an issue with hide cooling. If there was a lot of meat or fat on the hide when you rolled it up it will take days to freeze. Another issue that happens with furbearers is a type of fungus. You won't see it until the hide dries. I've had a couple coyotes that where shot and put on the stretcher hours afterward. A little hair fell off during fleshing but chucks fell out as it dried. There is nothing to my knowledge that can fix that or keep it from happening. It's just tough luck. It's usually groin, armpit, and flank area that it sloughs off if that's the case. The moist sweaty parts. Luckily it leaves enough for shoulder or head mount. If the hide is toast make sure you have him cut the claws out of it before you write it off.

 

[jt13]

All 4 of mine I shot, started skinning within 30 min and really only left the hide lying flat long enough to breakdown and bone out the bear, maybe 30-45 min? Then I rolled it up and got it to a cooler as fast as possible.

@Jt13 Maybe that extra 90 min you waited to skin it out?

I doubt it, plenty of folks have left bears lay longer than that and didnt lose the hides. I think it was the heat trapped from being rolled up tight then put in a plastic bag and some bad luck