# Help with bear hide



## tackscall (Jul 26, 2004)

I shot this little bear a few years ago and got the hide tanned with the intention to get a cool mount of some kind later, maybe on a branch with a bee hive. My question is how can I flip the paws rightside out for now so I can drape it over a table? they are inside-out and you cant see the claws. Do I force it, or soak the hide in something so it can stretch? Im afraid of tearing it


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## TimberlandTaxi (Aug 29, 2009)

You will need to re-hydrate the skin to turn them right side out. If it were me I'd be storing that skin in the freezer if you intend on mounting it in the future. Dry tanned skins like that can get a memory and become un-mountable after a few years if not stored in a freezer.


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## tackscall (Jul 26, 2004)

TimberlandTaxi said:


> You will need to re-hydrate the skin to turn them right side out. If it were me I'd be storing that skin in the freezer if you intend on mounting it in the future. Dry tanned skins like that can get a memory and become un-mountable after a few years if not stored in a freezer.


I appreciate the reply, do you mean with water? I've had it for three years now, do you think it would be too late to use it since its been in a box not frozen?


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## tackscall (Jul 26, 2004)

bump


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## proskinnertts (Mar 8, 2005)

It should be OK. Soak the whole bear in warm salt water .5 Lbs per gallon for a few hours then drain and freeze in a plastic bag


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## Fletcher43 (Aug 30, 2005)

?? Bad advise...You should only soak the head and paws in salt water....the rest of the skin will need to be sprayed on the skin side with a spray bottle of water to rehydrate it.Never soak a full bear in water.JMO


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## TimberlandTaxi (Aug 29, 2009)

I'm with Fletcher. It won't hurt anything to soak the whole bear, but it makes a heck of a mess. I sponge my bears to hydrate. However, back to the original question. If your only goal is to invert the feet, then I wouldn't soak anything but them.


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## M.Magis (Oct 2, 2003)

Fletcher43 said:


> ?? Bad advise...You should only soak the head and paws in salt water....the rest of the skin will need to be sprayed on the skin side with a spray bottle of water to rehydrate it.Never soak a full bear in water.JMO


As far as I can tell, he's only asking about the paws. He's not wanting to soak up the whole thing.
Edit: Nevermind, now I see what you're talking about. Sorry.


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## proskinnertts (Mar 8, 2005)

if your planning on mounting it you will get better stretch by soaking the whole thing in water, then freeze till your ready to mount, if it starts to dry out while mounting then dab with wet rag or rehydrate

if you only want to turn the feet inside out and dont plan on mounting, only soak the feet in salt water


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## D.Price (Jul 14, 2011)

If you are planning to mount it, It needs to be rehydrated and stored frozen until that time. Dry tans have a shelf life, and after a certain amount of time it could fall apart when you soak it, depending on what kind of tan was used.

As for soaking entire bear that is the way it needs to be done, a spray bottle or wet rag dabbing it is a waste of time.


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## tackscall (Jul 26, 2004)

I'm just inverting the feet so I'll just soak them. This bear has been in a box for three years, is there any hope of mounting it some day?


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## TimberlandTaxi (Aug 29, 2009)

D.Price said:


> If you are planning to mount it, It needs to be rehydrated and stored frozen until that time. Dry tans have a shelf life, and after a certain amount of time it could fall apart when you soak it, depending on what kind of tan was used.
> 
> As for soaking entire bear that is the way it needs to be done, a spray bottle or wet rag dabbing it is a waste of time.


What do I know? I'm new to this.


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## D.Price (Jul 14, 2011)

tackscall said:


> I'm just inverting the feet so I'll just soak them. This bear has been in a box for three years, is there any hope of mounting it some day?


It really depends on what tanning method was used and the conditions the box has been stored in. Thats why I said rehydrate the whole bear and freeze it until ready to mount. The longer you wait the more problems you are most likely to have.


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## D.Price (Jul 14, 2011)

TimberlandTaxi said:


> What do I know? I'm new to this.


Sorry Cole, hope I haven't pissed someone off over here with my first post. What did I say wrong? I just can't imagine rehydrating a 9 foot brown bear with a sponge and spray bottle, thats all I meant. And yes I know he does not have a 9 foot brown bear.:wink:


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## tackscall (Jul 26, 2004)

D.Price said:


> Sorry Cole, hope I haven't pissed someone off over here with my first post. What did I say wrong? I just can't imagine rehydrating a 9 foot brown bear with a sponge and spray bottle, thats all I meant. And yes I know he does not have a 9 foot brown bear.:wink:


More like a 3.5 foot black bear


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## TimberlandTaxi (Aug 29, 2009)

D.Price said:


> Sorry Cole, hope I haven't pissed someone off over here with my first post. What did I say wrong? I just can't imagine rehydrating a 9 foot brown bear with a sponge and spray bottle, thats all I meant. And yes I know he does not have a 9 foot brown bear.:wink:


When I rehydrate brown bears in my shop I don't have a sink big enough to hold them. I don't use a spray bottle, but a sponge..yes. I soak the head and feet, and once they are soft I move on to the body. Sponging on a brine, then sweating for a day or two. When mounting I don't have to deal with a heavy dripping wet bear. Rehydrating tanned skins this way works great, and is not in my opinion a "waste of time". I also disagree that it needs to be rehydrated before freezing, and would argue that leaving it dry would actually be beneficial, but your the tanner so I'll defer to you. 

I wouldn't say you "pissed me off", just understand that there are several ways to do a job and an open mind might enlighten you to a better way occasionally.


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