Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Brown bear rug vs full mount

Salmonella - took this photo a few weeks ago, not far from Cordova, AK. Curious bear trying to get a look at a bunch of us fly fishermen after the silvers. Sorry for the photo quality - I didn't feel like sneaking closer for a better shot, armed with my 8wt rod...



Very natural pose - I've seen it many times. They stand up to look and scent. What is that over there? Your bear mount reflects that well.

Regards, Guy

Just to clarify, should it be needed, my "natural" comment wasn't directed at Harry's bear or bears in general, just in context of what my bear was doing at the time....

Definitely not uncommon for them to scurry through a willow patch or cross a small rise and then raise up on their 'hind legs' to get a last look at the bothersome troublemakers that have challenged their space. They're dominant, but not dumb; and they're never pretentious like some poses suggest. (And their threatening postures certainly appear much more fearsome than snarling mouths and raised paws!)

That cartoon hits the mark! I have no clue why folks want aggressive mounts typically... used to hear it all the time, want my bobcat walking through the woods snarling mouth open. How many have you seen like that?

Lifelike is how I"d want my stuff done. Boars are about the only thing that I can deal with, mouth open, unless it fits the scene. Rugs I even feel are much better off closed mouth.

I agree, but he can't be so cute that I get grief for shooting Yogi from every woman that comes in the house lol

If it was my bear, I would full mount it....beautiful animals.

I decided to, thank you. I'm having my bear sent to Animal Artistry

Funny how this trend came along of bashing open mouth aggressive mounts, like the more docile you make it the better you are????
I've seen as many horrible (smiling) closed mouth mounts as I have open/aggresive mounts.





I'm cool with any natural pose as long as the taxidermy is of HIGH quality., and who says open mouth poses aren't natural?

To my way of thinking, jaws and claws are what makes a predator in the first place, so why not show those features off if you want?

What the animal is doing don't dictate the quality of the mount as long as it is anatomically correct.

Power.

I think your mount is gorgeous sal as is your bear, I'm just trying to figue out what's right for my bear.

When I shot my bear at 13 yards (he was walking towards out of sight along the lake shore), we saw each other at the same instant. He rolled twice then tore off into the willows. I couldn't get a second shot in without blowing my guide's left ear drum out (the bear moved from my left to my right towards us, but my guide was two feet ahead of me to my right) out so I held fire. I'm sure his mouth was open at one point but I couldn't see him at that instant because my guide was between me and the bear. I wish I could've seen him, because I would've dropped him there and saved a lot of grief dragging him out of the willows (though going into the willows after him was exciting). I was going to have my rug closed mouth, but I definitely want the standing mount with his mouth open. You guys have been a great help so keep it coming ...


So far for the taxidermy I've seen, I like this pose for my bear

Have you see the selection of bear poses on Animal Artistry's web page?

http://www.animalartistry.com/pb/bears-b.php

I have, of all of the standing ones, I like number 5 best ... They do beautiful work.

Thanks

The subject of Animal Artistry pose #17 above used to live on Chicagof Island, but he now resides in my greatroom.

I can like #17 real easy...

The bear is actually much darker/less red "in person" than the picture. It was done with a walnut base, and it still looks good 11 years later.

Perhaps you might consider a chest mount. I did this with my 2nd brownie I took. It clearly shows the size of the animal, takes up little space on the wall, is less expensive than a rug, far less expensive than a full mount. I have a ceiling spot lite on it; hard to miss it when folks walk into the room and I enjoy it every day/Chaz