Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Blonde Brown Bear Rug or Mount?

Congrats. Damn Nice Bear. Really can't go wrong either way. Go with your gut.

Seems some have lost the fact that some posters are not Alaskan citizens and are likely doing a once in a lifetime trip. They will not be tripping over rugs I suspect.

Beautiful color phase. I think I would go with a rug

p.s. The rug on my wall is from a black bear that was eating apples in abandoned orchards on NY State Forest. Non-hunters volunteered that the bone-in hindquarter steaks were among the best they'd ever eaten.

That is one beautiful bear!!! Think I would rug it myself. Congrats!!

I don’t think rugs do a bear (or wolf or lion) justice. So if I really wanted the best option for enjoying the trophy it’d be a full mount. But that is only if I was willing to pay big money for someone who was REALLY good at mounting predators.

"The cook likes to not reveal what's for supper so that the praises after will be louder."

No suggestions on what you should do with it. You probably know the answer already. I do however want to say that this is a beautiful bear and (rightfully so) you should be proud to have been successful in such a fashion! What firearm was used sir?

Beautiful bear. Congrats!

If I got a 10 footer I'd do a full standing mount (it could replace our Christmas Tree). My almost 9 footer turned into a nice rug.

That's a pretty impressive 10' cat there.

Thanks. That's Archer my 24 lb Maine Coon Cat

That’s a beautiful bear!

Rug or full body mount would look great either way. I’d really hate dropping 10k on the full body mount, but dang that would look so cool. Once in a lifetime hunt and bear.

Mounts in front of windows are destroyed by UV very quickly.

If it was a once in a lifetime, and If I had the room and the money to spare, I'd go full mount.

That is a beautiful bear.

Don't know where you live, but I have a full mount Grizzly and a bighorn sheep. Didn't pay half that much for either.

50+ years ago I shot my first black bear and (lacking $ and space) I had him mounted as a rug. A couple of years ago I shot my first Brown bear and I had him full mounted. There is absolutely no comparison between the two. I would definately go with a full mount!

Used my 338 Win Mag. So far one Elk, One Moose and One Bear with it.

I am going to make a final determination once it reaches the tanner. However, looking at locations to place rug v. mount I believe a rug is the better option for me, not to mention the cost savings.

We have kids and dogs, if I hang it high on the wall where I DO have a place to put it it should be out of harms way for the most part.

A mount would be cool but I just can't find a location where it would be safe from claws, spills and other issues.

If it were a 9 or 10 ft'er I might have gone the other direction but I believe it won't come close to that measure. We didn't get to measure him do to the time of day I got him and I will see what the tanner says, but I feel like he was a good representative size bear for Unit 9B of Alaska but not a giant.

He's going to make a beautiful wall rug and should be preserved for my grandkids when that time comes.

Any how, thanks to all who gave valuable insight!

Hope you left evidence. Or maybe that's not what the reg means when it says leave evidence of sex on the hide?

I shot my once in a lifetime Grizzly (skull was 27 9/16 and an honest 9 1/2 footer) back in 99. I did a life size mount standing on a half life sized Caribou. It's an impressive mount an IMHO doesn't take up as much space as a rug.

Bear skins are harder to hang than most realize...