The Marines B.C. Bear Hunt

[justinhall]

When you said that you were going to cut the hide I was confused; I didn't know if that was a joke at first. Looks great so far, my wife and I are both really excited. I'm glad that you said that you were joking because I don't think I would say anything if you really were going to cut the bear shorter, funny though.

[FullCryHounds]

Today I cut the form again and added 2 1/2 inches to the length. Then cut the head off and turned it to the left and slightly up. Mounted it back onto the base to set the head level. With very few exceptions, all mounts should have the head/eyes set level.
Next just need Justin to take a look at the form and let me know if he likes it or would like any changes, now is the time to do that. Once I get the OK, it won't be long before the actual day of mounting.

[chilcotin hillbilly]

Looks good Dean. It good to have Justin in on this thread as well.

[justinhall]

I really like it, I'm ready for you to move to the next step. Looks awesome Dean, thanks.

[FullCryHounds]

Had a few hours this morning and had a couple of forms that I needed to pour foam for so I was able to pour the foam to lengthen and reattach the two halves. Also poured the foam around the neck to put all of those pieces back together. Then filed all the rough edges down and shaped the areas to form them back into shape. Then I cut the relief cuts into the form around the inside of each leg. These allow the hide to fit into the armpit areas. Some minor filling in a few areas with mâché and roughen up the entire form with a rasp and the form is now ready to mount. Next step is the day of actual mounting. This will be an all day job so I'll have to put it off until next week. I've got a five day deer hunt starting Wed. See you all next week.

[mike martell]

Dean

Good luck deer hunting!

Mike

[not color blind]

Hey Justin...

I will never be able to thank you enough for the sacrifice you and your family made for all of us.

X2 Thank You

[justinhall]

Dean,
Thank you for the hard work that you're putting into my bear, I am very thankful, and thank you Mike, people like you are the best form of healing for Wounded Warriors. Instead of feeling depressed and alone you make me feel appreciated , which is very important to me. Thanks! I worry that someday the American people will forget the sacrifices that our military members endure, but everyone that has been involved in my bear I thank you for being unselfish.

[FullCryHounds]

The rut was real slow getting going this year. Temperature has been in the 50-60s which didn't help at all. Finally had a dusting of snow on sat eve. I ended up seeing 14 bucks but never found the big one I was after. I had passed this buck up two days earlier but when I found him bedded 142 yards away on the last morning, I figured someone was telling me something.
So now it's back to work, I pulled the hide out of the freezer to get it thawed out for the day of mounting which I've planned for Wed. I'll be up early and will post some pictures of the progress throughout the day.

[bowtech36]

Nice buck! This has been awesome watching this unfold. Looking forward to the rest of the process.

[chilcotin hillbilly]

Nice buck Dean, I love the mass alot like the bucks here in BC. Now the funs over back to work eh!

[FullCryHounds]

Early 6AM start today for the day of mounting. I had pulled the hide out of the freezer two days ago in order to make sure the hide was thawed out. First thing to do is set clay into the areas I had carved out into the form where the ears will sit. This allows me to adjust the ears to the correct depth and also allows me to easily adjust exactly where they will go later on. I then set the eyes. Some mounts I set the eyes ahead of time using mâché. This is a hard set eye and does not allow you any adjustment later on because he mache dries hard before you start mounting. For some animals, I like this eye set better. But not for predators. So I set the eyes in soft clay which will allow me to make all kinds of adjustments later on. This is real important with predator eyes!

Next up, I spread glue on the inside of the hide throughout the head area only and stretched it onto the form. Getting everything lined up, I then glued the lips onto the form and put a little bit of clay in the nose which will allow for some adjustment later today. The final ear set and the rest of the face will be done later today.
Next up are the feet. I added clay up into each toe and figured out how much additional clay I would need in each foot to make for a seamless transition to where the form ended. A small cut was made where the bolt would go through the bottom of the foot, then the glue was added to the inside of the hide and slipped onto the form. I then got started on the sewing. I've read that it takes over 1800 stitches for a lifesize bear. I got both front feet sewn up and just got started down the belly. Noon, break for lunch.

[FullCryHounds]

I got all the legs sewn up along with the belly. Now things will start to come together, and maybe start to look like a bear. I first worked on the feet and got them shaped the way I like, then worked on all the toes and got them pinned down into position. Got the tail and his reproductive organs all worked into place and got them pinned out.

I next turned to the head and positioned the ears slightly laid back since we're looking for an aggressive look. Remember all that clay I had in there? This is where it all starts to come into play. The next step is to work on the nose and get the inside pinned out and the outer part shaped using wire pinned into the areas that will make up the snarl in the nose. I also put a slight flare in the nostrils to help with that aggressive look.
Earlier I put a few pins around the eyes to keep the skin from moving around while I was working on the rest of the mount. I removed them now and started on the critical eyes. I used a competition eye because I like them a bit better for an aggressive look because they have a bit more detail in them and it will help with the finished look. Got the eyes pinned out and modeled up the way I wanted.

Now I started to pin out every spot on the form that will drum over as it dries. Remember back several weeks when I wet down the skin to start preparing it. Well it's been in the freezer until two days ago, so it's still wet. While the skin (leather) drys, it will want to shrink up. So in order to keep the skin tight against the form we have to pin out every area that will want to pull tight and 'drum' over any low spots in the form. (All of these pins will be removed in a couple of weeks after its dried). We would end up loosing all the detail in the form if we let this happen. A lot of taxidermist will use carpet upside down on the skin and pin it in place while it drys. I use cardboard strips and a wood fiber under it and pin it all in place. If I were to only use cardboard, it would leave a straight line in the hair once I removed it in a week or two once the hide is dry.

The last thing for today was to blow dry all of the hair. This took me well over an hour alone but it helps keep the hair fluffed up while it drys. I'll repeat this several more times over the next week or so.
Over the next 10-14 days while all this drys, I'll be continually checking everything to make sure nothing moves out of place and making any adjustments.
After a week or so, I can remove the bear from the base and start on the finish work to the rock and the rest of the base. The last thing I will do is the finish work to the mount. This will be puttying around the eyes, inside the mouth and in and around the nose as needed. Then all the painting. Its been a thirteen hour day, I,m whooped. See you in about ten days.

[Big N' Blue]

Wow, many years ago, when I was young I wanted to be a taxidermist. I learned quickly that I did not have enough patience or enough talent for it. Thanks a lot for sharing this info. Very insightful for sure!! And thank you and Mr. Martell and Hillbillie for what ya'll are doing for veterans!
Very commendable!!!!!

[mike martell]

Thank you David for the kind words and Thank You Dean for keeping this thread going and bringing the viewers along for the ride....I too have a deep appreciation for quality taxidermy work and Dean exemplifies this...I agree with you David, money well spent hiring Dean to get the job done right!

Work is in progress to shore up details for next June in B.C with Skinner Creek Hunts & Wounded Warriors in Action Foundation annual black bear hunt..... Doug McMann and Family will host two WWIAF Purple Heart Veterans, one as I understand is disabled from combat action. I'm working with a U.S. manufacturer to facilitate a special apparatus to accommodate special needs in the field to complete a black bear hunt of a life time.

Our friend Gary Joseph, host of Nosler's Magnum T.V. plans to return to film and host this huge event. I spent two weeks with Gary as he hunted Big Horn Sheep in Oregon this fall and the ball began to roll.....What we all agree upon, once you see these veterans in the field hunting and reentering a normal life as a civilian, how can you quit doing these hunts? How can a stand up person like Dean, not get involved?...Good stuff folks...Let us never forget the sacrifice these service men and women provide for our freedom!
Stay tuned for details to follow..... www.wwiaf.org and also on facebook http://www.skinnercreekhunts.com also on facebook

Mike