Tanning bear hide at home

[MadMango]

Hi, long-time lurker, first-time poster here. I am planning on going on my first ever hunt soon, as I missed the spring bear season due to CORE courses being delayed from COVID. I have a blackbear and a mule deer tag. I was planning on taking the hide as well if I manage to harvest a blackbear. I have been looking into tanning the hide myself at home for a rug or wall hanging and it seems like every video or guide I see is slightly different. I also live in an apartment so will be doing this indoors.

Does anyone have a method they prefer or any tips they would like to share?

also somewhat related: is it safe to drink bear blood? I watched Red Dawn last night...

[tigrr]

What are you smoking? Drink bear blood.
First question have you ever felt how course a bear hair hide is?
2nd get it done by a guy with a 45 gallon bucket of formaldehyde. If its on the wall who cares how stiff the leather is.
My last 5 bears, the hide fed the ravens from the 4 inches of fat on the hides. Then the wolves came along and ate the hides. All of it.

[MadMango]

Thanks for the stern warning, any idea what % concentration of formaldehyde will be adequate?

[Downtown]

I am afraid, your Landlord wont be your Friend much longer !

Cheers

[MadMango]

True, whenever I have been around formaldehyde I can still smell it in my nostrils hours later. acid-based pickling methods + commercially available tanning rub seem to be popular methods.

[RugDoctor]

The trick with drinking bear blood is you have to drink all of it....and the best form is to suck it out of the rump. When you tan your hide in the apartment, just let the flesh rot off for the first week or so, then use a strong formaldehyde solution.

Of course I’m totally kidding....as I assume you are. Don’t do any of the things you, or I mentioned other than the hunting. And if you weren’t kidding, rethink the hunting as well.

[MadMango]

Are you trying to tell me it's a bad idea to tan a hide in my apartment and let it stretch on my balcony for the whole neighbourhood to see?

[RugDoctor]

Are you trying to tell me it's a bad idea to tan a hide in my apartment and let it stretch on my balcony for the whole neighbourhood to see?

Maybe start with some stray cats and see if everyone is accepting, and then move onto larger game.

[tigrr]

Please take videos of what ever you do! And post them in this thread. Know any people who work at embalming?
Now I have to search for formaldehyde.

[Ryan_92]

If your planning on hunting bears i recommend being familiar with tuberculosis.