Salting a bear hide

[cole97]

when salting a bear hide before you got the bear how much time do you got to put salt on it and during salting process how long should you salt a hide. Is there any special salts out there to use or works best, I heard regular fine salt at stores works fine, also will a 50lb pound bag will be enough

[Rich_D]

I use Sifto Industrial Purity Salt from a local store for Coyote furs.

I salt once..... Let sit overnight. Dump wet salt off and put fresh salt on and leave until dry.

44lb (20kg) bag has done 4 Coyotes and still have enough for 2 or 3 more so you can probably judge by that for the amount of salt.

Good luck getting salt on the bear before you get it though. ;-)

[cole97]

haha I know just getting prepared right just finish reloading shells for my 7mm 162 BTHP with IMR 4831 , how many hours do you have for before you salt couples days?

[Sitkaspruce]

I skin, flesh, turn the ears and lips then let sit or hang in the sun one day (if there is sun) to drain any fluid off, then salt the living hell out of it ( don't be skimp on the salt). Fold the skin in on itself, then roll and place in a bag, let sit for a day or two. Then roll it out, shake off the salt, clean it up if needed and re-salt and re-bag and place in a cool dark place where the rodents cannot get at it. I have done this and left the hide for up to 6 days with no problems. If longer, I dump the salt again and re-salt and bag.

Good luck on the hunt.

Cheers

SS

[cole97]

Can u wash it in water after salting it

[Huevos]

Once you skin the bear, either flesh it, and turn the eyes, lips,ears, right away, or freeze it until you are ready. A 20kg bag of salt should be plenty. Once the bear is fleshed properly, rub the salt into the hide and pack the paws. Make sure you get everywhere , especially the face, toes, and the edges of the hide that tend to fold over and get missed. I have had bears slip, even after I did everything I should have, the faster you get salt on it, the better. I would get the salt on right after it is fleshed ans still moist. You want the salt to penetrate. Dry hide won't let the salt penetrate to lock the hair in. Leave for a day, remove wet salt, and repeat. If you want to wash it, you better do that in cool water with some mild dish soap(dawn works good) before you salt it, and then let it drain. If you intend to send it to the tanner, they will wash it all up in the process, so don't bother washing it.

[bigredchev]

Im under the impression a lot of taxis want the head left on so they can cut it properly themselves ie lips eyes etc.


any steps to prepare the head with salt?

[MadCat]

If your not going to skin out the head yourself there is no point in salting it. Bring it to the taxidermist ASAP or freeze it.

[r106]

If your not going to skin out the head yourself there is no point in salting it. Bring it to the taxidermist ASAP or freeze it.

How long do you have to get it in the freezer roughly? Obviously sooner the better but a couple hours? a day?

[Sitkaspruce]

When guiding I did not have access to a freezer etc. So I skinned, fleshed, turned all the important stuff and salted, usually within 24 hours. Trick is to preserve the hide as fast as you can, so the quicker the better. Depending on the temps, it should be done in 24-36 hours. But I have seen a bear hide sit with no salt for 3 days, then get salted once and thrown in the meat shed and left for a week and the hide was still good 10 years later as a mount.

If you want to learn what the taxidermist does, go and ask to sit in and watch and offer to help them out, it is the best way to learn.

Cheers

SS

[BCbillies]

Temperatures, how dirty, bloody the hide is, how many flies are around, etc all dictate how quickly you need to act. If I'm going out for day hunts the hide will be home and in the freezer by midnight so usually no need to panic. If heading out for a week of grizz hunting and there's no guarantee that you'll be home in a day I'd learn how to skin out the head, turn it, including skining out the paws . . . and then hit the salt to it. Learning all aspects of skinning and preserving will make for a more relaxed hunt/hunter (gives you or your buddy time to cut another tag). It is best to work with a taxi or a seasoned skinner to learn the tricks of the trade. Skinning out the claws can be enjoyable if you use gravity in your favour (use rope to hang paw off of high limb with the hide pulling down). A sharp knife/scalpels and patience will go a long way to achieve success. It's always a good idea to wash the bullet entry/exit holes really well in cold water. These will be the first places for bacteria to take hold.

[Ambush]

Skinning out the claws can be enjoyable if you use gravity in your favour (use rope to hang paw off of high limb with the hide pulling down).

Now that is a real gold nugget! I feel kinda dumb now after many years and many paws wrestled from the hide. Tired fingers and filthy pants from flipping the hide around and around.

It was worth getting up this morning, now.

[VancouverSkiBum]

Can someone give us a good tutorial on skinning the claws? And one on skinning the head? Something with detail? Those are the 2 things im a bit worried about. if i want to keep the skull, do i boil it like a deer? Or would burying it in the woods for a month or two work better? i want to make a rug without the skull, and have the skull mounted, if its a nice size.

[elkhunter1]

If You don't have salt in your camp.
ash. From your last fire pit works great.
must be cold ash.
this is from my hunting partner who is a Taxidermist.

[Huevos]

Youtube is a great place for tutorials. There are lots of methods out there, but it will get you started. As mentioned before, a taxidermist is the best place to learn. I skinned a couple bears before I asked a taxidermist for pointers. I spent a few days with him doing around a dozen bears, and now I feel confident I am doing it mostly right. Not everyone will have this opportunity, but you tube really is helpful.

[jamievan]

helpinghandhangers.com has some great videos

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Don't be in a rush to rug a bear. Odds are you're not going to rug too many. You may want to wait for that "special one".

Feel free to whack a meat bear and use the hide for practice before working on one that will make "your" wall.

SSS

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Now that is a real gold nugget! I feel kinda dumb now after many years and many paws wrestled from the hide. Tired fingers and filthy pants from flipping the hide around and around.

It was worth getting up this morning, now.

And it you don't have an overheard place to hang a rope from, use a firewood block and stab a screwdriver through the paw(not through the hide) into the wood ....and pull the hide towards yourself while you skin. Work one side then flip over...repeat several times.