Grizzly mount ideas...

Hey guys, looking for a little help. I just got the word from my taxidermist last night that my grizzly hide has made it back from the tanners and that it turned out great. I was initially going to go with a rug. Over the past few weeks I have been thinking on that and I have come to the conclusion that I would rather have a full or half mount...I think. Here is kind of what I am envisioning; half mount with a simple table top base, want a natural looking expression, I would like to place it on a fancy 4 side glass table where I can have a Brooks Range theme w/ the skull and hopefully add a ptarmigan or 2 in the future. If I went full mount I would like to incorporate blueberries somehow. I shot him while he was feeding on them.

How does this sound to everyone? Does the first idea sound nice or am I crazy?

Guys that have had mounts done...what would you do differently, if anything? Or would just stick with a rug?

If you have pictures I would appreciate it if you wouldn't mind sharing them. I haven't been around many bear mounts and I would like to do this one right.

I am open to any suggestions. Thanks guys.

Frosty

Bump for any pics or suggestions....

I like both ideas frosty. If i ever have the opportunity to take a grizz my odeal mount would be full body and fishing. But i am a fan of full body mounts in the position you took them. So if you have the room and choose to do a full body, i think the blueberry patch would look nice.

John

Personally I think a full body mount or rug is the only way to really show of a beautiful bear hide. Too much is lost on a half mount. If going with a life size keep the extra stuff simple. I think too much habitat takes away from the bear.

Have a look at the link attached. It is the best looking life sized bear mount I have seen. The only thing I would change is get rid of the sheep skull.

http://onyourownadventures.com/hunttalk/showthread.php?t=253972&page=3

I agree with doing the full mount unless the hide is rubbed or thin in spots. I have mine lifesized on a base that replicates the creek bottom where I took him. I'm personally not a fan of half mounts on anything, but that's just me. I also have 3 black bear rugs and 1 life size. The rugs don't really do justice to the bear imo.

Skip the rug.
I am of a different opinion on rubs and thin spots. I say full mount it, rubs are natural but everyone treats them like a disease. If you end up with a bear with a rub, mount him rubbing away on a stump or rock, old moose antler whatever. I love the blueberry idea and bright red leaves would be really sharp, a partially white ptarmigan would spice it up too.

Thanks for the info gentleman, I appreciate it.

I think I will go with a full body mount. I am running out of room in my house, but this isn't a huge grizzly so I think I can make a full body work. Going to give my taxi a call this afternoon to talk about it and see what I am getting myself into price wise!

BRWNBR, I am of the same mind set as you. While my bear didn't have any rubs I am all about working with what you got when it comes to having an animal mounted. The Bride has a saugeye on the wall that is missing a pectoral fin and had a jacked up eye. The fish lived a rough life but it adds character.

As for the base, plan on keeping it fairly simple. I would like it to match the scenery where I shot the bear. So plan on having some blueberry bushes with the leaves a mix of red/orange/yellow/gold. Hopefully I will be able to add a couple ptarmigan that are half white/brown.

A few pics;

A minute or so before the shot.



My first bear, we played cat and mouse for a few hours. I was finally able to get ahead of him on the backside of a small lake. Shot him at 40 yards. He his a 7.5 foot bear. Decent bear I believe for the NE Brooks Range.



Thanks again guys.

Frosty

If I can pull together the coin and actually get one it'll be mounted like this.

Frosty thst pic of the best before you shot it to me is worth more than the mount ever would be! Gets me stoked for fall bear season!!

Locally done in Wasilla by Dahlberg's Taxidermy. BTW this is not an animal of mine, just sharing an applicable mount per the topic!!

BRWNBR said:

Frosty thst pic of the best before you shot it to me is worth more than the mount ever would be! Gets me stoked for fall bear season!!

Click to expand...

I am glad I took the time and snapped the picture. I honestly didn't know if I was going to shoot the bear until after the picture. Little back story, since coming to AK (Nov 2012) I wanted to shoot a grizzly. I went on a caribou hunt north of the Brooks in 2013 and had my first close encounter with one. As I was packing my bou out I came around a bend on a dried up creek and came face to face with a sow grizzly. (read 20-25 feet) It was exhilarating, butt puckering, and awe-inspiring all at the same time. That was my welcome to AK and things here can eat you...a little different for this SD boy! Spring 2014 I did a hand full of spring trips down along the Denali Highway looking for a grizzly now that I was a resident. I really had no idea what I was doing, but I was outdoors and enjoying it. I passed on one grizzly at 90 yards in some thick brush. I believe it was a younger sow, not sure if there were cubs around, only had about 45 seconds to decide all of this. I was bummed but happy with myself for not taking the shot. About an hour later, I glassed up a big bear way up high on one of the mountains. The wind was wrong so I just sat and watched for a couple hours. I was glued to my spotter and thoroughly enjoyed watching the bear be a bear. He eventually made his way up and over the mountain. (man can they cover ground) I shot the above bear on the first day of a 10 day fly-in bou hunt. I tried playing catch-up for a couple hours with never getting a good look at him. I really didn't know how big or the sex of the bear, just new I was trying to out smart one. I was finally able to get ahead of him on the backside a small lake. I hid behind a small tree and let him feed towards me. I still didn't know what the bear was or how big at this point. Shortly after I took the pic, I ranged him at 58 yards and noticed some long hairs where you would expect the penis to be. That's what decided it for me, knowing he was male, enjoying the game of cat and mouse, I decided to take the shot at about 40 yards. He went maybe 10 yards and piled up. I don't really have words for the feelings I had as I walked up to him. Powerful sums it up the best I guess. I am most definitely hooked on chasing bears now!! Sorry for the long winded reply.

Make it happen Bruce!

Daniel, thanks for sharing a great looking mount!!

Great mount Dan, first thought is fall salmon on green grass....bear is nicely done as is the salmon. Have seen some spring bears mounted with spawned out salmon too, for some reason that bugs me that kind of stuff is all I notice after that. Then the scene feels fake.

Personally, I like a rug, but that's me.

Update, a pic sent from my taxi. Can't wait to see him in person!!!

That looks great- love the blueberries! You have a very quick taxidermist!

Looks great!

That's an awesome bear. Congratulations!

I've been talking with Juli about an upcoming hunt and she just sent me a pic of your bear. Looks liek she has some photos on her facebook page of it too.

She sure does. Juli has been wonderful through the whole process of getting my bear mounted. I can't wait to see my bear in person and finally meet Juli! She will definitely be getting future business from me. Good luck on your hunt Brad!