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Mounting a Black Bear

I shot a great Grizzly a few years back and took me and the guide a few hours capping it . To make a long story short when my taxidermist mounted it he put a zipper up the bears back and I wondered why I took my time to do a great job with the capping to only have him cut it up the back to mount it . So I shot a real nice black bear last month and want to do a full body mount . My question is , is it common for taxidermist to cut the cape up the back for mounting or is my taxidermist making life easier on himself doing it that way ?

I'm not a taxidermist, but I would say the latter. Dorsal (i.e. Along the back cuts) are common for life size mounts, especially for animals with thicker fur that should be able to hide the incision. They're also easier to sew and work with in general. Given that you already had a ventral (along the belly) incision to work with, it seems kinda lazy to me that your taxidermist would then add a dorsal cut. I would expect that if you had it skinned out one way you wouldn't need to do it the other way and he's just trying to make life a little easier. I would think with a decent taxidermist it shouldn't be very noticeable as well.

A zipper??? Wow. That is a total give up. I have two life size black bear mounts. You can't find a seam in either one unless you feel for them. Both look great

I've never heard of a zipper before? I've mounted lifesize animals with both incisions and prefer a dorsal cut. If it's a belly cut I will lay it out and line everything up and then sew it back together. Turn it hide side out then do a dorsal cut. It's a lot easier to sew up one long cut on a mannikin than 5-6 cuts.

this is confusing

is there really a zipper?

how does the mount look that he dorsaled

someone said it was done both ways on the same bear, did that happen.

the right taxi will to it the right way and it will look right based on his preference and the bear. if he is good enough to trust with your mount trust him with the process. if he is not then don't and find someone you do trust.

before I go on any trip and have an Idea how I will mount an animal if I do get one I make sure I ask the Taxidermist what cuts he would like before I skin.

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