Tanned hides get a memory very easily, and if it is older than 6 mos. - 1 year then it will probably not mount up. As for the difficulty of rug making, very difficult if done properly. Getting the skin stretched evenly can be tricky for an inexperienced taxidermist, especially if the hide is old, like I said. After stretching and trimming, and industrial strength sewing machine is needed to sew the felt border to the bear leather. Of course once that is done, it still needs to be padded and a backing must be hand-sewn to the rug. This is why most taxi's get anywhere from 700-1000 for a standard sized black bear. Lots and Lots of time involved in a quality bear rug.