Our Attempt at Euro Mount

casterpollox

casterpollox

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Wanting to try something a little different instead of just caping the antlers and then mounting them on one of those kits that you buy, my buddy and I decided to dabble in a little kitchen table taxidermy.

This was his first buck with a bow so we thought it was appropriate to get a little extra attention.

We scraped off the flesh, boiled it with the antlers suspended out of the water (more of a simmer than a boil), then we let it dry for a couple days. Finally we got some cream peroxide to do the final whitening. We wrapped the antlers in seran wrap and then duct tape to make sure they didn't get hit with peroxide. We left the peroxide on for about an hour and a half and then rinsed it off to see where we were at. We liked it and knowing that it would whiten a little more afterwards, we left it at an hour and a half.

It'll dry for the weekend and then get hit with some satin clear coat, then mounted to the old piece of wood that you see it sitting on. Then onto the wall like a picture frame.

I think it turned out pretty well for our first attempt and we will be doing this again for sure with any nice bucks.

Have a good weekend!


duanesmount.jpg
 
I like it!

I have a 4x1 (busted antler one side) hanging in a tree in the yard (so the dogs can't get it). Think it is too late to boil off the crap? I skinned it and hung it in the tree a couple years ago and forgot about it. I was hoping that the bugs would have cleaned it up for me.
 
I don't think it's too late, it just might take a little longer and a wire brush to get all the crap off.

The key is to not let the skull touch the pot anywhere. Some fishing line of twine to hang it from something works well and then dangle it in the pot of boiling water. I think we did this one for about 4 or 5 hours. Took it out after two and scrubbed it, picked off some bits and then resubmerged it.

Take it slow, don't get frustrated and it should work.
 
Turned out quite nicely. I've never gone all the way to the peroxide, just leaving the skull natural. I wouldn't bother with the clearcoat, personally. You don't want to look like the noobsausage that painted his coyote skull with white paint...teeth and all.
 
Yes, that is the wood mount.

The clear coat is supposed to keep it from turning colour with age. Apparently it will slowly turn yellow and a satin clear coat, not a gloss, will protect it from this aging process. Something in the air affects the bone I guess. A taxidermist does the same thing.

I've used satin clear coats on other projects and you can't even tell that you sprayed it with something, but you still get it's protective properties.

We figure the whole project will cost about 20 bucks.
 
I think that looks so so good! It's got a rustic pioneer look that I love.
I picture it offset by a contemporary interior design in a study / office / den.
Say hanging against an exposed conc. wall with accent lighting behind a giant wooden desk. :D

(I'm a residential designer by trade)

Great work, when I get my first rack this is what I'm doing with it!
 
Looks fantastic! I wish my first attempt at a Euro mount turned out that well!

Don't use a wire brush...it's way too rough and will chew up the bone. A skull that sat outside for a long time can still be cleaned up the same way, but boil it outside...it's gonna stink! You will probably want to apply some wood stain to the antlers to restore the colour as they have probably bleached out a bit from the sun. The more porous they have become, the quicker they will take the stain. Go slow and careful. Wipe and polish off more stain near the tips, leave more on near the bases.

If you don't want to use a clear coat, you can make a thin mixture of Elmer's white glue and water. I've used this for years, just paint on a few coats and let it soak in and dry. It's never turned yellow, and seems to protect and harden the bone.

John
 
It looks good! I've had a few euro mounts done on my archery bucks but none of them were clear-coated. I didn't do the work personally though as I know the results are permanent and don't trust myself to do the quality job I would be proud of.
 
We used a wire brush, just don't press hard. Tried a plastic brush but it didn't do a thing. Switched to the wire brush and just light pressure seemed to do the trick. We only used it on the really tricky stuff at the base of the skull.
I would agree that if you went to town like you were trying to start a lawn mower it would cause damage. One of those dish scrub pads might work, not the steel wool ones but the other kind? A tooth brush with stiff bristles might work as well.

Cream peroxide can be found in some drug stores in the hair dye section. My friend is a hair dresser so we just got it from the salon. It was 10 bucks for a litre of it and we... maybe... used a 10th of it. We just slathered it on with one of those foam paint brushes. We tested it first to make sure it didn't eat the foam or release any colours onto the skull.

Let it sit for an hour and a half and then rinsed it in the shower.
 
casterpollox said:
Let it sit for an hour and a half and then rinsed it in the shower.
Click to expand...


Nothing like showering with a deer skull to get funny looks from the wife! The mount looks fantastic. I am converted and am going to try it with the deer I get in a few weeks. Is there a perscribed boiling time or did you just boil it until the majority of meat came off? Don't think the wife will let me do it on the kitchen stove so I may have to go with the camp stove in the garage.Anyhow, excellent job.
 
Before the boil, try and get as much off the skull as possible to shorten the boil time.

For the boil, it's basically until it all falls off, or out. The eyes and brain might need some help. You can use a coat hanger for the brain. Take it out every once and a while to do some scraping. Needle nose pliers help too. Go slow, don't rush it and don't crank the heat onto the highest setting, just a slow boil is all that's needed. Again take your time and use your best judgement. When you think it's clean, let it cool off and then take a closer look. If it needs more time, toss it back in. keep it off the sides and bottom to avoid getting the bone too hot. Teeth might fall out, a couple did on this one, we just glued them back in with epoxy.

The smell really wasn't that bad but a camp stove outside is a good idea. We used the bbq. Just tell the wife that you're making deer broth ;) and have a few carrots standing by just in case
 
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