I'm hoping to do some of my next trophies in the whit european skull. Just for something different plus my big house is lookin awful small with all these full shoulder. Some have told me to boil,some have said it has to be out with bugs for years. I'd like to hear what you's have done
Anybody done a european mount?
- Thread starter blindside
- Start date
I've boiled a half dozen or so and it is gross. You want to be real careful if it's a prized gem of yours. Too much hot water and the bones will get loose or even crack in the antler bases.
I'm not so sure where "the bears and 85's don't get along so well" is at but there is a lady in Turner Valley, Alberta who uses Beetles. If you are close to southern Alberta I would track her down.
I saw some of her finished items at the Calgary gun show and they are the best I have seen to date. Her prices are reasonable too. I will see if I can find her buisness card, she will be hearing from me when I want a european mount next time.
If you want to do it yourself, a Taxidermist I talked to said he uses Electrosol dishwasher detergent in his boiling pot so the grease doesn't stick to the bone so bad. I haven't tried it but it seems to make sense.
Some of the "half skull" mounts look neat, where you cut off the teeth and just through the eye socket, that would save a huge amount of picking with a wire trying to get the greeblies out of the sinuses and brain cavity.
Hope this helps,
Noel
I'm not so sure where "the bears and 85's don't get along so well" is at but there is a lady in Turner Valley, Alberta who uses Beetles. If you are close to southern Alberta I would track her down.
I saw some of her finished items at the Calgary gun show and they are the best I have seen to date. Her prices are reasonable too. I will see if I can find her buisness card, she will be hearing from me when I want a european mount next time.
If you want to do it yourself, a Taxidermist I talked to said he uses Electrosol dishwasher detergent in his boiling pot so the grease doesn't stick to the bone so bad. I haven't tried it but it seems to make sense.
Some of the "half skull" mounts look neat, where you cut off the teeth and just through the eye socket, that would save a huge amount of picking with a wire trying to get the greeblies out of the sinuses and brain cavity.
Hope this helps,
Noel
You cover the skull in water (in a pot) and use aluminum foil to seal around the base of the antlers. Throw a couple of tablespoons of baking soda into the water. Bring to a gentle boil for a couple of hours. Time depends on what animal you are doing. When the skin/meat is softening (ie - cooked) then remove from water. Clean meat away from skull with a sharp knife. The meat may be a little raw near the bone. If you want you can cook it a little more. Do not overcook or the bones will fall apart. It is a pain to remove the brains, and you may need to use little tools made out of coat hangers. Be extra carefull around the nasal passages. After you finish cleaning it start brushing it with 30% hydrogen peroxide. WEAR GLOVES AND EYE PROTECTION! The peroxide will eat away at the leftover meat and bleach the skull.
BTW - do this outside or you will not survive the onslaught from your wife. Plus you'll stink the house up.
BTW - do this outside or you will not survive the onslaught from your wife. Plus you'll stink the house up.
- Location
- Hillbilly shack in the boonies
Let ants take care of the cleaning, then use 6% hydrogen peroxide to bleach it.
Frank
Frank
blindside my grandfather has done a few he usualy digs a hole about 2.5' deep and the diamiter big enough to slide the skull in then covers it up and marks it about a month later he un burys it and the bugs have picked it clean then he tosses it on the roof of his place for about a week and they always turn out beautiful
- Location
- The Kawarthas ON
1899 said:
This is true. If you are going to use the "boil and pick" method it is easier to freeze the head before removing the brain. When thawed the brain will semi liquefy and all it takes is a quick stir and shake. The brain will come out of the skull just like "scrambled" egg from a shell.
Anthill and two weeks.......then boil it in water with a cup of Calgonite added. Boil for an hour. Wrap the base of the antlers in tin foil before boiling.
Soak a rag in bleach and wrap it around the skull. Leave it for a day. Soak the rag off and rinse the skull off. Leave it in the sun for a few weeks on the shed roof to dry it out and get rid of the bleach smell.
Soak a rag in bleach and wrap it around the skull. Leave it for a day. Soak the rag off and rinse the skull off. Leave it in the sun for a few weeks on the shed roof to dry it out and get rid of the bleach smell.
Fall Guy said:Make sure that there is nothing around that will chew on it - say, like a dog.
From what I've been told the dogs ain'y the worst of it. The creepy crawlies like porcupines and rodents like to knaw on the antlers
skull
Well, if you have a firepit and a big pot, you can boil it and then use 1899's method....Do you have a Dremel moto tool or like device?...If so, freeze the skull and then make your cuts with the rotary tool and clean the skull manually....that works too. Bleaching you can do in any weather. I have a trophy sheep head that I did that way and it worked great. and a moose skull too.
blindside said:
Well, if you have a firepit and a big pot, you can boil it and then use 1899's method....Do you have a Dremel moto tool or like device?...If so, freeze the skull and then make your cuts with the rotary tool and clean the skull manually....that works too. Bleaching you can do in any weather. I have a trophy sheep head that I did that way and it worked great. and a moose skull too.
Me and a buddy did a couple of deer skulls last fall, they turned out really good. We put a big pot on the bbq outside, then boiled the skull for 1 hour, then used a pressure washer to remove any meat/gristle (and the brains wash right out), then put back in the pot for 20-30 minutes and another wash with the pressure washer, at this point all tissue will be gone.
We tried 2 methods of bleaching, both worked well. One we painted with cheap hydrogen peroxide 5-6 times, let dry overnight, and is done. The other we soaked in a pot of 50/50 bleach/water, being careful not to get the antlers into the bleach mixture, use paper towel to cover the the top of the skull near the antler bases as it will be out of the bleach water. Soak for 20-24 hours, then let dry.
We tried 2 methods of bleaching, both worked well. One we painted with cheap hydrogen peroxide 5-6 times, let dry overnight, and is done. The other we soaked in a pot of 50/50 bleach/water, being careful not to get the antlers into the bleach mixture, use paper towel to cover the the top of the skull near the antler bases as it will be out of the bleach water. Soak for 20-24 hours, then let dry.
Rocks said:Me and a buddy did a couple of deer skulls last fall, they turned out really good. We put a big pot on the bbq outside, then boiled the skull for 1 hour, then used a pressure washer to remove any meat/gristle (and the brains wash right out), then put back in the pot for 20-30 minutes and another wash with the pressure washer, at this point all tissue will be gone.
We tried 2 methods of bleaching, both worked well. One we painted with cheap hydrogen peroxide 5-6 times, let dry overnight, and is done. The other we soaked in a pot of 50/50 bleach/water, being careful not to get the antlers into the bleach mixture, use paper towel to cover the the top of the skull near the antler bases as it will be out of the bleach water. Soak for 20-24 hours, then let dry.
Ya that looks darn fine!!!!!
I larned this from a Saskatchabush buffalo lady:
1. Clean off as much meat as you can easily get rid of,
2. Bury in a manure pile, or even better, a compost heap,
3. Make sure you've got lots of ants to start chewing,
4. Take it out two to four weeks later,
5. Soak in a steel washtub with some septic tank cleaner,
6. Keep the solution off the antlers - so you don't bleach them,
7. Dry it off and hang it over the barn door!
1. Clean off as much meat as you can easily get rid of,
2. Bury in a manure pile, or even better, a compost heap,
3. Make sure you've got lots of ants to start chewing,
4. Take it out two to four weeks later,
5. Soak in a steel washtub with some septic tank cleaner,
6. Keep the solution off the antlers - so you don't bleach them,
7. Dry it off and hang it over the barn door!
canucklehead
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Calgary, AB
My aunt is an artist who specializes in painting skulls... mostly of buffalo. She gets the fairly fresh heads, and simply buries them in her backyard for a few months. Bugs pick them REALLY clean, and it's much cleaner than boiling/picking and dealing with rancid brain meat. ugh.
If you're not in a hurry, burying is easy.
If you're not in a hurry, burying is easy.
We usually just take them outside and boil them on the side burner of the BBQ (smell was mentioned earlier) and put in some baking soda into the water. Here is a skull I did this spring. It was still drying
Just remember to use some crazy glue as the little teeth like to fall out
Just remember to use some crazy glue as the little teeth like to fall out
