Best Way to Clean a Deer's Skull?
- Thread starter rideauwrangler
- Start date
Is there a trick to the bleaching that I'm missing? I had mine all nice and cleaned up after two slow boils, and then I went and brushed bleach all over the bone...and nothing. What the heck??? Any tips?
I water down a solution of bleach in an ice cream tub and let the skull soak in it for a few hours. It can cause softening but it can work, remember to wash and rinse well. One of my dogs found a skull I had just finished bleaching and ate it all bar the antlers. It was a clients so I was as concerned for that as the daft #####.
She was ok and I bought an aluminium skull plate so it is difficult to tell! Sadly those who know would see it is a roe skull with fallow Prickets.
I interestingly found a skull in the grass whilst beating today.
It has very unusual antlers and I'll clean it up then post pics.
I found it at the end of a drive for pheasants luckily before the dogs did. Seperate with no neck I thought perhaps one of the guns had left it for the ants to clean. Here to prevent carrion they leave them wedged up between a couple of branches in a low tree for natures work!
She was ok and I bought an aluminium skull plate so it is difficult to tell! Sadly those who know would see it is a roe skull with fallow Prickets.
I interestingly found a skull in the grass whilst beating today.
It has very unusual antlers and I'll clean it up then post pics.
I found it at the end of a drive for pheasants luckily before the dogs did. Seperate with no neck I thought perhaps one of the guns had left it for the ants to clean. Here to prevent carrion they leave them wedged up between a couple of branches in a low tree for natures work!
Ah, it's the soaking in bleach that I'm missing. I'll have to do that. Thanks for the tips!
In the meantime, my wife figured it looked fine even half-bleached, so she twisted my arm and made me stick the mount on the living room wall. This is what my hack-job looks like (the cats ate the palate/nose bones) --
Next time I'm in Germany, I really gotta go and get me a roe buck. Those guys are cool! (Fallow deer are cool too, but I doubt I could afford one.)
In the meantime, my wife figured it looked fine even half-bleached, so she twisted my arm and made me stick the mount on the living room wall. This is what my hack-job looks like (the cats ate the palate/nose bones) --
Next time I'm in Germany, I really gotta go and get me a roe buck. Those guys are cool! (Fallow deer are cool too, but I doubt I could afford one.)
I prefer burying next to an ants nest. However, the big problem is keeping the dogs from digging my skulls up and eating them. My brothers Yellow Lab got my last bear skull. Only thing I found left was a canine tooth and a fragment of the lower jaw.
Tried doing a couple last fall, they turned out great!
Roughed skinned head out leaving lots of meat on skull.
Boiled skull for 1 hr in a large pot on the bbq.
Washed 90% of flesh/tissue etc off with pressure washer.
Back in pot for 20 mins.
Finished taking the remainder of tissue with the pressure washer -careful not to lose any teeth etc that may have come loose.
Then either a) soaked in 50/50 bleach water for 24 hrs (don't put horns into bleach, drape paper towel over the top of the skull and into the bleach, it will wick enough up to do the job without getting any on the antlers), or b) painted 5% hydrogen peroxide all over skull 5-6 times.
I finished the following one with 2 coats of clear lacquer. Whole process took a little over a day total to complete...
Roughed skinned head out leaving lots of meat on skull.
Boiled skull for 1 hr in a large pot on the bbq.
Washed 90% of flesh/tissue etc off with pressure washer.
Back in pot for 20 mins.
Finished taking the remainder of tissue with the pressure washer -careful not to lose any teeth etc that may have come loose.
Then either a) soaked in 50/50 bleach water for 24 hrs (don't put horns into bleach, drape paper towel over the top of the skull and into the bleach, it will wick enough up to do the job without getting any on the antlers), or b) painted 5% hydrogen peroxide all over skull 5-6 times.
I finished the following one with 2 coats of clear lacquer. Whole process took a little over a day total to complete...
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