De-flesh for DEER MOUNT.

[K98ACTION]

I want to use the whole deer skull along with the antlers for mounting. What is the easiest way to de-flesh the skull?

 

[HairTrigger]

Boil it, then boil it and then after you have boiled it, boil it again

 

[whammy]

bury it , throw it in the woods for a year, or boil it.

 

[Fixit]

boil, pick, boil, coathanger, hose then stuff in the bushes in the back yard, then soak in full strength bleach/ H2O2 for a while

 

[HairTrigger]

Find a big ant hill and put it a there for a few weeks

 

[Silverback]

Take it to a taxidermist and let him do it, now that is easy and that is what I did last year.

 

[MiG25]

i have:

boiled them
buried them
taken to taxidermist

boiling them stinks and takes time.

bury them is easy, but you have to wait

taking it to the taxidermist is easy and costs a few $$$.

 

[gth]

Boil in sal soda, then hose off.

Soak in peroxide.

done.

 

[beretta boy]

Back in the day, we soaked a few (skulls) in Gillette's Lye
... a caustic soda used amongst other things for making soap & candles.

Don't know if they still make/market it or not. Could once buy it in the grocery stores.

 

[dutchhunter]

boiling is fine just be sure not to bil the horn it self as it will soften and crumbell just the scull should be under water .first carve away as much meat as posable i mean realy spen some time on it and then some more time

 

[Camper]

make sure your wife's not home when you boil it in the kitchen!!!

 

[JohnC]

This probaly reflects my ignorance but do any of the above techniques work if you wan't to keep some of the skin attached for a mount, or is it for getting down to the bone only?? I scraped as much meat as I could from the skin and bone, and keep salting ( been about 5 weeks) but all I have is a wet smelly skin...

 

[thrush]

This probaly reflects my ignorance but do any of the above techniques work if you wan't to keep some of the skin attached for a mount, or is it for getting down to the bone only?? I scraped as much meat as I could from the skin and bone, and keep salting ( been about 5 weeks) but all I have is a wet smelly skin...

You would need to know how to flesh the hide and then barry it in salt. by the sounds of it if it smells and after 5 weeks it is proble rotten. take and pull on the hair if they come out easy then it is NFG and should be tost. Normally after fleshing we send them to the tanner to be wet tan if we are doing a mount. soak the skall in industeral peroxside and donot put the horns in or they will discolor and become soft. best thing to do is see your local taxedemist. he may help or not depends on the peson.

 

[sjemac]

NEVER BOIL! If you must, use water that is brought to a bare simmer and simmer until the meat falls off. By far the best way to get the meat off a skull ins through maceration. Simply submerge it in water and give it a few months to liquify. It STINKS but it gets every last bit of meat and brains out. Pressure wash it clean and let dry. Degrease the skull for 3 weeks in a solution of Dawn dish detergent and water with a cup of ammonia added or in straight acetone. Then peroxide it. That's the way the pros do it (some use beetles instead of maceration).