woods skull prep

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wreckingball

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hey guys,

i was out yesterday checking my deer stand to see if it survived the harsh winter, and while cutting through the bush i can across a deer skull with its rack that was half buried in a swampy section, i would like to try and save antlers and skull for a coat / hat rack but not sure on how to get rind of the funk and to get them white. any and all help is wanted

thanks chris
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This is how I found it during a spring turkey season a few years ago.







I took it home and placed it in a bucket of water (covering the skull completely) then let the bugs do the work, eating away all the flesh and brain matter…. After a about a month, I removed it from the bucket of water (all brain matter and flesh was eaten) I gave it a good scrubbing and wash.





I then dropped it in a bucket of soapy (dawn) water, with an ounce of bleach and ½ cup of vinegar to remove any smell and kill off any left over bacteria.




I removed it from the bucket 2 days later and gave it a good rinse….I let it dry out in the sun for a couple of days, then (over the next few days) brushed peroxide over the entire skull (available at most hair salons-40% volume) getting them a nice, bright white. Before giving it a final coat of spray on clear lacquer I brushed the entire skull with Elmer’s white glue and water mixture(50/50) so it seals and locks the skull together….
It turned pretty good and having an inside spread of 20.5”…




All 4 of these deer were taken (over the years) from the same farm…. Pretty cool if you ask me…



Do the same with coyotes....but their teeth fall out and lower jaws come apart, all needing to be glued back... pretty cool way to do them and fairly simple too..... as long as you are not in a rush. Good luck





"Everything is easy when you know how"
"Meat is not grown in stores"
 
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Well well well. I'd lock this down and sticky right now. 1 reply and everything is covered.

The only thing I would add is to put the bucket o' skulls far away from the house. As far as you can. They can smell very funky after a while.
 
You can boil the skull to speed up the process, highly recommend doing this outside and using a dedicated deer skull pot..
 
After the soap bath try boiling it in 50 percent peroxide and couple litres of water. Mixture can be used several times for other heads. Get peroxide from a beauty salon supply store. Some will only sell you the 40 percent stuff as apparently one needs a licence to buy the stronger stuff. Tell the girl you are using it for a deer head and you will have no issues. Would for only about 20 mins or so...
 
One needs to exercise caution when using bleach on skulls, particularly the teeth. A solution with a high bleach concentration may strip the enamel off teeth, or, may begin to "eat" away at teeth - with the extent of the damage dependent upon to the concentration of bleach in the solution and the length of time the skull/teeth are subjected to the solution. I have had good results using hydrogen peroxide and Amaze Safe'n'Clean to "bleach" and whiten skulls.

Make sure to keep track of the teeth! They can be easily lost - thrown out with the bath water.
 
kamlooky said:
The experience on this site simply amazes me.
Well done folks.
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X2. Not very many days go by that are not a learning experience. Thanks guys :) . Interesting and greatly appreciated.

Here are a couple my Daughter and AB hunting partner did up for me on my first AB Mule Deer and my first AB Antelope :d .



 
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I have had good luck with boiling to get everything off (good afternoon worth of work with beer), then dipping and brushing a 50/50 water bleach solution for only a few minutes over the skull being careful not to get any on the antlers.
 
c-fbmi said:
BigUglyMan said:
Your neighbours don't like the dead-hooker-in-a-hockey-bag smell?
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Really BUM........have you ever thought of a different line of work?..........The one you're in now is definitely affecting the way you look at the world............:p:p;);)
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Probably a good idea but I'm afraid I'd terrify the children if I opened a daycare so I might as well stick with this.
 
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