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re: Best way to skull mount deer?
Posted on 1/6/13 at 12:44 pm to Slickback
Posted on 1/6/13 at 12:44 pm to Slickback
I've done a heap of European mounts. Most adult deer skulls are about the same size. AFTER you remove as much of the meat (eyeballs, tongue, flesh, and brains), get one of those big, blue vegetable canning pots and mix in about one cup of 20 Mule Team Borax with the water. You need to submerge the entire skull to right below the antlers and bring to a full, easy simmer boil until the soft tissue either falls off or you can get it off with whatever small tool you may use. Don't forget to remove as much of the brain tissue from the skull via the small hole at the bottom of the skull where the spine was joined to the skull BEFORE you start to boil it. (It's a PITA if you don't.) The borax is a preservative and also helps to keep the teeth from cracking and/or falling out during and after the boil. Whether you prefer the bottom and top jaw bones is a matter of personal preference, but be aware that the bone/cartilage tissue along the nose and jawbones is very fragile and must be handled with great care. Some folks use bleach to whiten the skull, but I always used H202 (hydrogen peroxide). You can also wrap the horns with cloth and just hang the boiled and cleaned skull somewhere out in the sun where the sun will naturally bleach the skull, too. This does take quite a bit of time, though. If the skull doesn't bleach out as white as you prefer, you can air brush the skull with a "bass belly white" or even brighter shade of white with water soluble air brush paint. Or...you can just leave it as it is after the bleach and peroxide treatment. No matter how clean you prepare the skull before boiling, you are going to have to clean out and off a lot of residual tissue before setting it aside to dry. Hope this helps.
Posted on 1/6/13 at 1:19 pm to BFIV
Very informative. I don't have, nor do I know wtf 20 Mule Team Borax is. Anything else you can use in the water to help the tissue and stuff come off that I may have around the house or barn.
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