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Started By
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Best way to skull mount deer?
Posted on 1/6/13 at 12:22 pm
Posted on 1/6/13 at 12:22 pm
I've done it before with the kit from Cabelas but have another I want to mount.
How do y'all do it? Tips? Advice?
How do y'all do it? Tips? Advice?
Posted on 1/6/13 at 12:24 pm to Slickback
Cut everything you can off of it then boil it to get the rest off. Then let skull sit in a bucket of bleach for a while
Posted on 1/6/13 at 12:35 pm to Slickback
Cut the shite off that you can get to
Put in a pot of almost boiling water for about 3 hours
Get everything else out. Coat hanger for the brains
Pressure wash it if some of the stuff refuses to go
Buy some women's hair bleach paste stuff (should be peroxide-based) and put that on it
Put in a pot of almost boiling water for about 3 hours
Get everything else out. Coat hanger for the brains
Pressure wash it if some of the stuff refuses to go
Buy some women's hair bleach paste stuff (should be peroxide-based) and put that on it
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 12:44 pm to Slickback
I cut off most everything that i can then bury it for a couple months.. After that I boil it.
I dont like when skull mounts are too white, I like a more natural color to them.
I dont like when skull mounts are too white, I like a more natural color to them.
Posted on 1/6/13 at 1:06 pm to DownshiftAndFloorIt
quote:what ya do after that?
Buy some women's hair bleach paste stuff (should be peroxide-based) and put that on it
Posted on 1/6/13 at 1:07 pm to FelicianaTigerfan
Wipe off the extra crap
Screw the skull to a nice piece of driftwood
You can do it with regular hydrogen peroxide, but I'm not sure what's the best way to do it.
Screw the skull to a nice piece of driftwood
You can do it with regular hydrogen peroxide, but I'm not sure what's the best way to do it.
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.
Posted on 1/6/13 at 1:28 pm to Slickback
quote:
I don't have, nor do I know wtf 20 Mule Team Borax is.
Probably tellin my age here? (I bet Ole Geauxt knows what it is, too.) Anyway, 20 MTB is found in the laundry detergent section of the grocery store. A lot of folks still add it to their washing detergent to wash their clothes. It comes in a regular detergent box. It's just borax. (Mix some of this borax with grape jelly and it's also a great insecticide to get rid of pi$$ ants when they invade your house.) "20 Mule Team" is just the brand name. Back in the 50's, 20 Mule Team Borax sponsored one of those tv western shows called "Tales of Wells Fargo" starring Dale Robertson (Robinson?). I remember it well!
Posted on 1/6/13 at 1:41 pm to DownshiftAndFloorIt
Ok just making sure I didn't have to set it out in the sun and let the stuff bake on or anything.
Posted on 1/6/13 at 1:53 pm to Slickback
quote:
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.
Nothing more that I'm aware of. But, dental tools are wonderful tools to have to clean out those little cracks and crevasses. If you know someone who is a dental assistant or dental hygienist, they have to buy new dental cleaning tools about every year and they throw away the old ones. For taxidermy work, these dental tools are almost indispensable.
Posted on 1/6/13 at 1:57 pm to FelicianaTigerfan
I don't remember exactly. I haven't done one in a while. Peroxide based stuff works better than bleach though because it doesn't make the skull "chalky" like bleach does.
Posted on 1/6/13 at 1:57 pm to Slickback
quote:
nything else you can use in the water to help the tissue and stuff come off that I may have around the house or barn.
Nothing more that I'm aware of. But, dental tools are wonderful tools to have to clean out those little cracks and crevasses. If you know someone who is a dental assistant or dental hygienist, they have to buy new dental cleaning tools about every year and they throw away the old ones. For taxidermy work, these dental tools are almost indispensable.
This post was edited on 1/6/13 at 1:58 pm
Posted on 1/6/13 at 2:05 pm to BFIV
quote:yup,,, the country foaks used to use 20 Mule Team Borax to kill cocker roaches...
(I bet Ole Geauxt knows what it is, too.
not that it matters, but i just don't like skull mounts,,, ive tried to, just can't...
Posted on 1/6/13 at 2:07 pm to Ole Geauxt
I know a couple of people who don't like em.
I personally think they look very good on cypress driftwood. I have one on a storebought plaque that doesn't impress me too much though.
I personally think they look very good on cypress driftwood. I have one on a storebought plaque that doesn't impress me too much though.
Posted on 1/6/13 at 2:11 pm to DownshiftAndFloorIt
quote:
I personally think they look very good on cypress driftwood. I have one on a storebought plaque that doesn't impress me too much though.
I agree. They also look good on a piece of old, weathered locust fence post. Just my opinion, though.
Posted on 1/6/13 at 2:33 pm to BFIV
I like em, and feel it gives s little more to the mount than just putting the antlers on a plaque. This buck wasn't quite mountable, but a damn good one for where I killed it.
Posted on 1/6/13 at 2:54 pm to Slickback
Scrape off what you can. Wire skull to a cinder block and throw in a ant pile. Leave for a few days. Check and ensure that everything is gone and clean. Wash. Use dark brown shoe polish on horns and bleach on the skull. Nail to a piece of wood. It gives it a different and rich look.
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