how do you european mount a antlered deer skull

[shootr mcgavvin]

can anyone give me directions


thanks,shootr

[buckseye]

First cut all meat and eyeballs, brain and such off and out. Then either bury it in the ground for the summer or boil it until all meat and residue falls off or is easily brushed off. Then you can dip it in a solution of chlorox bleach and dawn dishsoap for the final step. Good Luck....I'm not a pro. just a hillbilly

[coyote caller]

Yes, you can bury it in the ground and let mother nature take over, But then you have the problem of the antlers bleaching out on you. You can also use dermestid beetles to clean the skull which is the one of the safest and the way most of the professional skull and bone cleaners do it. You can also put the skull into a pot with sal soda which is Sodium Carbonate. After the water turn to a hard boil turn down the heat to a simmer, then place skull in this solution and simmer it for around 30 to 35 min. No longer. The sal soda will turn all the meat into a gel, which you then have to scrape off, again DO NOT let the antler get into this solution, it will bleach them white. You can also do whats called maceration. This is where you soak the skull in water and let the bacteria clean off the meat. Again soak the skull not the antlers. This is what alot of people say is the safest way to clean a skull next to beetles. But have a place where it will not bother people. Because believe me, it will stink to all heaven. And do not use laundry bleach to whiten the skull. Use 3% peroxide. You're also going to have to degrease the skull before you bleach it. Wash it skull in dawn dish soap, then soak it in mineral spirits, or acetone for around 15 to 20mins. this should degrease the skull for you. Then soak the skull in 3% peroxide for a couple hours, then set it out in the sun.

[Pro-Line]

Like Coyote said...DO NOT USE HOUSEHOLD BLEACH. It never stops eating, and will eventually weaken your mount to the point of deterioration.

Been there, done that.

[sdeshazo]

I did a really good job on a 7 point I killed last year & all I did was skin out as much as i could & then boil the head (not the antlers) in a big pot (not one of your wifes favorites) with salt & dawn dish soap until I could take the garden hose & spray out all the other stuff. Let it dry & repeat until clean, then wipe with perxiodie (sp) & let dry. Mine came out looking better than my buddy who paid 250.00 to have his done.

[skeeter 7MM]

The easiest is a fresh harvest, cape out the skull, remove eyeball/socket and as much meat as possible with the knife. Then boil in a large pot with salt and dish soap. Interminently I will pull it out scrap off or hose off meat loosened, then continue till it is clean. After it boils for awhile I use a arrow shaft and via the brain stem start breaking up the brain, most boils out and after finished the rest will come out with the garden hose or in the bath tub if to cold(like here). The peroxide 3% solution seems to be the best for me as well for whitening, I have set in or draped the skull in cotton batton, then place the peroxide solution in a foil pan and left for a couple of days(with this method the cotton will slowly soak up the solution and it seems to work very well). Remove the cotton, light rinse and let dry. As mentioned do outdoors and never use the wifes stock pot. A hot plate, camp stove, BBQ or the bottom of a turkey fryer will all work to boil off the skull cap. Also make sure not to get the antler in any part of this process. To help aid in keeping them from even the slightest touch during the process I will rap them securely in alum. foil, after the entire process I remove the foil.

If an older kill then the beetles or natural is the best for a truly white skull cap, to prevent the antlers from bleeching simply wrap them in a black garbage bag and bury the skull in the ground.

FYI, here is a method that Angus posted last year in the deer hunting forum for whitening of the skull.

Go to a beauty supply store, and buy a product called Basic White, it is a powdered bleach, and buy some 40 volume peroxide, it is a very concentrated form of peroxide. Mix these two together until you have a thick paste and brush on the skull being careful not to get it on the antlers. Let it sit for a couple days and hose it off, it works great. It will probably cost you about 10.00 for these but you can do 5 or 6 skulls with it.