European mounts????
 

Can anyone give me instructions on how to do a european mount??? Any help would be great. Maybe there is a website I can go to.

RE: European mounts????
 

The first thing you have to do is get all the hair, eyes, brains and GOO out of the skull cavity. You can skin it out and boil the head, or just leave it to rot for a year. I am going to try and put some in the ground this year and see how that works out. I have used a bleach/water solution to get the skull white, just be carefull as bleach will damage the skull and make it brittle. make sure you don't get the horns in the bleach. about 50% of bleach water and soak for 15 min. Take it out and let it dry. It won't become white until it is fully dry. You can also use some white paint on the skull to get the exact color you want. I also think cabelas sells a kit to do the same thing. I think it goes for around 20 bucks, not sure though.

RE: European mounts????
 

Hello

Heres an interesting read on the subject:

http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/natresources/az1144.pdf#search='bleaching%20skulls'


I also order plaques for the mounts from Van Dykes, a taxidermy supply house that you should find easily on the net.

Good Luck
Dan

RE: European mounts????
 

So I guess ther isn't any websites that I can look at or is there

RE: European mounts????
 

after you do what 5 shot said. as soon as you remove the skull from the bleach place it in some arm and hammer baking soda and water solution this will neutralize the bleach and stop it from eating at the skull. i usaully inscribe my name date and location onto the space between the antlers with a drimal tool the use a permanent marker ink to fill it in. if you do get the bleach on the antlers the will turn white but a little oak wood stain will bring it back to color. Good luck hope it looks great.

RE: European mounts????
 

Bob!

I know a guy on the taxidermy forum name Godzilla who does european mount's and he usually has quite a bit of info there .Check out the taxi on this forum.

nubo

RE: European mounts????
 

Sorry Bob ,but I don't see that Godzilla has any post's on the forum ,but if you need his addy I can send it to you .But from what i can see 5 shot has given you some good info on it ,but yes there is a kit you can buy and it will tell you exactly what you need to do .I'd check at Bass Pro or Cabela's or a store similar to them for the kit's.

nubo

RE: European mounts????
 

There is amny ways to get a european mount. One of the fastest way to get the skin off is put the head in a trash bag and set it to the side.The flys will get on it and start to get magets gooing.After about 5 days take the head to the car wash. The car wash will take every bit of the skin and meat off.I have not tryed the car wash with fresh meat but it may take all the meat off with out the maggets.The car wash works very very good.

Boiling the skull is all so very bad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bo not use bleach!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Use 40% peroxide and Quick White / super-strength powder lightner.
Mix them togeather making a paste.Than put the paste on the skull. Put the paste on every where you want to be white.If you get any on the antlers just wash off.After puting paste allover the skull,place a trash bag over the skull and tap it there. Let the head set for 2 days.The paste should be totaly dry.Than wash all the crusty paste off.If the skull is not white enough redo what you have done.So far I have not had to do the whitening prosses 2 times.

RE: European mounts????
 

Thanx guys!!!!!!!!! I will try what you all have said.

RE: European mounts????
 

Send it to a person with Dermestide beetles. They will eat everything off and do not damage any bone( all the nasal bones are left in tact which is neat). I am sending my two off today.

RE: European mounts????
 

I skin the head out. Don't worry about the brain, eyes,or excess meat. Perfrom the following outside unless you want to take a long vacation. Use a turkey boiling pot and boil the head in water andone large box of kosher salt for about 5 hours.The anlters will make a nice hanger for the head and pretty much only submerge the skull. Remove the head, and while still hot you can remove the remaining meat, eyes and if desired, the nasal cartlidge. Use a metal coat hanger and a garden hose to remove the brains and any other leftovers.The head comes out nice and white with no loss of color to the antlers. Be careful not to boil the head to long or the facal bones and teeth will become loose and fall out.

RE: European mounts????
 

You all make it sound oh so easy...but is it really this easy...i've got a buck that i shot 2 days ago i would like to try this on....would it be easier for me just to spend the 75 bux and send it to someone else...or should i spend the 20 bux on a pot and just boil it in the back yard like some say?

RE: European mounts????
 

It can be time consuming and tedious as well as nasty and smelly. 75 bucks isn't that bad of a price. Check out skull taxidermy on the web. Just google skull taxidermy

RE: European mounts????
 

It cost me around $75 to send it off to the BEETLE MAN and have mine done. It's the only way to go....I have a buddy who put his Europeans in the same room with his other mounts and because he didn't get all the meat and gunk out of the small nasal cavities it invited some kind of mite or bug in that also got into his mounts and ruined some of them. With the beetles they get in their and get everthing out no problem...heres two recent ones I've had done and I'm going to send a few more off to him this year....

RE: European mounts????
 

I have a lot of demistid beatles that I use. About a year ago a bought a small amount of them, and now I have a million. It seems I always have something for them to clean, from Predator Skulls, to wild boar, to deer. They work great, and when comparing it to what I used to do by boiling, it is a lot easier. Boiling it isn't good for the rack or skull either. Plus, like others said, boiling it won't get everything out.

RE: European mounts????
 

Ok where can I get some of these beetles???? I would keep them around for just this type of use if I could find some to buy.

RE: European mounts????
 

There are a few places out there that sell them. Some places are expensive and will charge a ton, and others are pretty reasonable.

Here's one, which is pretty reasonable. They are also on ebay from time to time.

http://www.jillett.com/JillettPublications/booksellers/buyBeetles.shtml