Hi All,
Its a long story, but after an explosive head shot I took teh antlers only of a 5x5 Red Deer. I want to mount them because they are a nice set. Before I start drilling holes to put pins in the base or something does anyone have a how-to-do-it guide for antlers only mounts on wall plaques.

Thanks

There are some great ideas & tip at this link, scroll down for more information, good luck Doc

http://www.taxidermy.com/cat/12/european.html

Doc,
I don't have the skull. It got shot rather badly. All I have are two very nice antlers.

About all You can do is maybe screw the Antlers to a Wood Plaque to secure them and display them?Some Plaques have a wood back and a raised second base that slightly leans about 45 degrees for mounting.There are also Kits You can buy that covers the Antlers with leather material in case the Antlers are seperated and need to be attached some what....then there's the Metal Skull Heads that You attach the Antlers to and hang it on the wall also.


Do You at least have the top Skull plate that joins the Antlers together showing the true spread and angle of the Antlers as they originally were on the Skull...?If so most Taxidermist can fix You up with a Base and mount the Antlers.

In 2008 and 2009 I had several trail camera pictures of a very nice 8-Point Buck that bloomed into a very nice mature 10-Point Buck in the Fall Season 2009 of Bow Hunting and thru Rifle Season,I didn't see him any more after Rifle Season was over the 11 days of that sequence and I started back up Bow Hunting thru the latter part of Nov.,Dec and Jan of 2010.To shortner the Story I started Shed Hunting late Jan and into Feb when one day I was walking thru our Woods and I found the 10-Point Buck dead...it looked like He was wounded during the Nov Rifle Season and laid there in our Woods Nov,Dec Jan and up to Feb 18 when I found the Skeleton with a little hair on 2 legs and part of his head everything else was picked clean by Coyotes and scavengers.

I called the Local Game Warden to tell him what I found and to get a Reciept/Permit then I took the Head/Antlers to my local Taxidermist and he provided me with a new Cape (Deer Skin) from a different Buck and did a Shoulder Mount for me of the Buck and brought him back to his previous Glory!So a good Taxidermist can save a nice Animal and repair it or Re-Cape it and You won't loose a nice Trophy if You choose to go that route?


Most Taxidermist don't even use the same head of the Deer or Animal You shoot,they simply cut off a section of the Skull Plate and cut it in to a Styrofoam Form of the same Animal,plaster the Antlers on and take the hide off Your Animal and have it Tanned/Stretched and sew it back on around the Form...paint the nose,pop in some glass eyes and Your good to go!

Here is what you will want to do a nice job mounting those antlers just like they were sheds. I put together a nice matching 6x6 elk and they're pretty easy to use and may be the ones you will want. It's called a SHEDEK connector and it worked great. Click on this think in VanDykes taxidermy catalog:

http://www.vandykestaxidermy.com/Sea...d%20connectors