mauser06

if i am ever lucky enough to take a buck i would like to have the whole skull antlers and all on my wall..whats the best way to get the skull white and clean?? thanx alot

Deerhugger11

I think i recall boiling it and then hydrogen peroxide makes it VERY white...Correct?

nodose

no...absolutely do not boil it. just type "preserving skulls" in your browser search bar....i just typed that and found a bunch of stuff on cleaning and preserving skulls. also if you're a buckmasters member one of this years issues has an article in it about some guy that has a skull cleaning business and he uses some kinda special beetle to clean them. if i run accross the issue ill let you know or if there's a website for the guy ill do the same....but do not boil it..ive done that before and its a mess and is very ineffective.

Deerhugger11

oops, <img src=icon_smile_blush.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_clown.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_blush.gif border=0 align=middle> sorry about that. That is what I've heard and none replied yet.

DON'T BOIL IT!

Hydrogen Peroxide should get it really white though...

Tazman

Well I have never done it before, but the twins insisted I keep the skull on a buck I killed last year. I simply hung it in a tree high enough to where no critters can get to it. It is bleaching quite well but still has a good bit of fur left to rot off the side of the head. I will let you know how it turns out, it has been hung for a year as of now, I would guess by spring it should be done.

The Tazman aka Martin Price
Founder and President of
Virginia Disabled Outdoorsmen Club

kodiakhuntmaster

What I do is get all the hide and meat off I can. Then I get a cage that I can stake down on or beside an ant mound. Put the skull in the cage and the ants will do all the dirty work for you, it takes less time than you would think.The last one I did like this took about 5 days. Then you can dip the skull in bleach, just leave the antlers out or they will bleach too. It seems to go faster when the bleach is placed in the sunlight. Anyway the skull should be white in about a week or so. Then wash it off real good to get that bleachy smell off it. Make sure you use the cage or critters will steal your skull and you'll never find it again. If it isn't staked down coons can come and open the cage.

&quot;Hey ya'll, watch this&quot;

mauser06

maybe i will hang it until i see an ant mound(definently too cold this time of year) and then do that...my friends dad used to hang his in trees...it would take forever...i think i will skin mine first so i can have it on the wall faster! thanx alot guys

strut

Deerhugger, I'm just like you, boiling them is the only way I have ever heard of anyone doing it.

THE NRA, WHERE WOULD YOU AS A GUN-OWNER BE WITHOUT THEM.
GUN-OWNERS, UNITED WE STAND DIVIDED WE FALL.

wimp

There is nothing wrong with boiling the skull at all. I have done my last 2 buck this way. You boil it and add a little soda ash to help remove and cut the greasy tissues. Don't sit it in there for hours or it will fall apart, go for 10-15 minutes and pick stuff off. Be VERY careful with bleach, it can start eating the skull away, use very dilute solution if you do. Sometimes just boiling and setting in the sun will make it white enough, other times you will need to whiten it. Peroxide from a beauty salon works for this.

One last thing, DO NOT do this indoors, it stinks like crazy, even boiling a fresh skull. What I do is boil the water on the stove then keep it boiling out on the grill.

nodose

this seems to be the most informative site i found on the web....

http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/natresources/az1144.pdf