Any suggestions on an easier way of getting the meat off the skull of a deer other than cooking it for hours and hours? I know cooking it too long can damage the bone. Is there a chemical that would do the trick without damaging the bone?

the butcher cut my rack out of the skull and today i skinned it with a knife and soaked it in water that i boiled and then got what i could off with a knife and pliers then resoaked..it took a long time...stunk terribly...but it clean and i know it wont break down or anything..i was scared of boiling it too thats why i did it that way...some people tie it up in a tree for a long while and let bigs and such eat it and let it rot out...i dont like that and i dont like the white rack look that they get unless my racks are already like that...ive heard of putting it on an ant hill or in a tank with a bunch of maggots..i think i might try the maggots next year...skinning it was way to hard and the smell of it is gross..i think the water cooked the skin and brains and stuff...good luck..

The only easy way is to have an experienced taxidermist do it. The fastest way to do it yourself would be to simmer it slowly, taking it out occasionally to pick off the meat until it is clean. Your right, boiling can damage the bone strucure. Do this OUTSIDE! There is no chemical to remove the meat, though adding some washing soda while simmering will help break down the meat and fat some. You can also soak the skull in a container of water, seal it, and let soak for a couple of weeks in the warmer months. Take it out and spray off as much meat as possible using a garden hose. Place the skull back into some fresh water and repeat the process until clean. I would not recommend this method unless you have a very strong stomach and understanding neighbors. After a couple of skulls, I started understanding why taxidemists charge what they do for a European mount.

Caught an eposide of something or other about bugs on the Discovery channel a while back. They had a segment on curators putting bones in containers with beetles (at least I think it was beetles). Anyway, most of the meat was already gone, the bugs too care of the rest over a couple month time frame. I've got no idea where you could get them. Internet search might turn up something.

Put it in a cage (so critters can't carry it away) and put the cage on an ant pile. Or bury it in the ground up to the antlers.It will break down/rot away better. Works best in a garden or flower bed. Ants work faster though. Less stinky than boiling. Hope it turns out good.

"Hey ya'll, watch this"

There is a taxidermist wholesale house that sells the beattles.I dont remember the name.But if you search the web for taxidermist supplies you will find it. That is the easist way. I boiled mine outside on the grill,lots of work.Then I soaked it in a clorox and water mixture to turn the skull snow white.The one i did is at>
http://community.webshots.com/user/midnight250
Click on muzzy and it is there amongst those pics.

Between MATT/PA and myself we have done about ten of these things. We boiled everyone. Theree are beetles. Taxidermist charge anywhere from 250100 dollars to but them with the bugs. The key is to monitor and pick. After the first couple hours check it and pick the meat as you go. It is a pain but they are cool when they are done. I made pedastal mounts for mine that sit on my computer desk. They make neat nic-naks <img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>There is a powder, I forget the name, that you can use to help clean them up when you are done so you do not have to use clorox. I heared about it when I was talking to the taxidermist that is doing my buck. He ordered some for me. If I get the name of it I will post it for you.

LIFE MEMBER: United Bowhunters of PA. &gt;&gt;------&gt; (x)

Edited by - kidd642 on 12/06/2002 10:13:44

Hang on guys.....there is an easier way. My brother does skull mounts for his family and some of our friends all the time. He's working on my buddies deer right now. He uses a chemical that he buys from a taxidermist supply catalog. I think the product is called &quot;sol-soda&quot; or something similar. If anyone is interested I can get the name of the stuff and where he buys it.

Anyway, skins the head and puts this chemical in a pot of boiling water and boils the skull for 30 minutes. Any longer and the skull starts to fall apart he says. The meat just falls off the bone. It still requires a few hours of picking the meat off and cleaning it up good but when he's done it looks great. Then he bleaches the skull snow white with peroxide and applies a fungicide spray on it to keep it clean.

I'll find out more info if anyone is intersted.

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Hunting the Piney Woods of Deep East Texas.