Bow Hunter Brandon

I have the antlers off the first deer I shot but thats it. They have been laying in the garage at my parents house for years. I was wondering if anyone had any idea's of an inexspensive mount for them. Can I just buy a kit a Wally World and screw them to it?


"Born to Hunt Forced To Work"

cardeer

Brandon, probably the wally world kit is the cheapest way to go.But the last time I tried to mount anything it cost me thousands in chikd support.

kodiakhuntmaster

LMAO,

The wally world mount is fine. I just find them ugly.

"Hey ya'll, watch this"

Noleball

Rather than getting the wal-Mart kit, I believe cabela's has a kit that is a little better. Also, you can go to the Wasco website which is taxidermy.com I think and check out what they have. They did have a nice little kit that looked pretty good and it was inexpensive.

wimp

The bought plaques are nice, but if you feel like a do-it-yourself deal, you can grab a piece of wood, cut to size and desired shape. Stain it up. Cover the skull cap with wood putty, sand and paint/stain if so desired and screw together. Just some options to think about.

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nhten

Lohman's make a pretty good mount kit for antlers,Id look at them too.

6ptsika

We do like wimp says, but we had a bunch of hides tanned without the skin years ago, we wrap the wood putty in that, it really looks nice.
One thing I want to try, is a skull mount, but sawed flat so it sits upright on a table. Put some lead inside the brain cavity, so it balances upright, or mount it on a round plaque, and just set it on the end table. Looks really nice like that.

"In heaven, even the fish have antlers"

HAWKEYES

I do mine something like what lazyarcher does his. I started doing them for others as a part time hobby. I charge $15 for the antlers mounted without a plaque and $25 for a mount with a nice oak plaque. I make the plaques myself. I cut a piece of plywood into a circle. I use the lid for a quart pitcher as a template for most antlers comming off a deer 1 1/2 years-3 1/2 years depending on the skull size. Screw the skull onto the piece of plywood towards the top with 2 drywall screws. If the screws stick out the back cut them off with a dremmel or hacksaw so they are flush. Now I place them on a piece of cardboard and mix up my plaster of paris so it is not too thin and yet not real pastey. I get the plaster from Shopko-a store I can't stand and it is the only thing I buy from there- for $2.99 and one tub will be enough for about 3 mounts. I use about 14 heaping tablespoons of plaster per mount. After I get the plaster on and shaped the way I want it I set it where the kids are not going to get into it and let it dry for 2-3 days. After it is dry I peal off the cardboard backing and begin to shape the plaster with a file/rasp. Once it is to shape, I take a wire brush and brush the rack to remove all the plaster dust from the antlers. Try to be careful around the base of the antlers to not take the bark out of the burr if it has any, as I like to leave it in there. If you are cleaning up around the burr you can get it pretty good with Q-Tips and water. After the antlers are clean I spray them with a clear coat to give them a very nice shine. Now I am ready to put the cover material on. I first put cotton batting on with a hot glue gun. Start with a piece that is about 10 inches square. Place it on the mount so it is centered. With a good pair of scissors, press the material into the base of the antlers to outline them. Now cut a circle out of the material about the size of the pedicle. Cut a straight line up to open the material so you can open it up and start to secure it to the back of the board. Hot glue the cotton batting to the edge of the wood on the left side (as you are looking at the antler side of the mount not the backing board) about a half inch long to hold it in place. Now wrap the material around the base so it fis up under the burr and secure to the backing. You will have extra meterial that will overlap the other side of the burr, leave it on for now as it will be needed to finish a seamless look. Now start to secure the rest of the material all the way around until you are about 1 1/2 inches from the other antler. Take it easy though and only glue down about 1-2 inches at a time. As you glue down a piece cut off the extra material tight to the glue. Now that you are at the other base or an inch or so from it, press the material into the base on this side like the first and cut a small hole in it to fit the pedicle on this side. You may have to cut some extra off the side as you will need to pull whatever slack you have up and back to not have any bumps and blemishes. You are going to cut a straight line on this side as you did for the start of the mount to open the material to go around the antler. Finish securing the material around the base until it is about in the midde of the antler when viewd from the back, this will ensure you a seamless look on your finished mount. Now finish this stage of the mount by securing the top piece between the antlers by pullng the material under the base and securing the rest of the material to the backing and cutting off all excess. That is the first step. Now repeat the entire process with a colored felt, I like red or green, and have even mounted a few with brown. If you do not like the looks of how you finished around the bases of the antlers, you can cut some of the finishing felt, top layer, and make a braid and secure that around the bases to hide any goof ups you may have done. If you are going to put a braid around the bases, use 3 pieces of felt that are no more than a quarter inch wide to make your braid. This sounds like a lot to do but in reality it only takes a few hours and you have a mount to be proud of for years to come and the satisfaction of knowing you did it yourself. Hope this helps anyone who is wanting to mount their own antlers. Good luck and happy hunting.

LIVE TO HUNT,HUNT TO LIVE.