doveslayer

Harvested my first buck last year. Allright, it was only a forkhorn, but my first antlers. When we skinned it, we cut the scalp off with the antlers. It has been in my garage since then, with the fur still on it. I want to mount it on a plaque type thing. Is it a pain to do? I think I saw one somewhere that had leather covering the scalp with the antlers coming out. Do you have to remove the fur?
The two tines are about eight inches tall each. What is the best way to secure the scalp to the wood, since it is hollow?
Thanks, if anyone can help.

Tom Sp8

M.Magis

Yes, you need to remove all of the hair and anything else that isn' t bone. Since it' s been sitting for so long, you' ll have to soak it in water for a couple of days to loosen up the skin to remove it. Do this OUTSIDE, it won' t smell good. After all of the hair, skin, and large pieces of meat are removed, put some borax on it. Let that set for a week. After it' s all dried up, you need to remove all of the dried meat. The easiest way I' ve found is a Dremel with a small grinding bit. Grind away everything down to the bone. When your ready to attach it to something, pre-drill a couple of holes and just use wood screws.

WV Hunter

You' ve got your work cut out for you. Once the scalp fully dries hard...man is it tough to get off. It can be done, but it' s not much fun. You might just think about mounting it on a plaque as is.
As far as mounting it goes, if you get a skull mount kit, they usually have some sort of hardware with it. If you decide just to hang it up, or put it on a plaque as is, just drill a hole (or 2) and screw it on.

Russ otten

Check out Wallly World, or any department store with a large sporting goods Dept.They usually have the kits with all the necessary parts, (Labor not included , that' s your part.)
Russ

doveslayer

If I mount it as is, will it shed? Or worse, will it stink after a while?
Doesn' t seem to have any smell to it right now, but if does have a smell when in the house, the wife will have a cow...The inside cavity is hard as a rock right now
and the fur seems pretty well intact. Doesn' t really shed if I pull on the hair.
I looked at Walmart for a mounting kit as someone suggested to me a while ago, but didn' t see any at the time. I will look again when I can get out there.
Thanks again, guys.

bgcorn

soak it in salt water a while before you remove it. Then get you some mule team borax usually on washing powder isle at local grocery store. preserve it with borax then mount it.

mauser06

to me the kit was useless.....i have no idea in the world how anyone can get that goofyvelvet looking plastic cut nicely and have it flush on their.......i have mine on the board that came with it with out the goofy cove....imo its a waste of 15 bux or whatever it was....i will make my own that is real solid oak for probally a buck or 2 and a few quality hours of gluing boards and cutting it out and finishing it...i mean...the wood that came with it look ok....but htat goofy cover is imposible....i couldnt get it on..dad couldnt mom could.....we quit....i decided its fine without one...but all i did was drilled 2 holes and then screwed it.....drill the holes a hair or 2 bigger then the screws or you may end up cracking your bone......about getting the hair and hide off..id sayu soak it in water for a while then try to cut it off....then you can use peroxide to get the bone white....but dont let it touch the anters it will turn them white too.....next time do it as soon as you can....good luck......

WV Hunter

Doveslayer
If it is dry, since last season..it' s done. It won' t change now. You don' t have to worry about it stinking. Just drill a hole in it and screw it on whatever you want. I really wouldn' t waste my time trying to get the hide off now. It can be done, but it ain' t fun. You can make a nice little plaque out of oak or walnut for basically nothing, if you want.
For future reference, when you initially cut the skull cap off, that' s when you want to remove the hide. Or if you want to leave it on, soak it in salt water for a day or two, clean out everything from the inside so the skull is clean, and then let it dry. I also make sure that any meat is trimmed off the best I can(shouldn' t be much), then salted down so it will dry out good. That will preserve it plenty. At our cabin, we' ve probably got 50 just like that with the fur on, some as old as 15years...and they are still fine. They look good without the fur as well, personal preference. Good luck...and go out there this year and get a bigger one so you can test out all this new info.

Russ otten

I had sopme skins tanned and after making some vest from them had a lot of scraps left over. those scraps worked just fine (even if there were some wrinkles in it. I also cut out my board and, with a router, dressed it up some. Worked just fine.
Russ

huntnma

this was my first buck....10 inch tines.....i redid him and took the shiney look off of him...thought it would look better , but after reviews came back, i was told it wasn' t needin' the shine,lol.............you should be proud of your harvest he stunk to heaven above, but i boiled him and then i got some powered bleach and peroxide and whitened him up, while he was doing that i went and cut me a piece of cedar...the tree was already down, so i took advantage of it years from now your cowhorn will stand there next to an 8 pointer and you' ll be just as happy