help with european mount
 

hey i'm plannin on doin a european mount (skull and antlers) mount with my buck i shot last saturday. Has anybody done this? how do i go about doing this, or what are the steps to doing this? any tips?

RE: help with european mount
 

skin the skull and and cut off as much meat as you can. Boil the skull/antlers for serveral hours until all the meat begins to fall off the bone. cut the rest off and take a water hose and "blow the brains" out of the inside of the skull. Clean and boil until the skull is almost completely clean. Then soak in a mix of bleach and water. I used a 50/50 mix and keep a close eye on it. The bleach will eat away any remaining meat and tissue as well as whiten the skull. Be careful not to let the antlers touch the bleach as it will whiten them as well. soak the skull for short periods of time. Check often to see if it is white enough for you, and that it's clean. if you soak it to long the entire thing can become britttle and weak. The nasal cavity will crumble some no matter what you do, so don't worry about that to much. Done right they look great and are a nice in between measure for deer not big enough to mount, but deserving of more than just cuttting off the antlers.

RE: help with european mount
 

congrats on your buck.....:)
i dont like the bleach water thing at all, your head could slip and the antlers could get bleached too....i use powdered bleach , mixed with peroxide, all can be purchased at a beauty supply store....follow mixing directions and then i paint it on and leave it for 24 hours at least, i put mine in a platic bag when i can , helps activate it .......i have done a bear's skull for work, cow skulls, pig skulls, and of course my first buck......i heard you can put it in the oven to help dry it out, but i havent tried that one yet....i just use a blow dryer if needed.......dont leave them oils in it......good luck...just take your time and dont rush it...it also has had no effect on the nasal cavities, that 's a plus ove r the bleach water too.......

RE: help with european mount
 

Two things to remember. Never boil, simmer at the very most. Boiling will cause all sorts of problems. Also, never use bleach, diluted or not. It can cause flaking eventually. If you can't get 40% peroxide, use regular 3% and let it sit covered for about a week. To get around the pedicles, wrap soaked rags around them.

RE: help with european mount
 

another good way to get skin and meat off the head is ants, little bastards are good for something i guess

RE: help with european mount
 

Like other have said only tips I can add are:

I use a flat head srew driver to remove the hair around the pedicles.
Wrap the bases of the antler and up in tin foil to protect from steam, heat and whitening solution.
I use a pair of needle nose pliers to remove the cartlidge in the nose(just push and pull) & before I boil I use a 6" nail in the brain stem to mush and loosen the brain, this will cause the brain to boil out during the cook/meat removal phase.
I use a boning knife (but a fillet knife will work to) to remove the eyes in tact, just cut around and pry lightely..it takes some time but it will come out in one piece.
To make things go quicker remove as much meat as possible!
Do this process outside!!!!!!! Not the best smelling task and if you have a wife or live in you may never have the same relationship again--doesn't really create a mood a women likes;)

BTW, I just tried the powder bleach/peroxide 40% solution on a bear skull and boy did that work well. I made a paste and left it sit for a 2 days...hosed it off and revealed a wonderful white product. I liked it so much that I have now found my new way to whiten the skulls, beats stringing up a harness to hold the antler out of the bleach solution! Thanks for the tip, I learnt on here.

RE: help with european mount
 

hey guys, thanks for the tips and the know-how. i'm plannin on gettin it done saturday...i'll post pics when i get it done :)