after i cap it?
 

ok i shot a big 3 pointer tonight and when i took it to the butchers i had them just cut the antlers off with part of the skull i call it capping but i wanted to explain what they did incase its a local term but ive never had one done before its my first buck but what should i do now to get rid of the hair and meat and all? stick it in an ant bed? or what im new to this so hopefully someone can help me out because as of now i have a chunk of deer head sitting on my desk in a bag thanks,sean

RE: after i cap it?
 

that's what we did with my first deer...it was a 6 point, and dad cut the antlers out of the skull with a piece of the skull connecting the two. I hung mine from a pole on a tin roofed carport that wasn't connected to the house. we hung it high enough where cats and neighbors dogs couldn't get it and it took a while, but the brain gook came off and the i took a wire brush and a flathead screwdriver and brushed/chiseled the majority of the hair off of the skull. We used an antler mountin kit from wally world and mounted it on that so nobody sees the tufts of hair left around the antlers

RE: after i cap it?
 

Hey Rusty,
Way to go on your first buck! I've found that the easiest thing to do is to get a sharp knife and some pliers. While the skin is still soft, cut all of the skin away from the antlers and get the blade underneath the skin, cutting as much skin as you can away from the skull. Next, pull off the skin and hair with your pliers. It could take 15 minutes or so, but do it while everything is still soft and it shouldn't be a problem. Good luck.

Jim

RE: after i cap it?
 

Thats the best thing to do if you want to preserve the horns natural color. If you leave it hanging up outside, the horns will get sun bleached. Cut the skin away from the skull cap and antlers. Then clean any meat or "brain gook" away from the skull cap. After all thats done you can put salt on the cap to dry it out. A little clear varnish on the antlers to keep the natural color and you should be ready for the mounting kit.

RE: after i cap it?
 

To add to what's been said so far, if you don't use one of the mounting kits after all the hide, hair and meat has been removed and the skull has dried out use a tooth brush to spread bleach on the skull. Be careful not to get any on the antlers. It may take a few times but the section of skull will be nice and white. This is the way I've done all of mine. I guess I'm to lazy to do the mount kit thing.

RE: after i cap it?
 

Maybe someone can back me up on this, but I have boiled the skull plate in water for about an hour or until the meat/and skin become loose and start pullin with a pliers. If you find some that doesn't come off, boil for a bit longer. It has worked well for me.

RE: after i cap it?
 

Ditto on the boiling, works very well - however, do it outside on a campstove - does tend to create an odd smell...

RE: after i cap it?
 

i got all the skin and most of the meat off today and i figured id try the salt trick first and see how it goes and i had a large bottle of sea salt ive been needing to get rid of so we`ll see how it goes thank ya`ll for the info it was definatly useful and alot better then my ingenious idea of sticking it in an ant bed. thanks,sean

RE: after i cap it?
 

I agree with those who said boil it, OUTSIDE.

RE: after i cap it?
 

Boil it definently. Then go with the toothbrush and bleach thing. your wife will appreciate knowing it is clean.