UgashikBob
New member
I have a set of moose horns with the upper skull attached that I would like to make an European mount. I can handle the cleaning part but any ideas on how to boil the skull when you have 5 1/2 feet of horns attached?
How to do a Skull.
- Thread starter crapshoot
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Guido
New member
Bob, you'd have to make some type of brace to hold the antlers out of the water. I've done about 50 Roe deer and 10 Hirsch (Red Stag) and countless foxes and badgers when I was hunting in Germany for the past 5 years or so. I made a little vise on a flexible piece of metal pipe from a desk lamp to keep the horns out of the water. Of course a set of roe deer antlers fit in the palm of your hand and don't weigh a thing, so its a lot different, but the principle is the same.
There was a commercial powder available at the hunting sops in Germany used to do this....we cut out all the other steps there and go straight to the boiling with this stuff in there and it strips the flesh right off the skull. They also say use a little dish detergent while boiling cause it cuts the oils from the skin and meat.
Anytime we hit the antlers with the whitener by accident we would touch them up with a mix of brown and black shoe polish and you can get the shade to match just right.
Another trick for "bleaching" the skull when it has antlers or horns, whatever chemical you use is this.....
Set the skull in a baking tray with inch or two high sides. Wrap the skull inside and out with those cotton sheets (like cotton balls but rectangular) and attatch them tightly with rubber bands. Now soak the cotton in whatever you were going to use and it holds it the skull without getting it on the antlers.
Once you do this a few times, you'll find a good way to do it. I go staright to the boiling to loosen up (shrink) all the meat and flesh away from the skull and then use a screwdriver and a needle nose pliers and a good sharp knife to cut everything away from the skull and get it out of all the cavities.
Good Luck!
There was a commercial powder available at the hunting sops in Germany used to do this....we cut out all the other steps there and go straight to the boiling with this stuff in there and it strips the flesh right off the skull. They also say use a little dish detergent while boiling cause it cuts the oils from the skin and meat.
Anytime we hit the antlers with the whitener by accident we would touch them up with a mix of brown and black shoe polish and you can get the shade to match just right.
Another trick for "bleaching" the skull when it has antlers or horns, whatever chemical you use is this.....
Set the skull in a baking tray with inch or two high sides. Wrap the skull inside and out with those cotton sheets (like cotton balls but rectangular) and attatch them tightly with rubber bands. Now soak the cotton in whatever you were going to use and it holds it the skull without getting it on the antlers.
Once you do this a few times, you'll find a good way to do it. I go staright to the boiling to loosen up (shrink) all the meat and flesh away from the skull and then use a screwdriver and a needle nose pliers and a good sharp knife to cut everything away from the skull and get it out of all the cavities.
Good Luck!
UgashikBob
New member
Guido:
Pretty much following your advise. I modified my trap boiling barrel to soak most of the skull in the water and use an old towel to wick water to the top of the skull. Waiting for the chemical you described to arrive from VanDykes so I can boil it. Everything is similair to what you describe but 5 and a half feet of horns makes it a challange.
PS: I spent time in the sandbox in the early 60s and the best part of it I remember was leaving.
Pretty much following your advise. I modified my trap boiling barrel to soak most of the skull in the water and use an old towel to wick water to the top of the skull. Waiting for the chemical you described to arrive from VanDykes so I can boil it. Everything is similair to what you describe but 5 and a half feet of horns makes it a challange.
PS: I spent time in the sandbox in the early 60s and the best part of it I remember was leaving.
UgashikBob
New member
Grinr:
The rack in the barrel was actually a meat bull that turned out a little larger than I originally guessed. I estimated him in the upper 50's but he actually taped 66 7/16. There was a small paddle bull with him that I really wanted but this guy ran him off and I couldn't find him.
Now if you want to talk big bulls the photo below is the bull my wife and I chased for 3 years and cost me two transmissions in my Argo. I had an 200 yard walking away shot that I never took. He got big by staying in a area no one could get to. He made the mistake of wandering about 18 miles south of us during the late season rut and the pay for view crowd got him. That distinctive curl in his right horn made him very easy to identify.
The rack in the barrel was actually a meat bull that turned out a little larger than I originally guessed. I estimated him in the upper 50's but he actually taped 66 7/16. There was a small paddle bull with him that I really wanted but this guy ran him off and I couldn't find him.
Now if you want to talk big bulls the photo below is the bull my wife and I chased for 3 years and cost me two transmissions in my Argo. I had an 200 yard walking away shot that I never took. He got big by staying in a area no one could get to. He made the mistake of wandering about 18 miles south of us during the late season rut and the pay for view crowd got him. That distinctive curl in his right horn made him very easy to identify.
UgashikBob
New member
For anyone interested I thought I would update my skull cleaning thing. Received my Sal Soda (Sodium Carbonate) from Van Dykes and mixed it 1/4 cup to the gallon with water. Kept it at a rolling boil for a little over an hour. Everything below the water line was bare bone except for some residual nose cartlidge. I kept an old towel on the top of the skull in hopes of wicking some of the water/sal soda mix up there. Didn't work but most of the remainder of the skull was easily cleaned with a sharpened spoon. Everything that was boiled off turned into a gell that almost looked like candle wax only smelled worse. Waiting on a source for 3% hydrogen peroxide to mix with the Magnesium Carbonate to bleach the skull.
EricMullen
New member
Just wanted to take a minute to thank crapshoot for posting these instructions for us. Thanks to you I have a coyote skull I'll be proud to display, even though it was a lot of work! Thanks again and I hope that you enjoy the pics.
Couldn't have done it without you.
Couldn't have done it without you.
I did 2 deer heads this year. I used a power washer [has to have a heater on it] to get all the meat ,eyes brain, and anthing else off that needs to be off. Then let it dry. Took hydrogen peroxide and brushed on all the skull. Kept adding peroxide untill it was white enough. One hour to wash and less than one hour to apply peroxide. Turned ou nice.
Navy_Gunner
New member
Here is a european mount I did for my wifes big buck (first buck if you can beleive it). I too had a problem with whitening the skull while boiling and bleaching. The bases of these horns were bright white when done boiling. I used Minwax red oak stain, brushed on with an acid brush, let it sit for a few minutes and wiped off the excess. I think it turned out exceptionally well. This deer had a reddish hue to the horns naturally so it was almost a perfect match to the color. I didnt want to go for the "bleached white" fakish look, but a more natural look to it. It has a bit of blackish/blueish area's on it and I think adds character. What do you think?
Here is a javalina skull I did last month. It had been in the freezer for a year or two, but I finally got it out and boiled it out and applied a little 40% peroxide.
I'm not sure what those javalinas had been eating, but it almost looked like silvery gold plating on their teeth.
I'm not sure what those javalinas had been eating, but it almost looked like silvery gold plating on their teeth.
