European Mounts

[Stratosman]

Has anyone ever tried doing one of these, I have done a few and it turns out pretty neat, it sure is a mess and the process stinks to high heaven but looks cool on the wall! Just trying to figure out if anyone else has some different methods to try.

[B. Amish]

i like the european mounts also, i like them for the bucks that aren't quite big enough to do a head mount on. i think they look way better than just cutting off the antlers. i've tried it myself too, basically just boiling water and soaking the skull to get the crud off. i think taxidermists have special chemicals they use to make the process easier. i'd check an internet search for other options or if anyone sells kits for this type of thing

[TV BOY]

A friend of mine who now lives in Alaska has had a few moose heads mounted European style. That's something you don't see every day.

[BLACKJACK]

One advantage is that they'd last forever, most deer heads get crummy looking after awhile, the hair falls out, etc. but I don't know if I could get my wife to just hang a deer skull with horns on it in the house!

[Rip_Some_Lip]

I had one done on a nice buck I didnt want to headmount a couple of years ago. It turned out great. I had the bottom jaw left on it, I have seen some without it, but I liked it better with. I had it done for only $25 opposed to $300-$400 for a shoulder mount. I had it done in Nicollet from Dale Selby. Not sure if it is the same price today though.

[BDR]

I like the European mounts also. There are taxidermist that use some type of beetles to eat all the "meat" away.

One of these my dog pointed on while Grouse hunting. The other I got 2 years ago. The first was found completly cleaned by nature and not one rodent bite on it. The other I wrapped the antlers in wire mesh and set it in the weedy dirt by my garage and let the bugs do their thing. It took about 15 months to get totally cleaned.

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[LOGDOG]

I did my own last year on an outside fire in a cauldren. Wrapped the antlers with tin foil to keep the smoke off. Turned out great, just keep boilding and filleting meat off till down to the bone, had to use a hand made tool to get the brains out, etc. All the stink was outside. One trick, when you are all done let it soak in 100% bleach for about ten minutes, anything left on the skull flakes right off. (don't bleach the antlers tho!!!!) Next time I'm doing it on a propane burner outside to eliminate the smoke and also to keep that water boiling.

[dwag70]

I read somewhere a while ago that the Uof M had the bettles that get rid of the meat for ya I thought they used to do it for people for a small charge

[Borch]

Ant hills are another way to do it. Usually takes just a couple of months.

I have a friend who does this with his kids to road kill animals of all sizes.

Borch

[HOF#13]

I did this to one of the deer I shot a few years ago. At that time Cabela's had some products specifically for this. It came with some kind of chemical agent you put in the boiling water, a brush like tool to help clean the skull off, and it also came with hydrogen peroxide and some powder bleaching agent you mixed together and smeared all over the skull of get it nice and white. I think it was $18 and I did 3 skulls with it. They turned our great.

I think Cabela's got it from an Taxidermy buisness in Woonsocket, SD. I can't remember the name of the buisness off-hand.

Jason

[Stratosman]

Yeah, I have done about 5 or 6 and just finished the one from this year, the one trick I learned is to add about a cup if laundry detergent and a cup of dishsoap to the boiling water, it helps cut the grease and helps the meat detach from the bone, I don't think you're supposed to soak the skull in bleach because it will damage the bone and make it chalky, I soak mine in hydrogen peroxide for 24 hours and it turns out great.

[iffwalleyes]

My opinion on these are that they are ugly. I not a real big fan of putting a skull on the wall. All my horns I have mounted with velvet covering that looks the best to me. None of them look as nice as when you get one big enough to do a shoulder mount.

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Grip it and Rip it

IFFWalleyes
I Fish For Walleyes
iffwalleyes at yahoo.com

[LOWguy]

Couple other tricks you can do. 1: cut the skull with a saw from the end of the nose threw the eye sockets to the back of the skull. (did this to a bull elk with a chain saw) this alows the skull to lay tight to the wall. 2: to whiten use borax detergant. Pour a generous amount in enough water to cover the skull. This also preserves the skull and eliminates any odor.plus its cheap.