DIY European Mount



Rut2much

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Have 3 or 4 euros I've done inside and then some of these sheds and antlers that sat on the heads too long so I went the plastic skull route on a few and scuffed them up with sandpaper. If they ever make it inside the home I would maybe try to discolor them a little more but the dust is doing its job too.
 

Ruttin

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KDM and pop’s beetles did a great job on mine.
I've had them boiled and beetled....beetleing is hands down my choice. Just dropped six skulls off for KDM to do. 100% satisfied with his work.
 

jr2280

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I tried the maceration process on my bow buck this year. Worked very well with all nasal cavities intact. Next to no work. Takes time and a little difficult to do now in the cold weather, but I will do it again. Took about 3 weeks in September/October then another two for degreasing. I am going to do my friends buck this spring when it warms up again. If in a hurry it’s not the answer. The pic is before degreasing.
 

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Flatrock

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I do it VERY similar to Shockwave. One difference is that I use a sous vide machine to do the boil part, except I don't boil it. I just let the sous vide machine keep it at about 160 degrees for about 24 hours. Pretty much ALL of the meat and tissue literally falls off the skull. These 2 pics are of 2 antelope I did and this is straight out of the tub. No picking or messing around with getting meat off. Most of the tissue inside the nasal cavity just falls right out. Super slick.

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GSP

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I had Cody Gustafson in Mandan do mine. Let me know if you want his contact info. $75 dollars, and he does everything for that price. Well worth the cash to have him do it, and he does a great job
 

5575

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I did a couple for the kids yesterday.
Was tired of messing with propane so I tried two new ideas and they both worked great. A plastic bucket heater and an electric burner.
I never boil my skulls just simmer/cook in an oxiclean borax mix and clean. Pressure wash and repeat a couple times.
Then simmer them in peroxide and done.
Price of taxidermy is getting ridiculous, even the shitty ones around here are charging 700. Starting to price allot of folks right out of the market. Saved $1500 bucks, doing these euros myself! :;:thumbsup

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CWS

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ive done a couple, its really easy and fun. what I did tho was after I shot the deer I took the hide, eye balls, lower jaw and tongue out. Then wired it to the chimney on my garage and let it sit there all winter, then come spring the bugs will have ate most of the meat and brain matter. I then boiled it with some dish soap, after it boiled for a while I took it out and peeled off anything that didn't boil off and cleaned it a little with a brush, and repeat that step until all the "stuff" is off the skull. Then let it dry and apply the powder whitener until it was at a point where it was white enough for my liking.
 


Bullsnake

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everytime i boil/simmer mine it gets a blackish in color, haven't figured out why, straight water with dish soap
 

KDM

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everytime i boil/simmer mine it gets a blackish in color, haven't figured out why, straight water with dish soap

Let me guess....green colored dish soap, ie Dawn. The blackish color is probably the green dye used in the dish soap. We use the clearest dish soap we can get. Usually an off brand. Then, DON'T boil the water if you can help it. Boiling tends to make the soup of soap, fat, lipids, blood, and whatever is in the water, stain the bone. I think it causes the fats, blood, and lipids in the skull to "cook" into the bone instead of emulsify and come out of the bone and into the water. We keep the water at around 190-200 tops when the skulls come out of the beetles. Hope this helps.
 

Flatrock

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everytime i boil/simmer mine it gets a blackish in color, haven't figured out why, straight water with dish soap

With regards to what KDM said, I use the OxiClean that doesn't have any dyes or anything else in it and it has worked well. Also like he said, it's best not to actually boil it.
 


guywhofishes

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I just read that a lot of taxidermists use Liquid Gold Wood polish to add luster/shine to antlers.

Sounded like a great tip to me.
 

KDM

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I just read that a lot of taxidermists use Liquid Gold Wood polish to add luster/shine to antlers.

Sounded like a great tip to me.

It does make'em pop when you add that stuff. However, a problem can arise if you keep on using it. The antlers can end up looking "Plastic" if you get too much polish on'em as the base burrs end up filling in and the beams/tines get glassy looking. The bigger the antlers, the worse it can get. We tried some stuff on a couple of demo skulls and then spray painted one of'em white, just to see what the end product looked like. It lasted about 2 minutes and it went in the garbanjo. Looked like something bought from Toys R Us.
 

guywhofishes

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yep - I was thinking you have to wipe every bit of excess off after application

no different than furniture I suppose
 

PrairieGhost

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I use a half cup borax and a spoon of Dawn soap simmered for eight hours in a stainless pot. A good shake and the lower jaw drops off and the eyes fall out. All the meat falls off too. Then I put a loop in the end of a heavy wire and insert into my cordless drill. Push that into the skull through the spinal column access and stir the brain like a abortionist with a third trimester. Then that to shakes out. I put the skull in a 2 gallon zip lock and pour in three quarts of peroxide. I then put the bag in a battery box and cover with corn to take up space pushing the peroxide up to the level I want. Be careful not to touch the antlers. Usually the top of the skull protrudes slightly so I use a cloth to wick peroxide over the top of the skull.
 

espringers

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I don't understand the "hard boil" v "simmer" talk. Boiling water is boiling water and never gets much above 212 whether its a hard boil, rolling boil or simmer does it? As such, a boil is a boil. Get it there and keep it there long enough to break shit down so it is easily removed.
 


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