huge white tail buck

[redneck watchdog]

I went duck hunting with this man i am friends with. i go with him about once a year. after the hunt we were riding around looking at his place. he then took me to a truck and showed me some horns that he had found. he said the deer was killed by coyotes. he then gave the horns to me. i took them and they were scored. 209 1/8 cumulative inches. with 25 measurable points. the problem is he had left them sitting out in the sun for a couple months, and they are all white and sun bleached. does anyone know a way to get some color back in these horns.

ps i will post some pictures when i get home

 

[Tikkamike]

One time I was boiling/power washing a deer skull and accidentally powerwashed the bast of the horns on one side and cleaned the color off of them. You could take them out and get color back on them the way the deer did, or maybe ask this question on a taxidermy website. I would have the taxidermist do it while you are having him mount them suckers... (you are going to mount them right?) your friend is very generous

 

[J E Custom]

I went duck hunting with this man i am friends with. i go with him about once a year. after the hunt we were riding around looking at his place. he then took me to a truck and showed me some horns that he had found. he said the deer was killed by coyotes. he then gave the horns to me. i took them and they were scored. 209 1/8 cumulative inches. with 25 measurable points. the problem is he had left them sitting out in the sun for a couple months, and they are all white and sun bleached. does anyone know a way to get some color back in these horns.

ps i will post some pictures when i get home

You can use an oil based stain and restore to the darkness you want.

The oil base will help condition the antlers.

J E CUSTOM

 

[redneck watchdog]

(you are going to mount them right?) your friend is very generous

yes he is very generous. when i go with him he insists that we stay at his mansion of a camp and use his trucks and atvs and guns, he is just a nice guy.

and no. im not going to have them mounted. i would not feel right about it. seeing as i did not kill the deer, but as respect for this animal i had to get him out of the sun

 

[Tikkamike]

a mount is just a display for antlers and a conversation piece. I dont see anything wrond with a plaqu or even a shoulder mount to display them. but to each his own....POST A PIC PLEASE!

 

[Broz]

I have restored many antlers that were bleached out from sun. If they are just white I can get them to look so good you would never know from a few feet away. The ones that are so far gone they are chalky and cracked or checked are better left white. If you try to color the chalky ones with stain it will go to a dark brown and look fake as crap. I have spent many hours getting this process down to an art. If the rack is that big I would be careful what you do. There are other methods to use in conjunction with stain. Post a pic of a close up and I will try to help. Or, maybe I would consider doing them for you. It is a process that takes time and if you are not careful you could easily spoil them.

Below is a little project I am working on now. Many of these antlers were faded to white on at least one side beacuse they are sheds I found. Can you tell where I worked them over?

Jeff

 

[Broz]

This antler was in very bad shape, but it was a great non-typical and I wanted to restore it. It was bright white. Look closely and you wull see the cracks from being in hot sun and drying completely out. Probably layed there two years or more.

Jeff

 

[HARPERC]

a mount is just a display for antlers and a conversation piece. I dont see anything wrond with a plaqu or even a shoulder mount to display them. but to each his own....POST A PIC PLEASE!

Agreed-I understand your concern about misrepresenting yourself, 200+ doesn't happen all that often, you'll not find this kind of generosity common either. I'm betting if you mount them on a plaque, and have a brass plaque engraved with the story you just told, your friend would be pleased to see you took his gift to the next level. I see it giving back all the way around. Just my thought.

 

[XMC]

I'm curious as to how you guys restored your racks, they look really good. I have an old muley rack in my living room crowning my safe that was my grandfathers; now it's no record setter but among all the racks and mounts I have from my own hunts his is still my favorite just cause it was his. I've thought about trying to restore them to the way it looked 61 years ago but not sure about it. I do like the plaque idea with the name plate and info on it.

 

[johnnyk]

I did it once with a big typical whitetail my ex-father-in-law gave me. It was about 30yrs old when I got it and it had been out in the top of his shed. It wasn't sun-bleached white but definately a lot lighter than normal.
I used a light coat of fruit wood stain to get the base color back and used additional coats to get the bases darker. I also created a few monster rubs on some big cedars that drove my hunting buddy crazy for a couple of weeks. Finally told him but what I had done but not until after I'd gotten a few laughs.
I got the head mounted once I found a cape big enough to do it justice. You just can't stick any ole' North Carolina deer cape on a Minnesota set of antlers. When I moved from N.C. to Wa. I sold it and another one to some guy. Figured he'd sell then to Cracker Barrel. Oh well, fun for a little while. Good luck. JohnnyK.

 

[MNbogboy]

Redneck,

If the antlers were mine, I would have them appraised and get them insured....You may have to research for an appraiser....There most likely are collectors out there that would pay premium dollars for a 200 inch whitetail may 5 or even 6 figures depending on the antler arrangement and condition....We have a taxidermist in the family and he sees information that others get fairly high dollars for "trophy" sized antlers a lot smaller than yours...Personally I would do my research before any restoration attempts....

Just my $.02 and I can't wait to see your pictures,
Randy