Euro mounts

[Blackdirt Cowboy]

I finally got around to finishing up the euro mounts on a few of the deer my kids shot off of my place this year. They're by no means professional, but I think they'll do.

 

[joseph singleton]

Great job,,there,,

 

[Briant_az]

They look good.
how did you go about cleaning them?

 

[Blackdirt Cowboy]

I simmered them in water with dawn soap for about an hour and a half. Then I pressure washed them to knock all the junk off of them. After that, I soaked them in warm water with dawn soap to draw all the grease out of them. Then I bleached them and stained the antlers. I normally don't stain the antlers, but I left these laying too long and they were extremely sun bleached. A light coat of stain brought the color back to them nicely.

 

[jimss]

Wow those are some amazing bucks and a great job with the euros!

I really don't like to post negative comments but thought I might provide some additional comments that may save some problems you may have with bugs in the future. I think this is especially important since I see you possibly live in TX. There likely are a lot of bugs in your area that you don't want to get into your skulls and other mounts. I always make a point of soaking my skulls in dawn PLUS borax. The borax will likely help keep bugs off them! A box of Muletrain borax is super cheap insurance! I also noticed that you left the septum in the noses. That is an area where it's next to impossible to remove all the material that bugs may feed on unless you remove the entire septum area. It is actually pretty easy to remove the entire septum area with needle nosed pliers after the skull has been soaking for a while. The only time this may not be a problem is if bugs are used to remove all the meat and other tissue on your skull.

Gorgeous bucks and great job on the skulls!

 

[Blackdirt Cowboy]

Thanks for the tips, Jim. I haven't heard about using borax in the mix. I'll have to give it a shot. I usually do remove all that junk in the nasal cavity, but I completely forgot to do it on these, but I liked the way it looked once I noticed it. I just called it a happy little accident. I'll keep an eye out for bugs getting in there, and if they do, I'll pull them out. Again, thanks for the comments.

 

[Briant_az]

I simmered them in water with dawn soap for about an hour and a half. Then I pressure washed them to knock all the junk off of them. After that, I soaked them in warm water with dawn soap to draw all the grease out of them. Then I bleached them and stained the antlers. I normally don't stain the antlers, but I left these laying too long and they were extremely sun bleached. A light coat of stain brought the color back to them nicely.

I used that method for many years and it works well. Maceration is also a really good way to clean skulls. I only use that for animals without antlers or horns though.
I didn't even notice the antlers were stained. Looks great!

 

[[email protected]]

I used that method for many years and it works well. Maceration is also a really good way to clean skulls. I only use that for animals without antlers or horns though.
I didn't even notice the antlers were stained. Looks great!

Looks great!!! What did you use to stain the antlers? They look really good and natural.

 

[Toecutter]

Agree with those above. Stained antlers almost always look terrible imho. Yours look great, well done!

 

[mdmiller]

Great job Blackdirt, may have to try that next year!
Both look good!

 

[patrickjr]

they look great, had you not said the antlers were stained, none of us would have known and that's saying something!!

I also tend to throw borax, dawn and some oxiclean laundry booster into the boil. Helps degrases and gives a head start on whitening. I then use the creme peroxide developer from Sally's

I find that I can preserve those outer sinus bones, while still removing everything within. In AZ and no bugs in the skulls we've cut open for mounting later on

 

[Toecutter]

Forgot to mention arm and hammer soda wash. Supposed to be a homebrew substitute for something the taxidermists use called sal soda. Cut down my boil time by half. Just need to be careful not to leave in too long as it supposedly leaches the Ca from the bone, which can make it brittle.
Again, great job.

 

[Blackdirt Cowboy]

Looks great!!! What did you use to stain the antlers? They look really good and natural.

I used some minwax diluted 50/50 with mineral spirits.

 

[[email protected]]

I used some minwax diluted 50/50 with mineral spirits.

Yes I've used that before what shade was the color you used. And I'd say if you want them lighter or darker just adjust the ratio of stain to mineral spirits. Thanks