Anyone Ever Do A European Skull Mount Hunting Trophy?

[mayor al]

If I bring home the Bison this weekend I have arranged for the hide to be converted to a blanket/robe. However we don't have wall space in our home for a full-sized head or head and shouoder mount, so I am considering doing a DYI Skull Mount (like the old trail-markers on the pioneer trails out west). That takes cleaning, boiling and bleaching the head then attaching it to a mounting board or plate to then fix it to the wall.

There are a number of its available on the net...but I would appreciate any feedback on your experiences doing one of these mounts??? The process is the same for all skulls from Rabbit-Deer- Bear- Bison, so what animal yo did doesn't matter, but how it worked for you, or didn't, is what I need info about.

Thanks folks. I hope to go thru the feedback when I return from the hunt next week.
AL

 

[Throwsstones]

I've been doing these mounts for over 20 yrs now. My advise would be to boil it in water and then clean it. Don't try and get everything off the first go round. Let it cool and change your water and do it again. I'll do this usually 2-3 times. You don't want to boil it for to long at a time, because the bones will start to get soft and come apart. I made a template out of MDF and use a router to make my plaques for mounting. P.S. skin it first

 

[jbell_64]

The tips I have are: simmer don't boil, add a little borax to the water to cut the grease, go to a hair salon supply store and get the strongest cream developer hair peroxide they have. Once the skull is clean smear the hair dye cream all over it and wrap in plastic wrap and set it infront of a warm light or space heater for awhile. Clean off excess dye and repeat if not white enough for ya. There are TONS of videos on youtube. However, I've never done anything as big as a bison though.

 

[ghuns]

Flesh eating beetles? I don't personally own a pot big enough to boil a bison head. My brother took some deer heads to a guy who had beetles. He then applies super strength peroxide and puts them in a tanning bed. They come out crazy, neon, day-glo, blindingly white. The nice thing about the bugs is that even the most delicate, thin bone structures are still intact since no boiling and manual tissue removal is required.

 

[JeremiahJohnson]

Adding to jbell, I have a stainless steely pot and pancake griddle I bought from Wally World just for Euros. I've done quite a few. He's right, boiling takes a lot of experience and if you go too long you'll ruin the skull.

So, I too simmer. I picked my pot because a whitetail skull will fit in the water and the antlers hold the skull above the water. Simmering water won't hurt antlers, not sure about horns...shouldn't.

Here's what I do:

Skin the skull and get everything off you can. The more you get off in the cleaning, the less to take off later.
I set the skull in the pot with the horns/antlers holding the head - head in water - antlers/horns out of the water.
Add a box of arm and hammer baking soda to the water
Set the temperature to 200F and wait one day
Check every few hours to top the water off to the top of the skull

Day Two, remove the skull and clean what you can off the skull with a brush, your hands and running water (I use the outside spicket).

Day Three, do the same as Day Two and replace the water and baking soda and add some de-greasing dish soap (I use Dawn)

Day Four: Should be the last cleaning with everything gone inside and outside the skull. Lay the skull out to dry, clean all your gear and put it away.

I'm pretty close to jbell on the bleaching.

You can also add a coat of polyurathane, but I never do.

There are a number of artists that will paint or bead your skull - going to do that with my Cape Buffalo skull when it gets here from SA. Google Janna Waller - she does the Skullbound hunting/conservations show on the Sportsman Channel. She also does painting and beading. She's the one I'm sending mine to. Check out her website - lots of pictures.

 

[mayor al]

Thanks for the great info, guys. Keep adding as you think of anything.

1. Is the bleaching step necessary? Or will the boiled/ and completely cleaned skull hold it's natural grey/white color without bleaching? Is the bleach needed to kill any leftover bacteria? I have a large 15 gallon Aluminum Pot and a hot-plate that I plan to use. No plans for jeweling, beading, or other add-on decor at this time...However I am considering making two LED RED EYEs to insert, maybe using ping-pong balls for holders in the eye-sockets. The LED's work off a 9 volt battery.

12 hours til we leave... Sheesch, It's like my first ever hunting trip...I am jumpy as hell ! We are going to have a great time !

 

[Hookeye]

My buddy did mine, outside in a big pot. I never bleached it and I like it.

It's not super white, which I think makes them look like they're painted.................don't care for that look.
Maybe if my game room was stucco with dark beams........like my uncle's. There the bright white matches the walls and blends in, the skulls more decor than trophy.

 

[trophy hunter]

"THE" 5 hour European mount tutorial.

the way i do it..

 

[LUVn40]

I harvested my best buck ever last year and decided to do a European mount myself. I researched on-line and found the following:

How To – Prepare a European Skull Mount

For the hunter on a modest income the European skull mount, done tastefully, can preserve your trophy and memories in a low cost, classy manner. Whether you have the fortitude to do this in the house (both preparing and displaying) or not is between you and your significant other…

1) After harvest care – I usually bring my harvested critter’s head back and put it in the freezer in a trash bag until I get time to deal with it. Antler and horn size can be a problem and may dictate that you deal with the skull sooner rather than later. Letting it lay out is not good. Natural decomposition can begin to break down structures such as the bones surrounding the nose. When I know I’ll have time I lay it out to thaw and then get to work.

2) Remove skin and excess tissue – Using a sharp knife get as much of the tissue off as you can. If the skull is rather odiferous I’ll use a paper respirator with a few drops of vanilla or perfume to manage the gag reflex. I also like to wear rubber gloves while handling the skull.

3) Wrap antlers or horns – The water can change antler color and soften horns so use plastic bags and tape to wrap them. A stick tied across antlers and horns in the right location and rested against the pot rim will keep them out of the water.

3) Simmer the skull – Add one cup +or- of sal soda to a large pot of water. Sal soda is also known as Borax and available in the laundry soap section of your local everything store. Heat until the water is just at a simmer. I do this over a camp stove in the garage. Judicious use of heat is important. It is possible to boil the fat into the skull. This yellowish off-color can be nearly impossible to remove. After one hour of simmering remove the skull from the water and let cool. Then use a thin blade knife to remove as much of the remaining tissue as possible and to “scramble” the contents of the cranial cavity. A hook made from a coat hanger helps clean the cranial cavity. Use pliers to remove as much as possible inside the nasal cavity. Separate the jaws from the skull.

Change the water and be sure to add another cup +or- of sal soda. Simmer the skull for one hour longer. Remove and let cool. The majority of all remaining tissue should come off and out at this point. Some will require a little more elbow grease than others. If something really persists a hosing off with a high pressure hose at your local car wash will do the trick. However, I recommend timing your visit for their “off” hours. Also, be careful not to lose any teeth from the skull.

4) Degrease the skull – Put the skull in a plastic bucket or pan and cover with a sufficient quantity of household ammonia. As an alternative use a heavy mixture of dish detergent (Dawn) and water. Let soak at least 48 hours or longer for trouble-some grease spots. Sometimes, unfortunately, they just won’t come out, but in my experience this is more common with fatty critters like swine than leaner ones like deer. When ready rinse clean and allow the skull to dry thoroughly.

5) Bleaching the skull – Obtain 40 volume peroxide and (product name Basic White) from your local beauty supply (aka Sally). The smallest quantities for sale are enough to do multiple deer sized skulls. Some will say the 3% peroxide available at your local everything store is sufficient. I disagree and usually have too many irons in the fire to do something more than once. Note that the use of chlorine bleach will lead to later regret as it breaks down bone structure and eventually yellows. I remember a savvy lady lecturing me in my youth that I had, “killed the spirit,” of a particular batch of coyote skulls with bleach.

Mixing the 40 volume peroxide and fixer according to the package directions will result in a thick paste that can be applied with an old paint brush. Apply heavily in a location with sufficient ventilation. Allow to dry 24-48 hours. Rinse off. Once again, allow the skull to dry in the sun for at least 72 hours.

6) Remove any hair around antlers and horns – Sometimes there will be hair left at the base of antlers and horns. I use a small torch, moving quickly, to “trim” this hair off.

7) Seal – If desired, seal the skull. Currently I like to leave my skulls unfinished or unsealed. Just my preference. It can be dipped in a fifty-fifty mix of white glue (Elmer’s) or sprayed with a clear acrylic available in spray cans from your local everything store.

At this point you should have a beautiful, blindingly white skull ready to be displayed on a pedestal or plaque or displayed on a table. I’ve experimented with different woods for pedestal mounts and very much prefer the contrast of darker woods such as walnut over that of lighter options such as cherry or gum.




I hope this picture attaches OK. My husband prepared an old piece of walnut board for me and I simply have the skull set stop a long bold secured to the wood. I'm very pleased with the result. GOOD LUCK!!!

 

[LUVn40]

OOPS!!! My previous post should say "I simply have the skull set atop a long bolt secured to the wood". Sorry about that.

 

[JeremiahJohnson]

Thanks for the great info, guys. Keep adding as you think of anything.

1. Is the bleaching step necessary? Or will the boiled/ and completely cleaned skull hold it's natural grey/white color without bleaching? Is the bleach needed to kill any leftover bacteria? I have a large 15 gallon Aluminum Pot and a hot-plate that I plan to use. No plans for jeweling, beading, or other add-on decor at this time...However I am considering making two LED RED EYEs to insert, maybe using ping-pong balls for holders in the eye-sockets. The LED's work off a 9 volt battery.

12 hours til we leave... Sheesch, It's like my first ever hunting trip...I am jumpy as hell ! We are going to have a great time !

In my opinion bleaching is not necessary. It makes the skull white-white AND cleans the teeth and makes them white. There shouldn't be any problem with bacteria etc. If you want you could wait until summer and do a mild bleach or get the skull wet and set it in the boiling hot sun - sunlight kills just about everything and has a natural bleaching affect on bone. I keep some of my jaw bones and never bleach them, but I do leave them in the sun on a hot sunny day - seems to help.

 

[Sam7157]

Did a few this year. Watched a couple YouTube videos.

 

[24robinson]

For several years now I have been taking the skulls of bucks and digging a hole in the ground and burying them
up to the base of the horns. Then I cover the antlers with a tub or something to keep dogs or other wildlife from
digging them up. Around April or May I pull them up and all the bugs and worms have ate all the flesh away. Spray
off the skull and you have a natural European mount. All of these skulls were done like this.

 

[24robinson]

Sorry pictures did not upload on previous reply.

 

[jburris]

not the best pics. This is my first try at doing a euro, turned out real good. Still need to get a plaque to mount it to. But for now it is hanging on a nail that is bent up to hook the skull through the brain canal in the back of head. I simmered mine in dawn dish soap, whole lot of scraping and picking. Finally took it to car wash and power washed it all real good. If I do it again I will powerwash as much as I can off first, then proceed.