Deer head preparation

J. Ramone

I shot a nice 8 point sika stag yesterday evening and would like to keep the head. It's not medal quality as far as I know so I won't go to the bother of having it done professionally. Has anyone here prepared deer skulls? What methods have you used?

Deer Hunter DL

hope this helps

http://www.taxidermy.net/forums/LifesizeArticles/02/k/029C603C07.html

J. Ramone

Thanks DH,

I'm tempted to go the bury it route to try it out anyway. Not really worth the hassle otherwise. Maybe the taxidermist might be an option.

kerryman12

Why not tie it to a tree or something and let the maggots do the job for ya?!?

thelurcher

Not many flies laying at the moment although I saw a maggot yesterday - so that route would be slow going.

Don't most people boil and bleach? I know the link say's not to but you'll only be keeping the the very top portion of the skull anyway.

Check out this link - fairly simple process -
mounting-deer-head-skull

J.R.

thelurcher wrote: »

Not many flies laying at the moment although I saw a maggot yesterday - so that route would be slow going.

Don't most people boil and bleach? I know the link say's not to but you'll only be keeping the the very top portion of the skull anyway.

Check out this link - fairly simple process -
mounting-deer-head-skull

Good link - simple & easy to understand.

In those steps I would cut the head at the required angle after removing skin and before boiling....no point in boiling whole lot and cleaning and then cutting angle, throwing away most of what you've spent ages cleaning.

You could also skin the head carefully and keep the skin. Place the skin in an alum/salt pickle. When skull is prepared skin could be reattached to the skull prior to mounting. Depends if you want a cleaned/bleached skull to display with antlers or antlers with skin on skull.

If you want a really professional looking finish you could cover the skull with one of these - antlers look really well with one of these mounted on the skull and the whole lot then mounted onto a wooden shield.

http://www.vandykestaxidermy.com/product/01512023/


when finished it would look something like this

http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.wttaxidermy.com/novelty3.jpg/novelty3-full%3Binit:.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.wttaxidermy.com/gallerynovelty&h=683&w=1024&sz=77&hl=en&start=20&um=1&usg=__jOBRrayrPSwLXERdVM0ILS4MShA=&tbnid=C0QmnNCUZGiYJM:&tbnh=100&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Ddeer%2Bskull%2Bmount%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN

jwshooter

J. Ramone wrote: »

I shot a nice 8 point sika stag yesterday evening and would like to keep the head. It's not medal quality as far as I know so I won't go to the bother of having it done professionally. Has anyone here prepared deer skulls? What methods have you used?

iv done a lot of heads this way ,a old beer barrel cut off is ideal for the job .skin the head ,take off the jaw,cut in a line from the nose under the eyes to the back of the skull with a hand saw boil for 40 to 50 mins and power wash it off it takes less than 5 mins .clean as a whistle

Grizzly 45

kerryman12 wrote: »

Why not tie it to a tree or something and let the maggots do the job for ya?!?

Lads,
The burying or flies method is very smelly!!If you are out in the boondocks and have a strong stomach..fine.Wouldnt recommend it in the suburbs tho!:)Best critters for this job are red forest ants.three weeks it is bleached white with them ,pity we dont have them here in Ireland.

John Griffin

Boiling and bleaching is the best way, you must be careful not to boil too much as the skull will fall apart, depending on the size of the skull it will take 25-50 mins max. Put some fairy liquid in when boiling, this helps in breaking down the flesh and fats. A powerhose is great for stripping off the hot flesh, especially a ball bearing nozzle used on concrete for stripping paint. Be careful not to get bleach on the actual antler, hydrogen peroxide is the best bleach but don't leave it on any longer than a few hours as it will make the bone brittle, rinse after bleaching and allow to dry.

Allowing natural rotting can result in stains in the bone that are very difficult to remove even with bleaching, you also risk something with teeth getting at your prized trophy and your antler will also suffer from natural bleaching if left in sun light or could be covered in algae and become satined green.

jwshooter

John Griffin wrote: »

Boiling and bleaching is the best way, you must be careful not to boil too much as the skull will fall apart, depending on the size of the skull it will take 25-50 mins max. Put some fairy liquid in when boiling, this helps in breaking down the flesh and fats. A powerhose is great for stripping off the hot flesh, especially a ball bearing nozzle used on concrete for stripping paint. Be careful not to get bleach on the actual antler, hydrogen peroxide is the best bleach but don't leave it on any longer than a few hours as it will make the bone brittle, rinse after bleaching and allow to dry.

Allowing natural rotting can result in stains in the bone that are very difficult to remove even with bleaching, you also risk something with teeth getting at your prized trophy and your antler will also suffer from natural bleaching if left in sun light or could be covered in algae and become satined green.

is there a echo hear

John Griffin

jwshooter wrote: »

is there a echo hear

Just filling in the bits you left out.:D

J. Ramone

Great info all round, thanks all. I've got it cleaned up well enough and the jaw removed. I'll boil it outside on a camping gas stove over the weekend. Just have to find out when that hairdressing appointment is.