Can you please give me some ideas on the best way to euro mount a deer. I actually told a buddy to bury his hog head in the ground and he just pulled it out last week. It looks very good, but i do not want to wait several months. If possible, could you please post some pictures. I have several deer mounts and I decided that I may not want to go that route anymore (if lucky enough to shoot more that are big enough) and I wanted to try my hand at this with the buck from this year. Thanks in advance for any help.
Michael, I think you will find the below thread very useful. It was sent to me by wvhunter. http://www.huntingnet.com/forum/bowhunting/270397-european-mounts.html Scroll down to OKbowhunter20's post...it has a good description and pictures.
Get some sodium carbonate (SalSoda) from a taxidermy supply and follow their instructions for boiling the skull in it. They come out great.
Here's a good how-to article as well as where to get the Sal Soda... I'm planning on ordering some tomorrow and doing the buck I shot at John's as soon as it comes in. http://www.vandykestaxidermy.com/skull-cleaning.html
Thanks guys...I will now try my hand at this and I will post results at a later date. Would you suggest doing this outside, or will my marriage survive if I boil it in the kitchen??? I ask because I am unsure if it will stink...etc
Inside = DIVORCE Make sure to not overboil it....more of a slow boil. Take it out every 1/2 hr and pick off everything you can, then put it back in. It usually takes a few hours at least. Sal Soda is the ticket, really helps. Good luck!
Best step by step and fastest way I have ever seen hands down. It from a Taxidermist sight. http://www.taxidermy.net/forum/index...,125076.0.html
LOL! Just clicked on that link; that was too funny, OK! Step 1) Kill a buck Setp 2) Remove its head :D
1) skin and remove all excess tissue, cartilage, and facia from skull. 1 hour 2) boil skull on camp stove in driveway for 30 minutes. 3) clean off any loose tissue and facia from bone and remove any excess nasal septum and excess sinus bone. 15 minutes. 4) boil for 15 more minutes. 5) immediately begin to clean with power washer with highest pressure nozzle. Use caution. Car wash nozzle will work, but takes longer, isn't as thorough, and costs a bit of coin. Anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour to properly get all tissue and cartliage off of skull with either method. 4 hours from start to finish including down time between steps. No bleaching or chemicals required. Here this years buck I did a few weeks ago:
The easiest way for me is to chop the buck's head off, drop it at my taxi, and pick it up when he calls me. :D
I did that once, but winced at the $125 bill and started thinking about what I could have done with that money... I may change my mind after trying it once, but I'm gonna give it a shot once my Sal Soda comes in.
4 hours? That's why the Sal Soda comes in handy. It cuts that time in at least half and eliminates the need for the pressure washer.
Sorry about that Greg, Ill try again. If it does not work. go to Taxidermy.net and go to the tutorial section and look for 5 hour start to finish European mount. http://www.taxidermy.net/forum/index.php/topic,125076.0.html
I hvae done literally hundreds of these. I use SAL SODA.....(thanks Greg I could not for the like of me remeber the exact name when u called me the other day) BTW how did it turn out. Hope my advice helped. I use a small two range burner in the garage this makes the water simmer not boil. then add the sal soda. I monitor it cook time depends on if it was frozen or not and how much you skinned it down. I recommend you skin it and remove all the vertabrae (neck bones) and remove the lower jaw this shortens the cook time. then I use an old hunting knife to remove the meat and the brain comes out fairly mushy and i use an tube style sink in the garage to rinse everything. then i let it dry. then use #40 hair bleach from a salon and paint it on and let sit for 24 hours (overnite) rinse and dry and done.
Well sure there's more than one way to skin a cat (pun intended)! Cut what time in half? I only boil for a total of 45 minutes tops. The actual work time is only 2.5 to 3 hours total from start to finish including skinning if you read my post correctly. The soda method linked above calls for several days of soaking and bleaching and at least 2 hours of boiling/simmering! I was simply offering up my method that requires no cost (besides water), no chemicals, and no running to the store or waiting for the soda to be delivered. The pressure wash lightens the bone to acheive the same look as the peroxide/bleach methods.
