I decided to try making my own european mount from my 2011 WI Rifle buck, a small 10 pt. After boiling, cutting, boiling, scrubbing, boiling and washing with soap & water, this is what I had... I wanted to make a plaque or something to mount it on, so I started with some old siding from an outhouse I tore apart a few years ago. Pretty easy to put the old tongue & groove together with a little bracing on the back... To mount the skull I used a 3" long bolt with one of those spring-loaded drywall anchors, then a small post I cut from a cedar branch. It worked great! So Here was the first run... Now it's time for some extras!
I wanted to add a couple things to the plaque so I mounted a cartridge from my .270 and the actuall round that I shot him with (I found it during the butchering process). I drilled a hole for the bullet to sit in, and mounted the case in a groove with some Shoe Goo... Then I made a small shelf out of the same cedar branch to hold a trailcam photo my brother got of him...
That looks very cool. His antlers look very dark. Do you think they took in water during the cleaning process? If so, they'll return to normal when they dry out. Sometimes pictures are deceiving, but the antlers look a bit lighter when you shot him. Whatever the case, I love dark antlers. BTW, the outhouse wood is awesome.
I don't think the water darkened them. Only about 1/4" of the bases were in the water when I was simmering him. The day I shot him (Thanksgiving Day) was very sunny and bright, I think the rack was a bit washed out in those pics. Plus, I think the skull makes them look darker. I'll keep an eye on it. It could lighten up a bit over the next week or so.
