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- Thread starter NextLegend
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FrankTheTank
Well-Known Member
There is different ways of doing it
If you want the bone white skull you need to skin it and get all that stuff off right away and clean it before it stains
Some people like the more natural look and burry the skull for a while but their are risks to doing it that way.
A nice buck like what @GPS tagged I would do it carefully
Step 1, obtain the specimen. Step 2, skin the head, I loosen hide with air compressor. Skinned head. Boiled head picked reasonably clean. I power wash after boiling. Into the peroxide tomorrow for whitening. Any body that thinks a taxidermist charges too much, try one yourself.
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Thanks GPS. Well one of the most memorable has to be this year’s buck, wasn’t huge but was the first one I’ve rattled in. Didn’t see anything all week then Friday morning snuck into the edge of bedding cover sat down on a log and started rattling, 30 seconds into the set I slowly turned my head left and he just materialized, standing there staring at me 20 yards away. He let me slowly put the antlers down and pick up my shotgun neither one of us blinking and he fell right in his tracks. Pretty exciting!
@GPS they look good! Can tell you had a nice low simmer the nose bones are not separated and split up the middle. I can tell a lot of paid for skulls are rushed and fast boiled by how far up the split goes on the nose.
I’ve pretty much settled on this procedure:
Skin and clean as much meat and fat off the head, remove the eyes and get all the fat out from behind the eye sockets. I pressure wash anything loose I can, then wash the brain out which hold a lot of fat and grease.
Into a low simmer with a good handful of borax and dawn dish soap. Just barely rolling under a boil until I think it looks ready - usually 1-1.5 hours or so. Remove, pressure wash, break out ear bones, dump water and refill with more soap and simmer for 1 more hour. Then remove and finish washing taking care to blow out all the sinuses and holes running through the skull. Pick at anything stubborn but I use a 15° tip on my washer and it does a good job. Break out the cartilage up inside the nose and pick it out with needle nose. Air compressor removes anything stuck in the little holes and channels under the eyes, and along the top jaw, pick out any remaining matter inside the brain cavity.
I’ll tip it up to drip dry for a short time then I tape and wrap the antlers in plastic wrap and paint on 40 vol peroxide cream and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Put the head in a cardboard box and I aim a space heater into the box to heat it up and activate the peroxide for 4-6 hours. Then I usually just leave it alone until the next day when I rinse and dry.
I make hangers from an angle bracket bent and trimmed to size and a 2” bolt and 2 nuts. I like the skulls sitting at a natural angle on the wall but just my preference.
Lots of hunt memories on your wall. I think you might have space for 1 or 2 more 😉
I’ve pretty much settled on this procedure:
Skin and clean as much meat and fat off the head, remove the eyes and get all the fat out from behind the eye sockets. I pressure wash anything loose I can, then wash the brain out which hold a lot of fat and grease.
Into a low simmer with a good handful of borax and dawn dish soap. Just barely rolling under a boil until I think it looks ready - usually 1-1.5 hours or so. Remove, pressure wash, break out ear bones, dump water and refill with more soap and simmer for 1 more hour. Then remove and finish washing taking care to blow out all the sinuses and holes running through the skull. Pick at anything stubborn but I use a 15° tip on my washer and it does a good job. Break out the cartilage up inside the nose and pick it out with needle nose. Air compressor removes anything stuck in the little holes and channels under the eyes, and along the top jaw, pick out any remaining matter inside the brain cavity.
I’ll tip it up to drip dry for a short time then I tape and wrap the antlers in plastic wrap and paint on 40 vol peroxide cream and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Put the head in a cardboard box and I aim a space heater into the box to heat it up and activate the peroxide for 4-6 hours. Then I usually just leave it alone until the next day when I rinse and dry.
I make hangers from an angle bracket bent and trimmed to size and a 2” bolt and 2 nuts. I like the skulls sitting at a natural angle on the wall but just my preference.
Lots of hunt memories on your wall. I think you might have space for 1 or 2 more 😉
NextLegend
Well-Known Member
Missed a decent 6 point buck this morning... 14 yards. Im pretty sure the bow string hit my coat sleeve! Bummer!
Three controlled hunt weeks in my unit gets annoying. Grrrr
I feel for yah tho I had a mishap like that once but it was with the gun.. didn’t realize there was a vine in front of the barrel when I was looking threw the scope
Was enough to through the trajectory off and missed the buck I was aiming at.
Realized afterwords when I went back to the stand and noticed the vine was blown up hahahaha
NextLegend
Well-Known Member
When I lived in Edmonton, I used to hunt near Whitcourt on Elk river road. It's a huge logging road. The rifle deer season is about as long as our bow season. So one time I was in the pop up blind with my wife and a big 10 point cam out maby 50 yards and I took a shot. I somehow missed completely.
After investigation I did the same thing but through the blind and hit a stick and made a clean missed one a stud.
Haunting 😬