How to do a euro mount

[kwaynem]

Another thing I did taxidermy work years ago and did a sheep you have to boil the horns also to get the cap off if not you will think it’s done and it’s not it will stink like you can’t imagine lol

 

[Ready_fire_aim]

I can’t give you a time, but I hope you tied it to a post or stake. Critters will dig them up. Also, don’t bury a skull in red dirt, because it’s basically impossible to get it to bleach back white. I’ve got an orangy/yellow pig skull to prove it.

I read around a few different places online and most people recommended 6 months minimum or up to 1 year in the ground. Of course it all depends on how much bacteria and insect activity there is in the soil. I buried it in some nice dark good soil, in a shady area by one of my outbuildings. Also its really close to my house and in an area that I don’t have many problems with critters. A lot of my property is fenced with sheep fencing, it’s pretty good at keeping critters out. This area is also close to where I frequently bury carp and fish cleaning carcasses in the ground, under where we plan to garden. I haven’t had much trouble with critters digging up my fish.

From what I understand, the staining on the bone is the biggest drawback of the burying method. If it’s really bad, some folks hit it with flat bone white colored spray paint.. again this is really just an experiment for me. He was just a domestic sheep. I won’t be heartbroken if it doesn’t turn out great haha

Another thing I did taxidermy work years ago and did a sheep you have to boil the horns also to get the cap off if not you will think it’s done and it’s not it will stink like you can’t imagine lol

Right. Yeah, I watched some videos about that. That is one issue that makes the boiling method much better for sheep skulls… it’s not really an issue with deer antlers. That being said, I found some forums where people reported burying ram skulls and said the horn sheath separated from the core pretty easily after digging it up. From there you can cut off most of the core, use various methods to clean out the inside of the horn sheaths, then epoxy the sheaths back on the core stubs after it’s all cleaned/dried/not stinky lol

But I don’t know, there’s also horror stories about the burying method where people still wind up having to boil them. At that point it’s disgusting as hell. Also read a horror story where a guy dug up a skull that wasn’t fully decomposed yet, but he decided to try to start scraping off some of the muck. He wound up cutting his finger and getting a flesh eating bacteria infection that almost killed him.

 

[AER244]

I’ve never done the burial method before. But i buried an antelope head on 9/2. It was pretty rapidly decomposing and covered in maggots when I put it in the ground. I dug it up today and it is not ready. At all. Needs another month or two for sure.

I’ve been boiling and cleaning deer and pig skulls since the early 90’s, and my goal is to eventually euro mount a 170-180 class whitetail. The biggest I’ve done so far is a 160 incher.
Unless I kill a buck that’s ridiculously big, I doubt I‘ll have another one shoulder mounted.

You absolutely should do it. they look good.

 

[Kev1Doggy]

Has anyone had any luck with getting the skull cleaned up in a tree?I got a 6pt bull in Wyoming that I want to do the Euro mount on. I stuck it in a Mulbery tree behind my garage and am hoping the birds and critters will clean it up, it was definitely stinking up my garage.

 

[Kev1Doggy]

Picture of him

 

[kwaynem]

Picture of him

It will turn purple well purple from the mulberries and purple and white from mulberry bird sh&:!

 

[AER244]

Has anyone had any luck with getting the skull cleaned up in a tree?I got a 6pt bull in Wyoming that I want to do the Euro mount on. I stuck it in a Mulbery tree behind my garage and am hoping the birds and critters will clean it up, it was definitely stinking up my garage.

ive done the tree method twice, but with deer skulls. theyre my least favorite of all my skulls. they look like i took less care on them than i did the others. the sun will bleach your antlers. theyll be completely, totally white unless you cover them. the skull itself looks fine, just a little yellowed from the oils inside. boiling or dermestid beetles are the way to go in my mind. ive got a skull buried now, but i doubt itll convince me to stop boiling heads once its done.

 

[AER244]

Picture of him

great elk by the way. congratulations!

 

[swampratt]

I habe planted them in the ground.
I do not like that as I have had the skulls come apart like boiling too long and they stink.

I used to put turtle shells on red ant piles and a few days later they are picked clean.

Someone just nuked their red ants I believe.

I now skin all of the hide off that I can and simmer it in a turkey fryer .
Then remove it and get the electric power washer out.

 

[retrieverman]

I habe planted them in the ground.
I do not like that as I have had the skulls come apart like boiling too long and they stink.

I used to put turtle shells on red ant piles and a few days later they are picked clean.

Someone just nuked their red ants I believe.

I now skin all of the hide off that I can and simmer it in a turkey fryer .
Then remove it and get the electric power washer out.

I haven’t got brave enough to use a power washer, but I know several people who do with good results. I still hand scrape what doesn’t come off in the boiling process.