European DIY-Before and After
Elk
I found this bull last year on an elk hunt in MT. He deserved a better death than he got. I didn’t want him to be wasted. So I packed the skull out (~6.5 miles) through snow. I had now earned him.
I figure he had been laying there about a year. The antlers were in great shape with no chew marks. They were faded some, but not chalky. The rest of the skeleton was scattered around the site. The skull was pretty clean, but had some dried hide below antler burl and a little dried meat and cartilage.
I had some left over chemicals from my first European mount project. I purchased the kit from Cabelas. (If memory serves, it was a Van Dyke European Mount kit.) It came with a plaque, the powder you add to the boil, (sodium bicarbonate?), a bleaching powder, strong hydrogen peroxide, and a brass wire brush.
I prepped the skull by wrapping the antlers some rags and taped them up to the burl. (To prevent any chemical splashing/reacting with antlers.)
I placed the rack in an old wash tub and submerged to below the rack bases. I had measured out the water and soda. I also added some dish washing detergent to break up some of the grease/scum. (It helped with the smell also). I used my turkey burner for heat source. Anyone who has ever done this knows skull boiling makes a nasty soup!
After about 45 minutes, I pulled skull and any meat was gelled and came off fairly easy. Same for dried hide at antler base. I finished off with a brass brush, scrapping away any loose material.
I also used the hose to spray out the brain cavity. I did NOT allow the skull to dry as I mixed the peroxide/bleaching compound into a paste. (~ Consistency of toothpaste). I used the supplied wooden stick to apply paste to skull and let dry for ~ 24 hours.
Next day, I brushed off the dried paste. Skull was bleached, but it wasn’t quite where I wanted. I picked up some Zinsser (A non oil based primer/sealer) and lightly sprayed the skull. (After using painters tape to protect teeth and antler bases.)
Next step was to refurbish/restore the antlers. I picked up some antler stain from Van Dykes/McKenzie. I used a cotton ball to apply. I immediately wiped off stain as the stain would darken the antlers more than I preferred. I found thinning the stain worked as best as I worked my way to the antler tips and would darken the ends more than I wanted. Feathering as I worked my way to the tips. I wanted to preserve/maintain the ivory tips while coloring them as natural as possible. I let stain cure for a day. Unfortunately some stain leached through the burl and on to the skull. I used the primer to cover any minor runs and stain splatter. Final step was mounting. I picked up a Big Skull Hooker and mounted in my office.
The bull deserved better than rotting away or stashed in the garage. I like how this project turned out.
Sorry about the orientation of the pics guys. They were correct before I uploaded them. (Some were taken with IPad and Image tools doesn't seem to fix them)
Nice Job!!!! Very Nice!!!
i gota do something with my pronghorn and I haven't done it before. And hopefully Elk, Deer, Bear, etc...
Again Thanks!!!
Looks nice! I wonder how he got himself shot twice in one season - slow learner?
Turned out damn nice.
Good luck, Robb
Z that's an awesome job! Looks great.
Amazing that the skull had been there that long and not a chew mark on it.
Came out great!
WOW, the bull had a broadhead in the antler, plus looks like it was shot with a 3 blade Rage and not recovered...
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What kind of mechanical is that? Any in-tact blades? Lets hear your "forensic science" side of the story on what happened. Great job on the Euro. The big hookers do a great job! :^)
Great job, Brian! From what Charlie says, when using the image tools to rotate your pics, give it a little time and it will work.
Great job!! How many hours did you have in the project?
Franzen- The broadhead with the broken shaft was exact as you see it. But I cannot say whether the critters disturbed it. My theory is the animals ate around it. (And/innards decayed.) The bones were scattered around skull, up to 35-40 yards away.
I can't say whether all blades deployed or the shot caused the blades to bind. They weren't broken, but the head wouldn't have been usable. Blades/head was twisted and blades wouldn't float/slip. (I had to ask, but I understand it was a Rage BH). Topic have been beat to death, so I won't pile on.
My theory is the bull was shot by two different archers. I am pretty sure BH in antler is a Muzzy. If the trajectory of the 2nd arrow is representative, the bull was gut shot from an severe quartering angle. (No sign of the back 2/3rds of the arrow)
Obviously we won't ever know for sure, but it makes a good story!
At least two other hunters thought he was worthy! I don't want to get sidetracked with BH choices. (That has been beat to death). For this thread, I prefer to focus on the European mount process. And hopefully show folks how easy it is to do, and inspire others to honor/display critters that they have killed or found.
Is it hunting season yet???????
Thanks for the comments everyone!
Jake- I would guess I had three hours, four hours tops into it. It did help the much of the skin/meat was gone from the head.
My first European was a mule deer that I shot. It took at least an additional hour to cut the hide and as much meat as I could. (It also helps to loosen the brains with a metal coat hangar). Otherwise they will cook as a big "chunk".
The brains is the grossest part IMHO. Nothing like washing out the brain cavity and having the water spray back in your face!
"Nothing like washing out the brain cavity and having the water spray back in your face!"
+1 there Z. My neighborhood heard my daughter scream when she unknowingly walk into the back yard when I was scooping them out with a tire spoon (which works awesome by the way).
Thanks for the image tools tip Nick!
You would think patience should be a necessary attribute as a bowhunter!
Nice job!!
I did my first euro two years ago on a mulie and it turned out very good and was not hard at all. I used a pressure washer to blow the cooked chunks of meat off and it worked very well.
I stopped by a hair salon supply store when I was done to get the peroxide. The cutie working there almost fell over when she asked what she could help me with and I told her I needed something to bleach a deer skull. I didn't know it at the time but I had chunks of deer brain all over my face and hair. When you stick that pressure washer nozzle in there and pull the trigger, watch out!!
Z, I too have done several Euro mounts and they aren't that hard as you have described.
Just a side note that if a person didn't have the means to boil the skull, I got great results last year on a whitetail skull by submerging it in water with RidX mixed in. I kept the water warm with a heat lamp. Left it for about 2-3 weeks and everything cleaned off nicely. Two drawbacks to the RidX method were the prolonged undesirable smell and the need to keep checking the water level as it does evaporate somewhat quickly.
Your mount looks great, and I really like the stain job you did.
I'd say from the looks of where the arrow broke off it was only one hole which is typical of that head. Who knows where it was hit, but if I had to guess I would say the rage was shot and the bull followed up and a finishing shot with the muzzy hit it in the antler and it got up and escaped
Z, thanks for the response. I wasn't trying to incite a broadhead debate, believe me. I do think that whenever we come across a situation like this, it is always a great opportunity to share a learning experience. That one in the antler looks like a Muzzy, I agree. It could also be one of several other heads as well though. Unless my eyes are deceiving me, it looks like you decided to leave it in place. Again, thanks for sharing.
Franzen- I know you weren't. I commented so we could keep thread on track. (Which has been pretty rare on BS lately!)
I left the antler broadhead in place. Part of the story IMHO.
Man, that turned out great. Thanks for posting.
Great looking job! I have done several whitetail skull mounts for myself and a few for friends. You are correct in that the boiling and cleaning is the hardest part. Did you leave the broadhead stuck in the antler?
I like how you left the antler BH in, it definitely does add to the story and gives it thoughtful character.
nice job antlers look great I found a pisshead in NM old alum arrow was thru nose and out back of neck i assume elk starved to death !
What did you use to thin the stain? I have a set of whitretail antlers that I want to color. Did you have to seal them with anything?
Looks great. Nice save.
Great job! Good idea with zinser, do you think it will hold up for many years (over 10?) Are you worried it will turn yellow? I guess you could always respray it.
Lots of work and it paid off!
Bill- I cut it with paint thinner. No sealer.
Don. I am not worried about yellowing. If it yellows, it will be from not degreasing it well. So far so good.
You did an awesome job! Nice to share it with us. Bob.
