Soaking Skulls
Contributors to this thread:Elk
From: Darrell
09-Oct-24
Every November for the past 7 years or so, I have killed a buck, put the skull in a 5 gallon bucket of water, put it in the barn and then rinsed it off in the spring and they have all come out really nice. Well, two weeks ago, I killed a bull elk (Story still in process) and I've put the skull in a large tub of water. However, I'm not as patient with the elk as I am with the deer in part because they don't stink up a cold barn near like an elk does a warm one. I think it should go faster since its warm, but I'm wondering if there is anything else I can do to get it done quicker. I don't want to boil it as I've had much cleaner, better results from just soaking. However, should I dump the water out, rinse it and start over or does the stinky soup actually degrade the meat faster? I also wouldn't mind lowering the "stink factor." Open to suggestions.
From: Stoneman
09-Oct-24
Put a water heater in the bucket . I’ve used aquarium heaters in the past but they sell reasonably priced ones online. This will speed up the process considerably. I would dump the water every 4 or 5 days partly due to the stink.
From: cnelk
09-Oct-24
Yep - what Dave said ^^ put some Dawn dish soap in the water along with the aquarium heater. Take out and rinse every few days.
DO NOT USE BLEACH
From: OTC_Bowhunter
09-Oct-24
Add some 20 mule team borax soap.
From: INDBowhunter2
09-Oct-24
I would not put any soap in it until it’s pretty much cleaned off. It will slow the process. Just add an aquarium heater at about 85 degrees. Change water at about day 6, but leave a bit of the old water to keep some bacteria. Once it’s pretty much all cleaned off, you can add dawn or whatever to help with some of fats that are on the skull. It’s going to smell pretty strong for about a week or so but it should calm down a bit after the water change. That’s my experience with macerating skulls anyways.
From: Darrell
09-Oct-24
Thanks guys. Have a friend who does fish tanks for businesses. He is getting me an old heater and I'm going to pitch most of the water ASAP to help with the odor. Knew you guys would have some good suggestions
From: Charlie Rehor
09-Oct-24
I do four or five, bear, deer or elk every year. I soak them a while then use a power washer to move along. If you don’t have one hit the car wash (after dark).
Borax will help.
From: Beendare
09-Oct-24
I've done the soaking and boiling thing...but then down the road the skull leaches an oily substance and turns yellow and stinky.
The Beetle box skulls don't do that....
From: cnelk
09-Oct-24
My buddy does 1000+ heads a year.
I’ll go with his advice
From: APauls
09-Oct-24
I typically boil but forgot to add soap this time and water was way stinkier than usual. Real upside of using grapefruit scented soap is....the smell :)
From: Darrell
09-Oct-24
Cnelk,
Thanks for the pic and your buddy's advice. Sold me. I've never had a problem with my skulls that I've soaked over the winter. That pic is impressive
From: swampyankee
09-Oct-24
I boil with a turkey fryer. After several hours i hit it with a pressure washer and once all clean I brush this on everywhere and reapply a few times. leave on for few days and wash off.
From: KY EyeBow
09-Oct-24
We pressure washed the skull of my bull after skinning the head a couple weeks ago. Pretty good so far......
From: cnelk
09-Oct-24
Here’s my 2024 bull elk my buddy just completed for me.
When you pressure wash skulls, you lose all the intricate nose cavity bones and the upper nasal cavity bones.
Don’t boil. Don’t use bleach. Don’t pressure wash
From: Darrell
09-Oct-24
I've had similar results as cnelk on my deer. Want that for my elk. FYI, I'm about to start posting my story. :)
From: skull
09-Oct-24
I have been macerated skull for many years, Get yourself one of this, set it to 113F for 6 days should be good, 118F for degreasing, The aquarium heater is not going to bring the temperature up to 113 That’s the ideal temperature for bacteria to develop and grow
From: smarba
09-Oct-24
You can pressure wash just fine if you don't go UP the nose, just spray from back side/under the upper jaw OUT the nose. And heat plus washing soda (sodium carbonate - NOT sodium bicarbonate) makes things go WAY faster than just soaking would. Dump water when it's dirty. Use a lot of Dawn dish soap for final heat/soak to degrease. Then Volume 40 creme as noted. For elk (and even deer), helps to pry out the ear bones and toss them, as there is a lot of tissue hidden underneath. Also there is a lot of stuff underneath the forehead you can crack into easily from the underside, which helps to reduce long-term leaching and discoloration.
From: Sivart
09-Oct-24
Do you guys have a specific aquarium heater that you recommend?
Also do you have a pot that you recommend that will fit an elk skull? The one I have for my turkey fryer is too small
From: butcherboy
09-Oct-24
I used the maceration method hundreds of times. You need to use a heat source like an aquarium heater. I used a band heater that wraps around a 55 gallon plastic barrel. I cut the barrel down to where it would hold an elk skull with about 3 inches of water to cover the top. Let it sit in that for usually about a week to week and half. Pull out and rinse off or lightly power wash the underside. Then you need to use another pot and heater to degrease the skull. Dawn dish soap and ammonia works the best. Do not get the temp above 115 degrees Fahrenheit. Change the water every few days and keep doing this until it stays clear. Then brush on your whitening cream and wrap it up it plastic wrap. I used 35% peroxide and would just soak them in it for about 24-36 hours. Tough to get that though because you have to register with a chemical company to purchase that strong of peroxide. I bought it in 55 gallon barrels. I think volume 40 is about 11-13%.
From: Medicinemann
10-Oct-24
After reading this thread earlier, I went to PetSmart. Aquarium heaters there only went as high as 94 degrees, if that makes a difference. I went to Home Depot and it required a special order to get anything in the store. I went to Tractor Supply and asked for a livestock water tank deicer/heater. The ones that I checked only went up to 110 degrees. Gonna check out the one that Skull listed above.....
From: butcherboy
10-Oct-24
94 degrees is just fine for the maceration. For the degreasing 110-115. I used a camp chef two burner stove for the degreasing. Just turned it down on low and monitored the temp. It’s definitely safer to use some kind of electric heat source than letting a propane stove burn 24/7 when degreasing.
From: Ace
10-Oct-24
Ace's Link
The link is to an article on doing Euro Mounts from the National Deer Alliance (NDA) formerly known as QDMA.
Pretty much what the experienced guys here have said. They also mention the Beetle method.
I guess a (cheaper) Sous Vide unit would give you whatever temp you wanted. ymmv
From: smarba
10-Oct-24
Yeah, Sous Vide cooker works great, as does an electric hot plate, both cheap on A.
