Skull Mount
Contributors to this thread:Pennsylvania
From: DanWesson357
07-Nov-17
I enjoy doing these skull mounts of the bucks I hunt and kill. Here is the finished mount. Of a nice 8 point I shot on 10/23/17 in 5B.
From: DanWesson357
07-Nov-17
From: DanWesson357
07-Nov-17
From: DanWesson357
07-Nov-17
From: DanWesson357
07-Nov-17
From: DanWesson357
07-Nov-17
30 Yard shot, 10/23/17 7:30 AM.
30 Yard shot, 10/23/17 7:30 AM.
From: DanWesson357
07-Nov-17
I skin the head and then cook the head in a pot with some dishwashing detergent, never really gets to be a boil, then a scrape off everything I can get to. Then I get a bunch of paper towels and get them wet with Hydrogen Peroxide and then mummify the skull with the Hydrogen Peroxide soaked paper towels and let sit for a few days keeping the paper towels wet with fresh H2O2. Then I scrape and pick some more until it is clean. I just use a garden hose to rinse and "pressure wash". I enjoy the process while reliving the hunt the entire time and the final look and the cost. Maybe $4 in paper towels and H2O2.
From: horsethief51
07-Nov-17
Nice job. Rather spend the money on hunting expenses. I have about 10 of those around the house.
From: Red Beastmaster
07-Nov-17
I'd much rather see a nice skull than a full mounted head. You did it right. Painted skulls and camo is tacky. The ANTLERS came out nice too.
I've done a couple bucks, two javelina, and a boar. Pretty cheap but very classy way to preserve your trophy.
From: horsethief51
08-Nov-17
I don't even whiten mine. I like them to look like they were just picked up off the forest floor as long as they do not smell like it.
From: PAbowhunter1064
08-Nov-17
Very nice,Dan!
From: Dennis Razza
12-Nov-17
Nice job... Nice buck!
From: Sharpstick
12-Nov-17
Very nice. European mounts are all that l get done with my kills. Cheap and look great. I too have 5 hanging around the house, soon to be 6.
From: Rut Nut
13-Nov-17
I am considering doing a European mount for my buck this year. Just don't have the funds to do a full mount. Checking into the camo dip thing. I agree some of the camo patterns look tacky, but I have seen a few that really looked cool! I think you just have to pick the right pattern.
From: Mule Power
24-Nov-17
No degreaser? How long have you been doing this.... dont they get patchy discolorations eventually? Degreasing is an extremely important part of the process fot long term whiteness.
From: DanWesson357
25-Nov-17
I have been doing this since my first buck back in 2008. Every year seems to get better. I am sure I do a few things different now than I did 9 years ago. I think the initial cook in hot water and cascade dishwasher soap takes out the grease. I'll take a close look at the others and see what kind of discoloration I find. I guess if I needed I could always wrap one up in about .50 cents worth of paper towels and soak in about .25 cents worth of H2O2 to freshen up the whiteness?? But I'm happy with how they turn out and how they look around my fireplace. What type of degreaser do you use? Right now I have a coyote skull wrapped in paper towels and soaking in h2o2. I'll post pick of that when I finish it up.
From: Hoyter2804
03-Dec-17
Love that you keep the bottom jaw, I believe I'm gonna do the same with mine this year I'm working on now. A friend taught me a nice tip for the brains,Che uses a drill bit to loosen it all up and it just likes out then, does get a little messy though. I put the head between 2 bushes in my yard so the brains didn't fly anywhere but it works really well to get it out. Planning on firing up the cooker today and cooking the skull
From: DanWesson357
04-Dec-17
The bottom jaw can easily split into two parts, which you don't want. I was careful on this one to leave some of the cartilage or whatever the connective tissue is that connects the jaw in the front right where the teeth are. Be careful during the cooking and when the bottom jaw is warm as the connective tissue keeping the jaw together is really easy to separate. I have glued one or two of my older ones that got separated but it is a pain compared to just leaving the natural connective tissue intact.
From: Hoyter2804
04-Dec-17
So far good with the bottom jaw, I still have a little meat on the back of the skull and in the nose area I need to work on getting out and then I believe it's ready to be whitened
From: DanWesson357
06-Dec-17
Like I said, I just buy the normal 88 cents per bottle of Hydrogen Peroxide and a roll of paper towels and I wrap the skull and the jaw separately in soaked paper towels and let it sit for a few days. This is all I do to whiten. Any leftover meat or tissue will very easily scrape off once you soak in H2O2. Hope it turns out well for you.
From: twistedlimb
06-Dec-17
Where did you get the wall mount?I had made one from some cheap wood mounts from ones I got at an A.C. Moore and cut a 1x2 on the angle I wanted and connected the two and stained and just did a skull plate mount.Looks good for what I paid.
From: rust4brains
07-Dec-17
I want to try this but am really worried that I'll screw it up.
From: DanWesson357
08-Dec-17
Not much to screw up honestly, You might want to wrap the bases of the antlers in plastic wrap and some electric tape just so the bases of the antler don't whiten, but really that is all you have to worry about. Skin, cook, scrape, mush out the brains with a stick, wash with a garden hose, wrap in h2o2 towels, final scraper or two and whaaaa Laaaaa. I am sure there are plenty of videos on Youtube.
From: Nocktaker
08-Dec-17
Nice job!!!
