Post by donk on Aug 19, 2010 4:19:31 GMT -5
I found this site while watching a clip on youtube about how to prepare antlers for a Euro mount. In the clip, you have to wait 3 months or so til the bugs do the work. The way I do it takes about 1.5-2 hours max.
I worked a whole deer season in Scotland a few years back and when all the clients 'heads' started piling up, I got the job of boiling/whitening the lot of them. I learnt how to do it from the head game keeper on our estate and he has been doing it for years. I reckon I did 40-50 heads in the couple of months the stag season went for. Here's a quick run down on what they do over there with a handy way of using peroxide.
Heads are simply chopped off the body, bottom jaw is removed(for ageing purposes) We then stick the tips of the antlers into the ground/lawn to provide a solid base so you can saw the skull at the desired angle. For a European mount, you start the cut on the top teeth nearest the nose and cut through the head, just under the eyes and continue through the skull. Just make sure what angle you do cut it at, that the antlers won't hit the wall afterwards. Ears are chopped off head, eyes are pierced and excess skin around top jaw trimmed.
Put heads with SKIN STILL ON, into a boiling pot/tub etc. After an hour or so, when the skin starts lifting cleanly at the back of the skull and from around the front of the nose, pull it out. DON"T over boil. Using a knife, cut up through the skin at the back of the skull towards both coronets, then simply grab the flap of skin you have created and pull it off in the direction of the nose. It should all come off very easily and in one go and leave bugger all on the skull. There should only be a bit of slimey stuff.
We then used to clean up what was left with a pressure cleaner/gurnie to remove any meat, slime and slime froth from antlers.
Once clean, the skull was put back into the boiling water for a minute or two to get hot again. When hot, we'd pull it out and using peroxide, straight from the bottle(not sure what % though) brush it on with a toothbrush making sure not to get any on the antlers themselves. Two coats of peroxide with the tooth brush was all we did to make the skulls nice and white. Keeping the skull hot when you do it makes the peroxide seep in better.
Stand the head against the wall or shed and let it stand for 5 minutes or so as the peroxide will drain off it a bit. Grab your pressure cleaner or hose, give a quick hose down and you're done.
My own 10 pointer from over there copped 5 coats of peroxide this way and it came up a treat.
Hope that helps.
I worked a whole deer season in Scotland a few years back and when all the clients 'heads' started piling up, I got the job of boiling/whitening the lot of them. I learnt how to do it from the head game keeper on our estate and he has been doing it for years. I reckon I did 40-50 heads in the couple of months the stag season went for. Here's a quick run down on what they do over there with a handy way of using peroxide.
Heads are simply chopped off the body, bottom jaw is removed(for ageing purposes) We then stick the tips of the antlers into the ground/lawn to provide a solid base so you can saw the skull at the desired angle. For a European mount, you start the cut on the top teeth nearest the nose and cut through the head, just under the eyes and continue through the skull. Just make sure what angle you do cut it at, that the antlers won't hit the wall afterwards. Ears are chopped off head, eyes are pierced and excess skin around top jaw trimmed.
Put heads with SKIN STILL ON, into a boiling pot/tub etc. After an hour or so, when the skin starts lifting cleanly at the back of the skull and from around the front of the nose, pull it out. DON"T over boil. Using a knife, cut up through the skin at the back of the skull towards both coronets, then simply grab the flap of skin you have created and pull it off in the direction of the nose. It should all come off very easily and in one go and leave bugger all on the skull. There should only be a bit of slimey stuff.
We then used to clean up what was left with a pressure cleaner/gurnie to remove any meat, slime and slime froth from antlers.
Once clean, the skull was put back into the boiling water for a minute or two to get hot again. When hot, we'd pull it out and using peroxide, straight from the bottle(not sure what % though) brush it on with a toothbrush making sure not to get any on the antlers themselves. Two coats of peroxide with the tooth brush was all we did to make the skulls nice and white. Keeping the skull hot when you do it makes the peroxide seep in better.
Stand the head against the wall or shed and let it stand for 5 minutes or so as the peroxide will drain off it a bit. Grab your pressure cleaner or hose, give a quick hose down and you're done.
My own 10 pointer from over there copped 5 coats of peroxide this way and it came up a treat.
Hope that helps.