I want to do a european mount. I don't want to do the boiling because I don't think my stomach or my neighbours could handle the smell. I have heard a few alternatives that I have never tried but sound like they may be worth a try. Reviews also say n

[IanS]

Try this again. Let me know if you can now view them.

[franchi20]

Nothing. It's not a big deal, don't worry about it. I think it's on my end.

[IanS]

Ok. Where are you located? I’m in Alberta Canada. Looking forward to November hunting

[FirstBubba]

The sheep are really nothing special, agreed. I only tried them because they were free.

I can see the pictures. I summer in OK and winter in TX.

As far as the sheep skulls go, I do think they are neat.
Regardless of what I think, or anyone else for that matter, doing what you're doing only gives you more experience when a trophy of substance comes along!
Keep it up!
Good job!

[Ontario Honker Hunter]

I can see some very poor quality images in your user profile. It looks like a lot of tissue still on them. Here's a bear we finished a couple of weeks ago. The whitetail euro skull next to it done the same day. Another client's whitetail cap mount below the bear. I have an interesting repair job up for tomorrow. A client brought us a messed up whitetail euro (a "friend" did it using chlorine bleach which caused bone to crumble away). I will be mounting the horns on a fake skull. Over the winter I did similar fake skull project with moose sheds for another client (see below). That was an awful job. Massive horns were so heavy they kept breaking loose from moorings. This one won't be nearly as difficult.

[IanS]

The deer was a few years old when it was given to me to work on. Hoping that the skin comes off after enough soaking and that the stains come out with peroxide. None of them have been soaked in peroxide yet. They are not finished yet but I was just posting pictures of the progress.

[Ontario Honker Hunter]

The deer was a few years old when it was given to me to work on. Hoping that the skin comes off after enough soaking and that the stains come out with peroxide. None of them have been soaked in peroxide yet. They are not finished yet but I was just posting pictures of the progress.

You can get #40 peroxide at beauty salons or salon supply outlets. Also pick up from them Clairol "whitening powder". Mix the two together into a paste and paint it on the skulls. Wrap up skull in clear plastic wrap and leave overnight. The solution works best if the skulls have been heated first. Also if you can leave it in the sunshine during treatment that helps. I still suggest boiling and using a wire brush to clean cooked rubbery flesh from bone.

During the lockdown a client brought in a skinned moose head that had been thrown on top of a shed the last two years. Yuch! Very gross. I cooked it outside in a metal garbage can with slots for horns so the lid would fit over it and seal in steam. Took a lot of cooking and elbow grease but got it done. An expensive job. Turned out very nice and no smell. See attached. Kind of an oddball rack. Must have been suffering from a vitamin deficiency with drooping right antler and bent points.

[IanS]

Looks good!

[Ontario Honker Hunter]

Don't forget the Dawn soap when simmering. It will help remove the grease stains. We also add about a third cup of soda ash to the pot. That we order from taxidermy supplies.

[Ontario Honker Hunter]

Here's a project finished today. Client brought in a deer skull cleaned with chlorine bleach. Bone was crumbling away. He wanted a reproduction euro skull. A real pain in the arse. It turned out okay ... but not great. Problem with these things is they are one size fits all ... and all poorly. The horns came out a bit too close together. But that's what I had to do to get them to fit in the fake skull. Tried to talk him into a cap mount but he would have none of it. The fella is from Ukraine and that is the European way I guess. It was an all day job. A bit shiny because I had to coat with urethane to stabilize the bone ... what was left of it. Even the base of antlers was starting to deteriorate.

Attachment function is all messed up on this thread. I'll try it with camera function on a new post.

[Ontario Honker Hunter]

Trying again to attach images of the fake whitetail skull taxidermy project.

[IanS]

Checked them again today. A few maggots but way less than last time. Deer head has some stuff still stuck to it that should scrape or rub off with an sos pad.

[IanS]

Today I broke out the cartilage from all 5 skulls. The deer did not come as clean as I was hoping it would but better than it was. I don’t want to risk damaging it since it’s not mine and is very old and brittle. I put the skulls in peroxide and will glue up the cracks in about 4 days when I take them out. I’ll post pictures of the finished product

[IanS]

Today I pulled them out of the peroxide. They are definitely whiter than when I put them in. One of the sheep broke apart a little more than the other 2 but I will still be able to glue it up when it dries. I’ll post pictures of final result after I glue up cracks.

[FirstBubba]

I can't believe you found your thread!

Good job!

Both on finding your thread AND on the skulls! LOL!