Euro Mount

[Cyrus]

On the weekend my wife shot a nice 4 pt mule deer. I decided to euro mount it and this being my 5th attempt at one realized some improvements and some reoccurring issues.

The good

Getting on the skinning of the skull and picking away at the meat as soon as possible and as much as possible really saved me a ton of time picking away after the simmer. I also got most of the brain out as well. I literally only had to pick at the skull for about an hour to get the rest of the meat and goo off.

I used 40 volume peroxide cream again. I had mixed results this time as parts of the skull did not bleach as white as other spots.

The need advice on

I simmered the skull for about 2hrs on the first go around. I think it was an hour too long. I should of taken out after an hour picked and changed the water and simmered again.

I used oxi clean and although it seemed like a good degreaser it bleached out areas of skulls better than others. Also it really seemed to dry out the skull. My skull seemed a bit more fragile than others.

So question is how long do you boil your skulls?
Is there a better option than oxi clean or dish soap?
Is there a better bleaching agent that is more consistent than 40 vol peroxide?
What do you guys for a final coating to help keeping the integrity of the skull and fine bones in tact? I've used Elmer's white glue in the past.

[cameron0518]

Congratulations on the successful hunt. Nice post. How did you get the brain out?

[JoeSixPack]

Clean the skull as good as possible before throwing in the pot. I've used oxi clean, borax, and baking soda, or mixtures of the above, all seemed to work fine for me. One thing I've started doing in recent years is taking a screwdriver and prying out the ear bones right after I take it out of the pot. Allows easier access to the brain cavity to remove whats left and helps it dry out faster. I like to wrap the skull in in paper towel then pour peroxide over it. I prefer lower percentage, and will actually dilute the powerful stuff down to around 15% with water. Takes longer to whiten, but isn't as hard on the bone.

[bighornbob]

To get the brain out take about a straight 6' piece of coat hanger. Make a 1" 90 degree bend at the bottom. Put this into a drill and blend the brains for about a minute. After this just tip the skull upside down, the brain will ooze out over night.

Use 40 volume cream and mix with baby powder till it looks like a soft toothpaste, brush onto all parts of the skull. Wrap skull with saran wrap to keep the stuff in place and to keep it from drying out too fast.

Simmer for about an hour then let it cool in the water with the water. Use a pressure washer to blow the skull clean. Wear rain gear when doing this as it gets ugly in a hurry

BHB

[wideopenthrottle]

for the brain I just slice a bit off the bottom of the skull brain cavity and pull it out whole...also helps the head lay flatter when mounting it on a board

[Brian011]

I just did my recent buck, hardly even cleaned any meat off before I put it in the pot of boiling water, just took a knife and made cuts through the meat and after it simmers in boiling water for about an hour, all the chunks of meat come off in big pieces, then I pressure washed it and came out very clean. Use the pressure washer to get the brain stuff out.



I put dish soap in the pot for boiling and also use the 40 volume creme developer. Just paint the creme developer on as even as possible and then cover in ceran wrap and leave it for a couple days, then just a quick boil in the pot with dish soap again and should be done.