Covered In Bear Splatter

[Phil]

I spent Father's Day doing exactly as I pleased (which means I did as I usually do without grief from the family on this day):-D.

I decided to start my morning off be resurecting my bear skull from it's five gallon pale of gew and stink. It had been sitting in a pale of water and brewers yeast for 10 days, not forgotten, simply put aside until the inlaws from hell left to go back to Toronto.

It stunk so bad that I couldn't get within 3 feet of it without gagging. I tryed to hold my breath while cutting away the flesh and meat but it was useless. I was turning purple and the skull was winning. I had originally thought that it would be a cool "gettaway project" from the inlaws but no time was afforded between work and visiting, so there it sat unattended and festering.

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t169/mbspr/IMG_0319.jpg?t=1182143397

Out came the pressure washer and soon I was covered in rotting flesh, rain gear and all.

What a treat this was on Father's Day. My yard smelled like death warmed over. I had to disinfect the driveway with bleach and Pinesol to eleviate the putrid stench. My wife was less than impressed to say the least.

Off I went to Superstore to buy a large culdren to cook the snot out of my revolting lump of decomposing brain mass. I rigged up an old electric stove in my barn and ran it off a welding plug from my shop. Once it was all connected and the 220 wires were safely taped into the plug the fun began. Within 20 minutes the pot was hot and the bear skull was beginning to cook. Sadly this did not improve the smell any and it only increased the unapproachable perimiter of the stove. With my breath held and nose plugged I dribbled in a spoonfull or two of Pinesol to kill the smell of death. It worked enugh to make the event bareable but not great.

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t169/mbspr/IMG_0320.jpg?t=1182144503

Two and half hours later of slow cooking and gentle rotating I was beginning to see progress. It looked good enough to serve the inlaws the next time they came around from Toronto. I like my vile meat well done so in the pot it stayed for an additional 30 minutes.

I removed it from the pot and pulled all the teeth that wanted to come easily and began stripping the meat from the bone. It came off nicely and if anyone asks for the recipe I'll swear by the Pinesol.

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t169/mbspr/IMG_0321.jpg?t=1182146120

All nasal bones are still intact but there is still a lot of cartilage in there. If anyone has any suggestions on removing it without damaging the nasal bones let me know.

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t169/mbspr/IMG_0322.jpg?t=1182146301 (http://javascript<b></b>:void(0);)

I separated the lower jaw and began to gently scrape it with a spoon to remove the crud attached to the bone. It worked well and left no scrape marks.

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t169/mbspr/IMG_0324.jpg?t=1182146494


I am looking for some suggestions on removing the remaining bits of meat clinging to the skull in those hard to reach places. I am leary of using the presure washer now that I have put so much time into it. I don't want to launch it across the driveway and dammage it.

The teeth in this skull are very yellow in general and black on the tips (look decayed). Is there a way to whiten them without using my motherinlaw's tooth brush and whitening strips? :mrgreen:

Over all it was a great day. I enjoyed working on the skull and learned a few things. Most importantly i learned never let the inlaws get in the way of cleaning up your bear skull.:-D Your input is appreciated.

[BCBear]

Now that's more like it!

[todbartell]

haha that is awesome. best post ever

the first two pics are disgusting :D good job

[Rod]

I could almost smell it over the Internet!

Put it back in the water for a few more weeks and it will get rid of the remaining cartilage in the nasal cavity and with most of the skull clean the smaell will not be that bad.

[Mr. Dean]

I think (?) you need to put it back into the bath for another month or so to get the rest of the crud off.

I too enjoyed the story. If it were me... I would've had the inlaws in on the action - "Excuse me Mother-in-law dear,,, But could you PLEASE hold this for me. NO... You're not holding it right, try holding it over your head... MUCH better. Thanks".

[Dirty]

Phil you need to invest in some flesh eating beetles. Start a nice colony and then charge people to bring their skulls to be cleaned.

[Phil]

How do you go about getting beatles? Sounds like an interesting proposition.

[Brambles]

I did the same thing a couple days ago, but not to the same extent. I fleshed out the head first took as much meat off as possible, took the brain out and separated the bottom jaw.

Then I put it in a pail of warm water and laundry soap for a week, each day dumping out the water and putting new warm water and soap in. The smell wasn't bad until I dumped the water out then the smell of rotting flesh was fairly significant.

After a week to 10 days I took the pressure washer and blasted it, took some stuff off but not the bigger stuff so once i got it more or less cleaned of the easy stuff, about an hour with the washer I took it in the house.

Wife was asleep so she couldn't say no!! Filled up her good roasting pan and boiled the head in electrosol and water for about 30 minutes, this took all the gooey stuff and made it shrink to almost nothing and made it a consistancy that you can scrape off easily. Electrosol covered up most of the smell.

I know where your coming from, I got a face full of decomposing juice when the pressure washer sprayed back at me, yum yum.

Brambles

[Phil]

The Electrosol gives me an idea. Why not run it through an old dishwasher. I happen to have one out in the barn. Throw in some hot water and Electrosol and let it go to work. I wonder if it's been done before:confused:

[Brambles]

If your not worried about how well the skull scores then give it a shot, I think you'll need to flesh the head out better next time, kinda left alot of meat on it, it will definitly save you some work later on if that meat goes by by.

I wanted to do the non-boiling method because its a P&Y skull and don't want it to shrink any more than necessary, I don't think 30 minutes is enough to shrink it?

[blaker_99]

Head over to your local spray car wash late at night when the owner isn't around adn just spray the crap out of it. If it all doesn't come out boil it for a couple hours in downy or laundry detergent then pressure wash it again.

[greenhorn]

Those were some nice pics :razz: !

When I did my first skull, my father in law suggested strong bleach and epsom salts for the boiling solution. It only took a couple of ours, and the skull was pretty clean.

We then picked the little cartilage bits off with a small dental pick, and left the skull in the sun for an afternoon.

I've heard that taxidermists can purchase concentrated bleach, that apparently does a real nice job of whitening the skull.

Good luck!

[hunter1947]

Looks like a nice skull phil ,you should be happy you got it preped.

[Walksalot]

The first few pictures look like something out of a Stephen King movie.

[Stone Sheep Steve]

There are easier ways of doing it but they're waaaaaaaaaaaay less entertaining8)!!

Greenhorn-Taxidermists use conc. Hydrogren Peroxide. Not Bleach. Bleach will eventually result in a skull that will crumble and fall apart.

I tried the Oxyclean and tide thing with BB and it seemed to work pretty good. Might not even use peroxide now.

SSS

[BlacktailStalker]

Yes there was a lot of meat to begin with lol. I usually run a filet kife over the fresh skull and poke a stick in the brain cavity and stir the heck out of it, making it run, and you can vigorously shake the brain matter out. I wore goggles and rain gear after all that and did the power washer thing and that pretty much got 'er pearly clean. After about an hour.
Lol sounds like you had as much fun as when I did my first skull though!

[Kirby]

I'm using the beetles, much cleaner easier and faster. I'll post pics of my skull tonight to show how well the beetles work.

Kirby

[Fisher-Dude]

There is a way that you can do it without ever having to smell the rotting flesh. I did it with my cougar skull...$50 to a local guy and it came back spotless in a week. Easy. Clean. No fuss, no muss. 8)

[Steeleco]

So that's what I could smell on the wind in Langley!!!! Had a distinct DEAD smell to it. Quite the tale Phil. Did you show the pics to the kids? LOL

I wonder if good old fashioned maggots would do as good a job as the beetles?

[Beer]

Another easy way to deal with it if you have the resources is to throw it down in a crab trap for a week. Let something else do the work for you. Comes up spotless every time.

[Kirby]

$50 to a local guy and it came back spotless in a week. Easy. Clean. No fuss, no muss. 8)

Sounds like an easy way to make some cash, I'll do it for 40! No boiling involved.

Kirby

[boxhitch]

Not Bleach. Bleach will eventually result in a skull that will crumble and fall apart.


Take it from SSS.
It eats the glue that holds the fragments together.

[BowsUp]

Hmmm, I'm with Brambles. Defrosted the skull overnight and took as much meat, tongue etc off as I could. Then straight into a canning pot for a two hour boil with a couple of tbs. of Tide and a couple of baking soda.

Took the skull out side and pressure washed it, used needle nose pliers to pull out some stubborn matter inside the skull. Spent about twenty minutes picking bits out of the lawn and finding 3 of the 4 teeth I'd blown out with the washer. Blew out the nasal cavities so not much left in there.

First skull so I was following advice from others. Family didn't mind the smell much but then they've all been exposed to anchovies left in the boat for a week. :mrgreen:

Did the pressure wash in a swim suit, thinking it was easier to take a shower than clean raingear or clothing.

Nice photos.

[Phil]

Thanks for the replies and advice fellas. I am glad to hear that I'm not the only one experiencing the stink. I have resubmerged the skull for now in water and will continue the saga next week whenI get back from my end of season bear hunt up North. I hope to get the nasal passages cleaned out at that time. I have found a long pair of tweesers at work that I think will do the trick for reaching in. I am still planning how I will mount the skull and will post pics as I am working on it. In the mean time if any of you can provide any further insight or can post a few pics of your bear mounts to share a few ideas I would be greatfull. Thanks in advance.

[quadrakid]

i just love this thread,i can just imagine putting yogi,s head in the dishwasher and forgetting about it till my vegatarian wife finds it. can you say divorce.

[greenhorn]

There are easier ways of doing it but they're waaaaaaaaaaaay less entertaining8)!!

Greenhorn-Taxidermists use conc. Hydrogren Peroxide. Not Bleach. Bleach will eventually result in a skull that will crumble and fall apart.

I tried the Oxyclean and tide thing with BB and it seemed to work pretty good. Might not even use peroxide now.

SSS

Thanks SSS;

That's good to know. The fella that was describing the "bleaching" probably didn't realize it was actually peroxide.

I'll make sure I use peroxide on the deer skull supporting the huge set of antlers I plan to get this fall. :biggrin:

[bruin]

SSS, how long does it take for skulls cleaned with bleach to start crumbling? I wonder because I have 8 different skulls all cleaned with bleach, the oldest has to be 10 or more years and non have begun to crumble.??

[Kirby]

Bruin I got one that was bleached that started falling apart within a year. It depends on how much bleach you use. If you do it right they may not fall apart for a LONG time, do it wrong and it looks horrible within a year or two.

Kirby

[BCBear]

Bruin I got one that was bleached that started falling apart within a year. It depends on how much bleach you use. If you do it right they may not fall apart for a LONG time, do it wrong and it looks horrible within a year or two.

Kirby

There's a hell of a difference between submersion in 100% bleach and a cap or two in a pail of water. Ever tried to whiten up laundry and end up with shirts or socks that tear at the slightest pull?...too much bleach.

[hunter1947]

What i did a few years back was i wrapped the bear skull with chicken wire and then hung it from a tree lime and let nature take care of it ,i went back 2 months latter and most of the skull was clean ,i just had to finish off the last bit by boiling it for an hour.

[greenhorn]

SSS, how long does it take for skulls cleaned with bleach to start crumbling? I wonder because I have 8 different skulls all cleaned with bleach, the oldest has to be 10 or more years and non have begun to crumble.??

I'd like to hear the answer too.

Mine was bleached for a couple of hours, but I think we used diluted bleach (like you'd find for household cleaning purposes). I'm pretty sure we diluted it even more when we submerged the skull.

Cheers.

[Stone Sheep Steve]

I've been told this more than I have experienced it: however, I have 3 skulls on the shelf and the one I did in bleach(sorry,can't recall the strength or exposure time) has flakes of bone falling off, mostly from the sinus/palate area. I cleaned it in 2003.
The other two are fine.

SSS

[BCBear]

I checked my soaking skull yesterday and discovered that quite a bit of water had evaporated with the hot weather the past few days so it needed a fill up. Check your buckets guys and keep em filled.

As soon as I disturbed the water by adding more, that great aroma filled the air.:-D

[Brambles]

As soon as I disturbed the water by adding more, that great aroma filled the air.:-D


YUmmmmie, it certainly has a unique bouquet doesn't it?:D

[Mr. Dean]

NOTH'N like the retch of rotting Bear meat to make a persons day!!!

That my friend IS the sweet smell of success.

[Phil]

Topped mine up yesterday. Still smelling as lovely as ever.......only gagged once from the smell of the coagulated seaping fat from the bone as it floats rotting on the surface of the water. I hope this olfactory torture is worth it in the end.

[greenhorn]

Just think of the awesome trophy you'll have for years to come!

[WoodOx]

I just finished up my skull. was quite painless

Started by spending about 2 hours just cutting raw meat off skull etc.

Boiled for three or for hours in water, pinesol, and detergent.

Removed cooked flesh for 45 minutes.

Boiled once more - brushed clean the greater majority of flesh remaining, very clean at this point. Now just sitting in a solution of water/peroxide and a lil pinesol to cut the grease.


This skull green scores (with a newb scorer w/o the angle tool) by me 18 7/16. Wonder if its worth getting properly scored as I think 19 is BC book?


Thanks for the tips tho, whole skull done in more or less one day

[Mr. Dean]

This skull green scores (with a newb scorer w/o the angle tool) by me 18 7/16. Wonder if its worth getting properly scored as I think 19 is BC book?

19 is entitlement for the BC book. Yours is nothing to snicker about. Very nice.

[Phil]

Since the last pics I posted I have been slowly working on the bear skull.

After removing all of the flesh and letting it sit in a bucket of water for a month I cleaned it with a garden hose to remove the last pieces of loose crud.

As soon as that was done I soaked it in white gas for another month. This step was necessary to extract the fat from the bone. The fat settled in the bottom of the canning pot that I used.

The final step was to soak the whole works in peroxide. I found that 10 volume peroxide could be purchased as a reasonable price from Cosco. I was recomended 40 volume but couldn't find it so 10 volume it would have to do.

After allowing the skull and teeth to dry for a few days I Krazy Glued the teath in and a few loose joints in the skull.

Over all the process was fun and rewarding. The most difficult part would have to be keeping track of the teath along the way as they tend to fall out sporadically.

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t169/mbspr/IMG_0477.jpg?t=1189982268




A few orange rust marks are noticable throughout the skull. After soaking the skull for a few weeks I noticed this and began to investigate. found a piece of wire embedded in the jaw that was breaking off in small chunks and coming to rest on and around the skull, jaw and teeth. Concequently there are permanent marks.




http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t169/mbspr/IMG_0476.jpg?t=1189982323


Measured 18 7/8


http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t169/mbspr/IMG_0472.jpg?t=1189982359


I plan on making a plaque to mount it to next. When that step is complete I will post the pics.

A big thanks goes out to Ray at Heads Above The Rest taxidermy for all the do it yourself tips.

[sparkes3]

anybody ever throw the heads/antlers on a ant pile.no work at all just tie them on so bigger animals dont take them away.let the ants do the work for you.and it dont take long.

[Blktail]

Why in GOD'S NAME would you let it rot before cooking it?

If you aren't going to let nature do the whole job, then freeze the skull stripped as clean as possible by knife. Cook it when you have time in sub-boiling water for a few hours and strip the rest of the meat. Add a little borax to the water to help preserve the skull. Peroxide paste from the hair dresser will help bleach it.

There is lots of better advice on the web.

[Will]

Great Post !
Been there done that........the Wife still brings it up:roll:

She didn't like the smell..........I boiled it on the stove in the kitchen:o

1 Bedroom apartment in those days........I suspect the Nieghbors weren't too thrilled either :lol::biggrin:

[Mr. Dean]

Bring it over... I got beer.

[burger]

anybody ever throw the heads/antlers on a ant pile.no work at all just tie them on so bigger animals dont take them away.let the ants do the work for you.and it dont take long.

No but I have taken a deer skull that I wanted and buried it, then covered it with a pile of rocks for a year. I then dug it up and had to wash it a bit and it was fine no meat a little gooey brain matter and the antlers were not touched at all.

[Derek_Erickson]

adresss.... phone number, should I pick up another case?

[Mr. Dean]

Why in GOD'S NAME would you let it rot before cooking it?

If you aren't going to let nature do the whole job, then freeze the skull stripped as clean as possible by knife. Cook it when you have time in sub-boiling water for a few hours and strip the rest of the meat. Add a little borax to the water to help preserve the skull. Peroxide paste from the hair dresser will help bleach it.

There is lots of better advice on the web.


I believe Phil likes an active adventure. :lol:

Lots of stuff can be done easier. Sometimes it isn't as funny though. :p


Really though, the skull looks great. How could the way he did it, be bad?

[Phil]

Why in GOD'S NAME would you let it rot before cooking it?

If you aren't going to let nature do the whole job, then freeze the skull stripped as clean as possible by knife. Cook it when you have time in sub-boiling water for a few hours and strip the rest of the meat. Add a little borax to the water to help preserve the skull. Peroxide paste from the hair dresser will help bleach it.

There is lots of better advice on the web.


I admitt that I didn't exactly follow the carefull instructions I was given by a proffesional.

Shit happened as I explained earlier in the thread.

I think the moral of the story is that there is more than one way to get to the end result although messy and smelly.

I learned from the experience and won't make the same mistakes the next time around.

Doing it yourself is very satisfying as long as you stick with it.

[Mr. Dean]

adresss.... phone number, should I pick up another case?

You also need a skull...

[dukester]

i have placed a couple deer skulls in red ants nest .. works great. no wolf/coyote is going to stick there nose into the ants.. its safe and the ants clean it very well.

[Hiker]

Great post and nice job!