DIY European Mount for Under $5

Whether it's your first deer, or you take a few deer a year, you probably look for cheaper, easier ways to do something with your antlers. Now, I don't consider myself a trophy hunter. But I do consider keeping the antlers of the deer I take as a remembrance of the hunt, and a way to appreciate the animal. And making a European mount of the skull is once of the most natural ways to do that, not to mention the cheapest.

This job is not for the squeamish. While I won't put images in of the grossest parts, I will make some mention of them. But if you are a hunter, it's nothing you can't handle!

Step 1: Gather Your Tools

You probably have each of these already, or a usable substitution. Except maybe the chemicals, which are very inexpensive

• A DEDICATED stock pot. Stock pot sets are pretty cheap if you don’t have one. I make my stock in a more expensive pot, but having a set of the cheapies is great because you tend to have to transfer liquids around for filtering. I stole the 16 quart pot out of my cheap set and dedicated it for European mounts. Trust me, EVERYBODY makes a face if they learn you used your “skull” pot for making their dinner, so keep one just for this purpose.
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• A place to cook it. DO THIS OUTSIDE. Your grill’s side burner will work fine. A camp stove will do in a pinch too. Nothing beats a turkey fryer. You can even buy just the base on Amazon, for under $50. These puppies crank out some BTUs and get your water up to boil MUCH faster than the other methods. Since you are using your dedicated antler pot, your fryer pot remains good to use, safe from those scornful looks.
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• Some scraping tools. I like some of the tools available in this scraping kit. You can get a similar set cheap at Harbor Freight. They are sharp enough to scrape material off the bone, but dull enough to not cut or mark up the bone. You could also use a standard hobby knife set. The rounded blades work great.
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• A plastic shoe box for bleaching. The size is perfect for a skull, PLUS it makes a great storage box for your scrapers and other “skull cleaning tools”.
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• Soda Ash aka Washing Soda aka Sodium Carbonate. This is the magic ingredient. You can get it for around $5 at Walmart, in the laundry aisle. It’s also used for balancing pH in pools, so you may already have some for cleaning or for your pool.
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• Hydrogen Peroxide. The standard brown bottles you use in your first aid cabinet. Get 4 bottles.
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Ok, I know all that stuff adds up to more than $5. BUT, you probably already have most of these items, or a suitable alternative. Even if you had to buy everything on the list, you are still under $150, way cheaper than a taxidermy mount. The washing soda has enough to last you for quite a few skulls, so that is an "every few years" purchase. So now you are down to 4 bottles of peroxide per skull. Under $5.

Step 2: Get and Clean the Skull

I skin and quarter my deer at camp. Once the quartering is done and the meat is in the cooler, I'll skin the skull and remove as much meat as possible (including the eyes). I remove the lower jaw as well - though I save it for aging my deer. Removing it just makes it easier to get more meat/material off the skull.

Once I've butchered my deer back home, I'll usually get to the skull within a few days. I just hang it in a bag in a tree till I'm ready. The bag keeps the bugs off. Bugs won't hurt it, it just makes the process a bit grosser than it needs to be.

Step 3: Remove the Grey Matter

Here's the grossest part: I like to get as much brain matter out of the skull as I can. I use a small hook made from a coat hanger (look to the right side of the soaking box picture for example). Simply put it in the back of the skull and start pulling stuff out. If you are too grossed out, you can leave the brain in till after the first cooking process, but I find it helps to get it out sooner.

Step 4: Get the Bath Going

Get enough water to cover the skull boiling in your pot. MEASURE as you fill it. Some stock pots have handy measuring lines. Mine usually takes 3 to 4 gallons to get the skull covered. The water can cover the base of the antlers, they'll be fine.

Add ½ cup of washing soda per gallon of water. The washing soda is amazing. It helps degrease the skull and separate ALL material from it. Add the skull and cook it at a rolling boil for 30 minutes. If you just boil it with no washing soda, it might take you 8 hours to achieve the same results. I throw the cleaned jaw bone in with the skull while it's cooking - I save them for future reference in aging deer I've shot. Having a real example is way better than comparing to pictures.

If the antlers are overhanging the outside of the pot, I'll make some protective wings out of foil, just to block some of the heat from the burner from hitting them as it goes up the sides of the pot.

Step 5: Clean and Scrape

After 30 minutes, take the skull out an hit it with a hose. My sprayer has a nice "jet" setting that pretty much blows any remaining meat off the skull. Spray out the brain cavity and the nasal passages. Be a little more gentle on the nasal passage - you don't want to damage the delicate bones in there. Wear goggles or safety glasses when spraying. High speed water hitting odd shapes with gook at close range... umm, well, just speaking from experience.

Once the hose does its work, use your scrapers to remove as much remaining material off as you can. It's a little tedious, but none of the work is difficult.

Step 6: Rinse and Repeat

Get some fresh water (just water) boiling while you scrape. Once you are done scraping, boil the skull for another 30 minutes, and repeat the process of hosing and scraping. Keep the water boiling while you scrape, if it needs another round, pop it back in the bath for while. Repeat till the skull is totally clean.

During the boil, you want a careful rolling boil, not a hard, violent boil. Boiling too hot, or for too long will make those upper "lip" bones fall out, and possibly the teeth. You can notice these start to loosen when you are scraping, so keep an eye on them. If they do fall out, you can glue them back in later.

Step 7: Bottle Blond, Err, I Mean White

Now that the skull is clean and rinsed again, put it in the plastic shoe box. Pour in the hydrogen peroxide up to, but NOT TOUCHING the base of the antlers. It WILL bleach the antlers, so try not to splash any peroxide on them or let them sit in it. If you do splash them, just pour a little water on them to rinse them.

Let it bathe in the peroxide for a day or two. You'll notice part of the skull will be above the peroxide. Use a spoon to gently pour some of the peroxide over that portion of the skull every so often. Take out of the peroxide and let it dry. Sometimes I rinse it in water, sometimes I don't. A final rinse doesn't seem to impact it one way or another. If any of the teeth or bones fell out, put them firmly, but gently, back in place, and let it dry out. If any of the bones are still loose once dry, you may need to glue them in, but letting them dry in place is usually sufficient.

Step 8: Touch Up, and DONE!

If the antlers became bleached at all, you can touch them up with some wood stain. Sometimes I get some minor bleaching from the washing soda, but sometimes I don't.

Now find a nice place to hang your mount, you are done!

Comments

[kbs2244]

I have heard that that the easy way to clean any bones of left over meat is to leave them in a spot of water with crabs in it.

Within a week it well be as cleaned as possible.

[VenisonThursday]

I really like the concept of using the crabs - I hate to see any meat go to waste, so if some "critter" can make a meal of it, that is awesome. Unfortunately, where I am in NY, crabs aren't a viable option. I know there are beetles you can purchase for cleaning the bones as well, but I'm not a fan of bringing in non-native bugs to do the job. I have tried letting the native insects do the job, but it has not worked well - they didn't do a uniform job, and there was also some staining to the skull.

Great idea though for people with access to crabs!

[smokywasp]

Pretty awesome! I'm just getting ready to do a whitetail that I shot. It scored 140.

One way to get the brain out is to stick an air hose in the hole and it will blow it out!

[VenisonThursday]

Nice! I have heard about the air hose, but have been reluctant to try it... maybe if I had a small enclosed space like a sand blaster box that I could do it in. Then line it in plastic...

[Lorddrake]

will the peroxide do any damage to the antler, or will it just change the color? A solid white skull and antlers would be an awesome base for an art project :)

[VenisonThursday]

The peroxide doesn't damage the bones or antlers at all. The skull gets a pretty brilliant white. I've never intentionally applied it to the antlers, but I have had "spots" of peroxide get on it, or if I overfill the container and the pedicle (antler base) gets slightly submerged. The antlers do whiten, but not the the extent of the skull. Would be interesting to try and see how white they get!

[Swansong]

That came out really nice! You got it bright white :)