DIY Euro Mount

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In the past, I've taken elk and deer to the taxidermist and paid to have the skulls cleaned and bleached. This can range anywhere from $100 to as much as $300, depending on where you are. Although cheaper and easier to find a place for than a shoulder mount, the cost still adds up.

Quite a while back, I decided to get the necessary tools and start boiling my own skulls. Through trial and error, I've found an easy way to make a quality Euro mount at a very low cost. The task seems daunting at first, but once you do a few, it gets easier. Plus, it's rewarding doing it yourself.
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This is a thread for discussion of the article, DIY Euro Mount, By Remi Warren. Here you can ask questions or make comments about the article.
 
Remi
Thanks for the article. I put my elk skull in the water as it was heating up at 2pm today. I took it out at 10 pm and it was really clean but a little fragile. I think maybe I should have pulled it out an hr earlier. I put off boiling my skull about a month which surprisingly made getting the brains out easier. They pretty much liquifide and dripped out. The down side is the sinus cavityl is full of boiled maggots - (I'm laughing as I write this). Any experience or suggestion on getting those out?
 
Great article.

After all is cleaned , bleached, and dried for a few days, I paint the skull with Elmer's glue. It protects it and gives the skull a nice semi-gloss slight pearl look. Also makes the skull easy to dust off.
 
Great article! I do euro mounts on everything I kill. and have done quite a few for friends and family.
Figured I could share a couple tips I have learned over the years.
Fresh is better maggots, rotting meat, and liquid brains suck!! they smell bad and I feel make it harder to work with.
Fresh heads versus rotten ones always have turned out better for me.
Bones seem to hold together better on fresh ones.
I try not to boil them quite as long as suggested in article rather than cook them so long that the meat and stuff pretty much falls off I prefer to cook them until the meat and such just starts to loosen up. This keeps the bone much harder and more intact.
I have found the longer you boil the softer the bone gets teeth fall out and the nose piece falls off.
Then rather than scrape with a spoon and pry the meat off with pliers and screwdrivers I break out the good old pressure washer and give it a good pressure washing it will blast the brains out and get all the pesky little crap that is attached to the skull off. Nasal passage and all.
I just did a whitetail I shot with my bow this year.
15 min. to skin it out I left the jaw on if you have a big enough pot the jaw falls right off once its cooked. I simmered it for about 3 hours {simmering not boiling is key! way easier to keep the pot full of water} pressure wash for about 15min and I am done.
I used to put peroxide on to whiten but found leaving the skull in the sun to dry and whiten works just as well.
And thats my 2 cents!
Andy
 
Only thing he didn't cover that I think is important is deep cleaning of the antler bases where they join the skull. I've seen some nice Euro mounts ruined because this area wasn't properly cleaned and microbes ate the antlers. Once I have those cavities cleaned I use Epoxy to fill the voids so nothing can get into the antler mateial.
 

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Wire through the back of the skull is great. Holes already there. I got some sitting on work bench waiting to fall on the floor. This is quick and easy.

White romex would hide the wire better too. Little thick. Could try telephone or thermostat wire too.
 
Pic with nothing done to whiten skull maybe not as white as some may like but good enough for me.
 

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Awesome. Just did mine last night. Spent birthday doing it now got a great mount for my birthday. Thanks.
 
Looks great ! Nice deer! Let it dry in the sun and it should whiten up real nice.
 
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