European Mounts (Pic)

Fishing With Larry · 03-06-2008, 12:06 PM

I've been putzing around the house for the last month, healing from a shoulder replacement surgery. The last several weeks have been brutal so I decided to start working on some european mounts on my list with my one good arm. I guess I need to change my name to Onearmcharlie. It has been good daily excercise and I finally finished them this morning. I have about $15 into each one which is a whole lot better than the $125 from the taxidermist.

The one on the left is my 25" Mulie from a year and a half ago while the one on the right was my 13 year old's second buck of his life at 28 1/2". You'll notice that the left eye socket on his buck is gone. His 352 yard shot took out the eye while the buck was licking its shoulder. The bullet went through the eye and then through the neck.

Pretty easy to do if you are even remotely handy.

Quaka Wacka · 03-06-2008, 12:14 PM

Nice work.

No Fences · 03-06-2008, 12:53 PM

They look good.

Adjhunt · 03-06-2008, 01:29 PM

Those look awesome!! Both amazing bucks!

steelieseeker · 03-06-2008, 01:31 PM

Very Nice Mounts. Way to go!!!

mtn300 · 03-06-2008, 01:46 PM

I have a question. How did you mount the skull to the piece of wood. I was just wondering because I have a skull and horns I want to mount but we can't figure out how to attach them.

Crayfin · 03-06-2008, 01:48 PM

Drill them in from the back with sheetrock screws

Joe · 03-06-2008, 02:06 PM

I think I prefer European mounts to shoulder mounts. Here is a P&Y Roosevelt bull I killed and mounted to a Ewe wood (Ewe tree and I'm not sure how it's spelled) burl and the closest Pronghorn is the one my lucky 12 year old killed on his first day hunting last August. I just mounted it to a piece of hobby wood from Fred Meyers.

Fishing With Larry · 03-06-2008, 02:13 PM

Mtn 300,

I sent a PM describing how to do it.

James in Idaho · 03-06-2008, 02:16 PM

Hope your shoulder is healing, my mom just had that done in January, right before her 76th birthday! Lots of PT, she's doing well and the pain relief alone was worth it. I got to take a week off work to go be her taxi driver last month.

Lucky Guy · 03-06-2008, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mtn300

I have a question. How did you mount the skull to the piece of wood. I was just wondering because I have a skull and horns I want to mount but we can't figure out how to attach them.

I was asking around about this too. One way I heard is to bondo a short piece of wood into the skull cavity and screw the plaque to the wood from the back.

Those pics got me interested in getting that project going. Good job!

Fishing With Larry · 03-06-2008, 02:44 PM

Thanks James,

This is my third surgery in three years. I ended up getting some new parts this time. I just turned 41 so it has been kinda a shocker to learn that I can't be very active with these parts or I face amputation down the road. (Older people get the replacements to last longer because most are relatively inactive) I've literally been pacing, but I have gotten the first good sleep in over several years.

If I could walk to the nearest shed hotspot, I'd have been there by now. Kinda bummed that archery appears to be out from here on out but I was always the best caller in our group anyway, now I have a designated role.

Old Soldier · 03-06-2008, 03:11 PM

Great work!! Mine are no better and I had two arms.

beardbuster · 03-06-2008, 03:37 PM

Nice work Eric! I would be going a little stir crazy too.

I have a pair of pintails in my freezer if you want to try and mount those up

Fishing With Larry · 03-06-2008, 03:58 PM

I've thought about going to taxidermy school since I'm not currently building houses. I have a bobcat and two badgers in the tanning/pickling solution but I don't know how I can flesh or scrape them with my arm in a sling. I also have a big mule deer cape and a bear hide in the freezer to excercise with once I'm feeling up to it. I have a perfect wood duck drake but that, my friend, is a long shot. It's kinda like laying down concrete. Most everyone can do it okay, but very few can do it perfect everytime.

I might be begging for things to work on in the future if houses don't start selling. It is quite fun to "do it yourself".

whackem & stackem · 03-06-2008, 05:29 PM

Those mounts are cool. I really want to get a nice blacktail this year to mount like that.

Super Fluke · 03-06-2008, 05:31 PM

Nice mount, they look like they turned out good.

Nw dukn · 03-06-2008, 06:19 PM

Niiiiice Mounts..........

Joe · 03-07-2008, 07:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Onemovecharlie

Kinda bummed that archery appears to be out from here on out but I was always the best caller in our group anyway, now I have a designated role.

Don't give up hope! With the performance bows of todays bows 50 pounds is plenty to kill an elk. What about switching to the opposite side as in lefty if you shoot right. Would that help?

ROSSIENG · 03-07-2008, 09:59 AM

Just wondering what you used to whiten or bleach the sculls. They look great.
I have one that i boiled and picked clean but need to whiten it and mount it.

sprigkiller09 · 03-07-2008, 12:26 PM

Here is a pic of my rosie that i just got back not too long ago. I think it turned out great!!

Tim Brown did the work.

jokester · 03-07-2008, 12:37 PM

Those look great! Nice work!

-jokester

Joe · 03-07-2008, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ROSSIENG

Just wondering what you used to whiten or bleach the sculls. They look great.
I have one that i boiled and picked clean but need to whiten it and mount it.

I am curious what onemovecharlie used too. I've been using 35% Hydrogen peroxide lately and it seems to get the skull the whitest without damaging bones. It's nasty stuff though so I'm always interested in hearing about other methods. One thing I learned is that you don't want to really boil the skull just let them simmer....

Nice looking work there springkiller. Like I said I prefer European over most taxidermy. Much easier to clean and if taxidermy is not perfect it looks to me like a dead animal.

Fishing With Larry · 03-07-2008, 02:52 PM

Sorry Guys, I wasn't paying attention.

Usually, I use a dog cable and tie the antlers/skulls up to a post out back and then pile leaves on them and let them set for two months. This lets the bugs eat nearly everything off. Sometimes I hit them with the pressure washer, other times they are completely clean already. If they are at all stained, I leave them in the sun for a few days. The only thing I don't like about this, is that the antlers start to whiten as well and need to have some stain applied to darken them. I think that I will use pipe insulation and wrap the antlers next time I throw some out back and see if this protects the "just harvested" antler color.

Anyway, then I use a paste mixed with 40% hydrogen peroxide solution and Magnesium Carbonate (I get these from Research Mannikins Taxidermy supply). I just paint the paste on and wait a day or two until it drys then brush it off. A word of caution, if you soak the skulls in real potent Hydrogen Peroxide, it can make the bone brittle.

For bears, bobcats, or whatever. I put the skull in a five gallon bucket with holes drilled in it and bury it half in the ground and let the bugs eat on it for a month or two. Then, using a different method, I put the skull in a different five gallon bucket that can be sealed and fill it with water to a level above the skull and let it sit in the sun. The bacteria eats everything and all you need to do is wash the skull and empty the skanky bucket every two weeks until it is perfectly clean. Be careful that you keep track of the teeth when you clean the bucket out. You have to epoxy the teeth back in but it is almost not necessary to use any whitener with predador skulls using this method even though you can if you need to.

SummerRun Slayer · 03-07-2008, 03:10 PM

Whenever I've done european mounts I've always put them in the peroxide with flesh still on them, but I do try to cut away as much as possible. I let them soak for a couple of days and then pressure wash all of the flesh off. I've never had a problem with teeth falling out when doing it this way, but it does get a little messy.

Trick · 03-08-2008, 07:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Onemovecharlie

Sorry Guys, I wasn't paying attention.

Usually, I use a dog cable and tie the antlers/skulls up to a post out back and then pile leaves on them and let them set for two months. This lets the bugs eat nearly everything off. Sometimes I hit them with the pressure washer, other times they are completely clean already. If they are at all stained, I leave them in the sun for a few days. The only thing I don't like about this, is that the antlers start to whiten as well and need to have some stain applied to darken them. I think that I will use pipe insulation and wrap the antlers next time I throw some out back and see if this protects the "just harvested" antler color.

I have a buddy that does his in the same general fashion....He puts a garbage bag over the antlers to keep them from bleaching out.....seems to work.