anyone do there own taxidermy?
I am going to attempt to do a euro/western skull mount on a nice 8pt deer.
so far I'v skinned it out and got the bigger chunks of meat off the skull.
I'v read some people use bugs / soaking in water / boiling or simmering the skull, to remove the remaining non bone parts. then using peroxide to bleach the skull.
has anyone done this before that could suggest some tips or things to stay away from?
what about sealing after?
some people wrote about degreasing the skull before bleaching, huh?

 

Dean, I want to apologize for not having any information to help you with.


But when I saw "Home Taxedermy" it made me laugh out loud. Considering you are serious not so funny now. How the heck do you do this with out having a horrid smell in the area you are working in (assuming this isn't something done on the kitchen table). I just can't fathom doing this, good luck to ya brotha.

 

Well I have stuffed a few things at the house but I don't think it's the advice you are looking for

 

Wish I could help but don't have much experience here either.When I hit the neighbors cat the other night there really weren't any "non bone" parts remaining so I just scraped him up and into the trash.

 

Boil and clean, boil and clean. Use a straight wire to get up inside the skull... boil and clean some more.

Do not do this in close proximity to wife, children or anyone else you want speaking to you in the near future. It's got a little stink to it.

Don't get the antler bases down in the water if at all possible.

Don't use bleach.. bleach dries out and dissolves the bone and causes it to become extremely brittle. You soak it with peroxide or get the peroxide powder from a beauty supply house that they use for bleaching hair. Make a paste with water and coat it on the skull.. do not get it on the antlers. Let it sit for a couple of days and rinse it off. Gets all the yellow fat out of the bone. You can then spray the skull with a matte clear sealer or just leave it as is.

 

Now that is a beautiful mount!!!!

 

Cabelas sells flesh eating beetles. I've used them twice and they work well. Usually takes about a week if you clean it decently before.

 

thanks quack
I have the skull soaking in a bucket of water (macaration method, sp?)
I'll let it soak for a week the simmer it in hot water, less than 212 degrees so I don't harm/weaken the bone then bleach with peroxide.
I hope the final result is as good as quack's

 

If you can get your hands on some sal soda to mix with the water in the cooking stage, it will make it a whole lot easier.

 

well this is after simmering and cleaning. I still have to whiten it with peroxide

 

Looks good.

Peroxide will brighten it right up.

 

That's awesoem work. I was attempting to do the same thing with a 4x2 that I shot a few years ago, but my mom's dog got ahold of it and chewed the nose off. Damn dog.