# deer leg mount



## adam36 (Jan 10, 2011)

i was wondering if anyone has ever tried or knows the steps to taking a set of deer legs and making a so called mount or gun rack with them? I know they have to be dried but can anyone point me in the right direction. My wife wants to do this if she shoots a doe for her first deer with her bow and put the arrow on the legs.


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## dorkbuck33 (Sep 12, 2011)

Taxidermy skill and knowledge is needed here a little . I can point you in the right direction to do this. You will need to purchase some supplies or kit. Let me look , hang on. 
http://www.vandykestaxidermy.com/P882-P263C1515.aspx
Properly done you will not end up with moths or bugs for many years to come. 
You can have freeze dried also , but , just a suggestion as some will say different and thats AT for ya.
Cut em off and dry in position with some heavy weight bent @ 90 deg. ? Drill the center out when dry and epoxy some threaded rod in to mount on board .


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## BowBaker1640 (Aug 6, 2010)

my father did a set over 40 years ago and all he did was peel back the hide aas far as you can and force table salt in as far as you can get it in there then take them and put them in a solution of the same table salt and water ( he said to use a 1/2 a pound ) . then take and bend them and secure them in the position you want them to stay in. put them in the water and salt solution and let them soak for about a week. you will also need to hollow out the marrow from the bone. which i would do before i soaked them. after the feet soak for the week let them thouroughly dry. after they are dry trim them back to the length you want and epoxy some bolts into the hollowed out bone and there you have it. while you have the hide peeled backfrom the bone would be a good time to hollow out the bone then you can drill holes in the sides of the bone for the epoxy to flow into to make sure the epoxy doesn't loosen up for any reason. but like i said before my father did his over 40 years ago and there has never been any problem with bugs or anything like that. no special tools or chemicals needed either


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## adam36 (Jan 10, 2011)

wonder if it would be easier to just have a taxi do it. it cant be that expensive.


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## r.spencer (Jun 20, 2009)

take a block of wood that is square. Bend hoof so it forms a 90 degree angle. Secure with twine. Let dry for several months. Clean out marrow in center of bone. Fill with epoxy. Screw to wood plaque with 2 drywall screws. Mine has lasted for over 20 years this way. nNo bugs or deteriation.


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## BowBaker1640 (Aug 6, 2010)

the salt tightens the hide when it dries so the hair won't fall out


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## giffman36 (Nov 5, 2012)

r.spencer said:


> take a block of wood that is square. Bend hoof so it forms a 90 degree angle. Secure with twine. Let dry for several months. Clean out marrow in center of bone. Fill with epoxy. Screw to wood plaque with 2 drywall screws. Mine has lasted for over 20 years this way. nNo bugs or deteriation.


"x2"


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## bengalbrother (Dec 17, 2007)

wire them at the angle you want and throw them in a dehydrator


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## Bigboar (Sep 18, 2010)

I just drill out the marrow, bend the leg at 90 degrees, put in on a flat board like a 1x6x10 inch, place some nails in several places around the foot (about 5) to hold it in place, and place one nail through the cord that will be exposed when you bend the foot. Normally I would then completely cover it with 20 Mule Team Borax that can be purchased in the laundry aisle of your grocery store and let it dry.

However this takes a long time. So this year I just took the board and placed it in the oven set at warm. After the oven got warm I turned it off so it would just act like a dehydrator. Every half hour or so I would again warm the oven and turn it off. After about 6 hours it was dried to the point that I could remove it from the oven and board. I then completely covered the legs with Borax and let them sit. I would not use salt for this drying/preserving process. The borax helps with the drying process but also keeps out bugs from infesting the foot. Make sure to work it into the fur as much as possible. After it is dry, saw off the leg to the length you want using a hack saw.

I then use either 1/4 or 5/16 all thread (depending on the size of the deer leg) and epoxy it into the bone where the marrow was removed. leaving it stick out beyond the leg bone about 3/4 inch. This rod can go almost all of the way to the foot and will help give the leg bone extra strength.

You can then drill a hole sized for the all thread through the display board and spot face the back so a nut and washer can be installed and still be flush with the back of the board. 

I have built many hat racks like this over the years and many are over 30 years old and still look like new. This year my grandson got his first deer (doe) so I am making an oak display board for him with a european style boiled skull, two feet as described above, and the face of the shell he shot her with.

Maybe when it is completed I will post some pictures, if I can figure out how to do it on this site.


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## rbarnette (Nov 14, 2012)

Ok I have one question does it matter if you put the feet in the freezer to buy some time been busy with work and waiting for a couple days off to do something with them been in there for about a week now and just wander if I may have screwed up by putting them in the deep freezer

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## Bigboar (Sep 18, 2010)

Should not hurt anything at all. When you are ready to work on it, just thaw them out and proceed like they were fresh


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## MattR_WI (Sep 27, 2012)

adam36 said:


> wonder if it would be easier to just have a taxi do it. it cant be that expensive.


10 years ago I did the same thing with my first bow kill, which was a doe. I had a bow holder made from mine. Taxidermist by me did it for $50 and mounted on a nice piece of stained oak. I told him I wasn't in a hurry for it back and just do it when time permits, which might have helped with cost too. Got it back in a few months time.


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## rbarnette (Nov 14, 2012)

I'm thinking about having a taxi do mine I did a skin a few years back and it took a good bit of my time and I know I don't have that kinda time this time around so not sure yet

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## adam36 (Jan 10, 2011)

pics would be great


Bigboar said:


> I just drill out the marrow, bend the leg at 90 degrees, put in on a flat board like a 1x6x10 inch, place some nails in several places around the foot (about 5) to hold it in place, and place one nail through the cord that will be exposed when you bend the foot. Normally I would then completely cover it with 20 Mule Team Borax that can be purchased in the laundry aisle of your grocery store and let it dry.
> 
> However this takes a long time. So this year I just took the board and placed it in the oven set at warm. After the oven got warm I turned it off so it would just act like a dehydrator. Every half hour or so I would again warm the oven and turn it off. After about 6 hours it was dried to the point that I could remove it from the oven and board. I then completely covered the legs with Borax and let them sit. I would not use salt for this drying/preserving process. The borax helps with the drying process but also keeps out bugs from infesting the foot. Make sure to work it into the fur as much as possible. After it is dry, saw off the leg to the length you want using a hack saw.
> 
> ...


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## adam36 (Jan 10, 2011)

thx for all the replies. can not wait to put them in the oven. i am going to do this when the ol' mother in law comes over. she is always making comments about hunting and what a waste of time and money it is. just gotta get the wife in the woods more so she can get her oppurtunity.


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## Bigboar (Sep 18, 2010)

adam36 said:


> thx for all the replies. can not wait to put them in the oven. i am going to do this when the ol' mother in law comes over. she is always making comments about hunting and what a waste of time and money it is. just gotta get the wife in the woods more so she can get her oppurtunity.


Sounds good but don't cook them just let them dry out. Save a pile of deer scat to put in the oven for her.:smile:

Here are a couple of pictures I just took of the feet I am working on right now. Hope I can get them attached correctly for you to see.

Deer Foot1 is the foot on a scrape board ready for drying. Use as many nails as necessary to hold foot in place.

Deer Foot 2 is a closeup of the nail through the cord to help keep foot at right angle.

Deer Foot3 is how the all thread is epoxied into the leg. Cut off to slightly less than the thickness of the display board.


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## Bigboar (Sep 18, 2010)

I know this thread is about just the deer foot, but this is how I indend to use them.

The first picture is of the oak board I made to mount the scull and two legs.

The second pictures shows my grandson's doe scull just about ready to be mounted to board after it is drilled and finish is applied.

The legs will be mounted at the center point of the two radii on the bottom sides.


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## pa.hunter (Jan 3, 2008)

put in borax


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## Dakota6gun (Nov 27, 2007)

Dang, this is neat. One more thing for me to try next year. All my deer parts are thrown away for this year. I do have a tail deboned, opened up and nailed to a board and covered in borax at the moment. Just wanted to see how that would turn out.


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## rbarnette (Nov 14, 2012)

ok I'm seeing alot of replies some saying use borax some saying use salt some not saying to use either one but my question is how to get any blood off the legs and how to keep fur from falling out

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## Bigboar (Sep 18, 2010)

rbarnette said:


> ok I'm seeing alot of replies some saying use borax some saying use salt some not saying to use either one but my question is how to get any blood off the legs and how to keep fur from falling out
> 
> Sent from my SGH-I897 using Tapatalk 2


Wash the blood off the leg first thing before you mount it to the board for drying. If you dry it before it rots (which is why I think using the oven as a dehydrator is good to start with) is the first part of keeping the hair from falling out. The reason you should work the borax into the hair and finish the drying with the leg covered in the borax is that it keeps the bugs away. Just like there are moths that will eat your clothes, there are bugs that will eat the hair and it will then fall out. I do not know how the borax does that, but it is used when mounting small animals to help dry out the skin and keep the mounts bug free.


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## b0w_bender (Apr 30, 2006)

My recommendation would be to use salt and or borax solution, let them soak a while. Remove the excess moisture and then secure them in the position you want as pictured above. Then if you're not in a big hurry just stick them in the freezer wrapped in a brown paper bag. The freezer will completely dry them our and eliminate the chance of any rot or bugs not discouraged by the salt and borax from messing with them. Just a thought.


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## rtm20012003 (Dec 5, 2010)

ttt


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## hedp (Dec 20, 2011)

Cool


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