# euro mount instructions



## redneckone (Nov 2, 2010)

Ok this is my way of mounting euro style deer. There are other ways to do it but the way i do it works and i have done it successfully since i was a teenager.
I have learned a few tips through mistakes so you don't have to.

1. the most important step is the cut of the skull. The skull must be thawed out and don't wait till it starts to rot, it makes a nasty mess.
You need to skin the skull and trim back the main excess meat and fat. I take a sharpie and mark my reference line. i start right where the teeth on the upper jaw stop
towards the nose. then i make a line under the bottom edge of the socket of the eye and make a straight line to the back of the skull. Remember you can always trim
bone away later you cannot add skull so it's always safest to make a deeper cut than needed so you can trim the finished skull down to where it will mount flat
and square on your board. Try to get a friend to hold the antlers still while making the cut but you can do it by yourself by standing on the antlers just be very 
careful of the cut angle try to get it square as possible maybe even longer on the unseen side, just don't short-cut the oppsite side it will ruin the mount. 
Stop cutting when you get to the last tooth(closest to the nose) you can cut the rest off with a pocket knife. The roof of the mouth bone is sensitive. When sawed
off you should have part of the ripply roof of the mouth on your skull. I try to cut the teeth off but just very close to the upper jawbone so there isnt any teeth
sockets.the back of the skull should be a deep cut (long) just keep marking till the entire cut is straight and looks square. remember end of teeth closest
to the nose, about an inch under the bottom of the socket of the eye, and that should give you a square cut all the way to the base of the skull.
If you cut deeper for safety once you boil and scrape the skull you can trim with a jigsaw or a file or handsaw, just to fit to the plaque just right.Dremel tool with cut
off blade is my current preferred method.

2. The next step is boiling. I use a 15.5 qt stockpot from walmart $20. Fill it with enough water to cover the back of the skull. Don't get too much water past the 
burr of the antlers, it will discolor a bit the antlers. So as you boil just keep an eye and add water as needed. Once it starts boiling let it boil for an hour to
and hour and a half and start checking it, take a pocketknife and try to scrape the meat off. The meat should scrape off without too much work, but if you over boil 
the cartilage will seperate and the skull will come apart. Seen this happen when forgot that antlers were boiling for about 3+ hours. Once you start scraping you can
get 70% of the stuff out and continue boiling for 20 minutes and soften the final bit up to come off without fighting it.

3. Scraping this is the tedious nasty part. To be sure it is boiled long enough the brain should be solid and pop out in pieces. If it is still mush then you need 
to boil longer. If you cut properly there should be a smaller hole to get the brain out, just take a stiff knife and mix it up and shake it out. Now on the underside 
of the head you have a whole bunch of sinus cavity. ALL of that has to come out, it is really thin bone and usually crunches up and can shake it right out.
You have a long cartilage piece that runs right down the entire length of the sinuses, it should be easy to cut it and sometimes it will pop out whole. You 
need to scrape all the way down to the main structure bone(thick bone) but be carefull not to force too hard or you could risk tearing the nose bones apart.
IF that happens they can be glued back together later. Usually that doesn't happen. If you cut it correct you have the roof of the mouth bone that extends past 
the upper nose bone(the one with the jagged looking edge on top) you have to get inside that tube hole of the nasal cavity and get all of that out. If you leave any
of the spongey thin boned sinus cavity it will rot and stink...it doesnt ruin the mount, it just stinks for a while.on the top of the head there is alot of scraping 
and cutting of meat off be sure to trim under the burr of the antlers. any of the clear/yellow fat stuff needs to come off down to bare bone. It will yellow up 
the skull when it dries. Just continue scraping and boiling in small time frames and it WILL eventually all clean up, i been doin it for years and it take me about 
an hour to scrape. It's tedious but it will pay off.

4. Curing and bleaching is next. Bleaching is not in BLEACH but just whitening it up. I have used 50% factory quality peroxide to do this but it is dangerous.
I have seen people getting 40% peroxide from hair salons also. If you get this stuff PLEASE use rubber gloves and saftey glasses. this will burn skin on contact!!!
Lately i have been using standard 5% peroxide from the dollar store. You just have to do multiple coats. The more powerful peroxide only takes 1 even coat. The
standard peroxide takes 3-4. The trick is getting a paintbrush and painting it all over the skull careful to keep it away from the antlers. pour it and smear around 
alot inside the skull and it will finish off any tiny stufff you couldn't get with scraping. Maybe take a paint pan or something and pour some in it and use it to 
dip and brush on the peroxide to not waste as much. Once you cover it in peroxide put it in the sun and let dry. repeat until it turns the white you want.
DO NOT polyurethane the skull it will look great for a couple years then the skull will yellow a whole lot and you can get it off without damaging the skull.
i know cause i did it. The ones i left alone still look great. If you arent happy later or it starts to yellow from the fat setting in, you can unmount and repeat 
the peroxide to whiten it up! Also the peroxide will turn the fat and meat you missed a yellowish color so you can do the final touches of scraping.
Now there are ppl that say use bleach or other chemicals for whitening, I have not used another method cause i haven't needed another. I do know bleach and other
chemicals WILL cause the bones to get brittle and the skull will fall apart, i also advise against soaking in peroxide. I do not know what it will do, it could cause 
damage. Also If you aren't careful with 40-50% peroxide it can eat away the cartilage that holds the nose of the skull together and then you will be supergueing and 
siliconing a head jigsaw puzzle back together! that's why i recommend 5% peroxide.(update..i have been going to sallys beauty supply and using 40 volume toner with
a pack of super blue powder)

5. Final mounting and fitting!!! you are almost done so don't get in a hurry or you will break your skull. Now place the skull on a flat level surface and make sure 
it lays flat and even, if it is lopsided at this point take a pencil(to erase marks) and A LITTLE AT A TIME mark where it needs to be trimmed to sit perfectly 
level. I used a jigsaw on my head and trimmed slowly and it turned out ok....BUT one slip and the blade could bang bones apart on the skull, so if you have one maybe
a stiff backed handsaw, or a rasp or maybe a floor mounted belt sander...just take it slowly and dont over do it, remember at this point the bone is brittle and there
is no muscle or anything to reinforce the thin bones, but you need to trim at this stage so all the bone is exposed so it can be trimmed evenly for the best look 
possible. Once it is done now it is time to mount to a board. NOTE wear a breathing mask, tiny bone particles is NOT good for your lungs!!!
I still haven't found a perfect way to do this and i am open to ideas! I know of 3 ways to mount the skull to a board. My grandfather just takes 3 in. screws and
runs em straight through the nerve holes above the eye sockets. BUt you then have a screw head exposed and takes away from all the tedious work you have done.
I have tried taking a small board chunk and wedging it in the brain cavity and screwing it in from the back side of the board. It is a pain in the rear to get the 
skull on straight this way and the board never stays in place. I have thought of taking expanding foam and spraying behind the wood to secure it then predrilling
holes then screwing it down. I'm sure it will work i just never have expanding foam. And i'm a cheap butt. i have also just found thick bone around the brain and 
predrilled holes and screwed straight in the skull. making sure the screws aren't exposed. The style of board you mount it to is your own choice.

Well that is as explained as i can get, the cost of materials is about a dollar for peroxide, wood depends on what you like, 2 screws, and a big pot.
So not much at all, just like i like it. These aren't what you could do they are what you should do, i HAVE done this many times and it works!
It is simple easy and just takes a few hours of your time, you can have your trophy mounted the day after or maybe the day of the kill. No long taxidermy 
waits and paying people to do what you can do yourself. I can help out further if you need more specifics, i will be on archerytalk.com and my email is 
[email protected] feel free to contact me and post some pics of your work. If you find a better way then let me know, I like easier ways!


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## Stickin Em (May 24, 2006)

The peroxide you get at the beauty supply stores is 40 volume, not 40%. That 40 volume peroxide is actually 12% peroxide. Also, if you don't want them yellowing over the years, degrease it before you whiten it.


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## BigDoggDarren (Oct 10, 2008)

I'm confused, why are you cutting the skull ?


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## redneckone (Nov 2, 2010)

BigDoggDarren said:


> I'm confused, why are you cutting the skull ?


I dont like the teeth on my skulls, also it helps it lay flat on the board. All personal preference.


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## redneckone (Nov 2, 2010)

Stickin Em said:


> The peroxide you get at the beauty supply stores is 40 volume, not 40%. That 40 volume peroxide is actually 12% peroxide. Also, if you don't want them yellowing over the years, degrease it before you whiten it.


just a typo on my part. And yes boiling it with some dawn helps, also before i bleach I do take a toothbrush and scrub it down with dawn. I wrote these instructions a couple years ago and i went through and updated some of it. I have learned new tricks in the past few years, like use a dremel to cut the skull, using hair bleaching products to whiten and so on.


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