# Help with doing a euro mount (nasal cavity/brain mostly)



## TheF1nger (Feb 20, 2011)

I know there's tons of diy euro mount threads on here and just googling the topic....but nobody every really talks about how to remove the sinus' and brain...

I got a mount back from the local high school AG class and the lower part of the nose bone is missing, so next time i'd like to try doing it myself (didn't have any of the necessary equipment when i killed my buck to do it at the time). So that part is obviously lost, but i'd like to try and keep it intact next time. So how do you guys remove that sinus cavity and brains while keeping what's left of the bones intact?


----------



## ToddB (Oct 14, 2008)

The most important thing is to not boil the skull, you need to simmer it only, boiling will make the bone to brittle.I have not lost any bone or teeth doing it like this. Simmer with borax first, after all the meat is off change the water and simmer in dawn dish soap to degrease. For the brain I take a jig saw and cut a V out on the back side right behind where the spinal cord would connect, you do this before you simmer, scoop out as much as you can with your fingers and the simmering will take cake of the rest. For the nasal passages a gun cleaning rod with a small calliber to 410 bronze brush does a great job.


----------



## 170p&ywhitail (Aug 29, 2009)

After smmering for about 4hrs. Take a screw driver into the spianl hole in back of skull and stir it around makeing the brains mush, then put the jet nozzle on ur garden hose and wash em out, also while doing this jet nozzle the front and rear of the nose cavaity and it will take care of that junk too. The jet nozzle also helps remove all the meat from it to if its simmered long enough. I've done 3 this year just as I said and hardly had to touch them with a knife or hands going with the jet nozzle route. After all done I soak the skull in oxyclean overnite to bleach it. I wrap the antler bases in elec tape up to the the bend. In the antlers so it don't whitein the antlers. It will a lil bit but not tapeing them it will really show especially if its a chocalate rack. On a white rack I don't tape it off because it don't show up to much. Just try and cover the top of the skull with oxy clean water to avoid most of the antler.


----------



## madarchery (May 28, 2003)

I made a simple brain cleaner. I took a 1/4" pc of copper tubing and rigged it to fit a garden hose. (use your ingenuity here)

Anyways OUTSIDE slip the 1/4" tube into the spinal opening and crack on the water. The water pressure easily forces the brain out of the same hole. (pretty slick) Some guys scramble with wore first but I have not found a reason for the extra step.

Other then that its just simmer away. Add some dish detergent to help break down the fat and oils. And the cleaner you scrap initially the faster it all goes. 

Be very careful around the nasal and eye sockets. These bones are thin and get soft when simmered. You will also loose some teeth and the nose will loosen while you simmer. It can easily be reattached when ready to let dry. Just fit the bones slip on a rubber band clamp and when the bones dry it tightens back up.


----------



## 170p&ywhitail (Aug 29, 2009)

Hold on I'll post a pick of one I finished today.


----------



## codykrr (Feb 6, 2011)

Maceration. PERIOD! Simmering/boiling/dermisted beatles will and can ALL damage nasal bones.

The best, but most time consuming method is Maceration(letting it rot in warm water)

Here is my step by step guide(which I will be writing a full detailed DIY guide in the next few weeks).

skull prep

1. take a dry brush and clean the antlers of any blood/guts dirt...ect that wasnt on it when you shot it.
2. wrap the antlers with self clinging saran wrap: do a good job, this will prevent the smell, or fats from staining the burrs/bases and will help prevent the antlers from absorbing stench.
3. skin the skull without damaging the actual bone. cut as much meat, and tissue off as possible(I use an Xacto knife) even cut the eyeballs and tongue out. less tissue the better/faster.
4.double check the wrapping on your antler bases.

tub/water prep. 

5.get you a rubbermaid container(might not find one big enough) or what I think I am going to this year a 55 gallon plastic barrel with lid. 
6. get an aquarium heater(usually 30 gallon is plenty- you dont want the water hot or it will kill essential bacteria)
7. put the aquarium heater inside the tub using the suction cup if desired(I do) and place skull inside as far away from the heater as possible.
8 fill with regular tap water/garden hose water untill the water level is right at the antler bases and is covering the skull completely.
9. place lid on to prevent evaportation and hold in some smell- its gunna stink BTW
10. wait.

After about a month the water will be pretty rank...filled with chunks and have fats floating on top. you need to skim this off with a fish net(the fine mesh kind) add water if needed.

if you decide to change water(cut back on smell) you need to save at least a 1/2 to full gallon of the old water to save essential bacteria that will break down the tissue. add your clean water, let it get to temp and add in the old. place skull back in.

After about 2 1/2 to 3 months you can pull your skull out and usually with a garden hose spray the remaining(if any) tissue off. for brain removal(if any left) just tip it upside down, and spray inside with a garden hose nozzle on jet. 

once all tissue is removed, clean our your tub and add(my personal favorite) "dawn foaming dish detergent" to the water. add your aquarium heater back into the water, place skull in(up the the antler bases) and change the water everytime it gets cloudy.

I can have one degreased in a month with the water temp at 75F and using that dawn detergent. after a month of water changes take the skull out and let air dry for a few days. if you see spots that still look wet its probably oil/grease...degrease the skull some more.

Sounds like a lot of work, and it is...but the results are PERFECT nasal bones. A few teeth might fall out(usually not) but if they do while the skull is still wet push them back in once dry the skull shrinks and they will be tight again.


----------



## codykrr (Feb 6, 2011)

BTW- I dont bleach my skulls. I like the natural look better. If I do a friends, or someone's I will bleach if they ask. I use salon grade peroxide cream. its 17 bucks a bottle.(Wife gets it from her friend who cuts hair)


----------



## 170p&ywhitail (Aug 29, 2009)

Here's a simmered, jet nozzled, oxycleaned euro.


----------



## docrich52 (Dec 11, 2008)

heres the down and dirty:

Ive done 4 of em so far, the first one turned out pretty well because i did just what you are doing and asked this very forum for advice. every one after has been better and better. i pretty much have it down to a science now and im starting on my 5th sunday. here it goes, first skin the head. its not too hard just be carefull when you cut the nose off because you dont want to cut the nose bone off just the cartilage. after skinning the head, cut out the eyes and remove the lower jaw and tongue. once you have as much of the meat off of the actual skull its prettyu smooth sailing for the next couple of steps. 1.) get a big (cheap) pot from wally world, the big blue speckled ones are about 13 bucks and a perfect size to boil a deer skull. 2.) get a big bottle of dawn dish soap (i use the orange citrus type because the smell while boiling isnt too bad). 3.) get a large bottle of peroxide (the cheapo kind from walmart is about 1.39 at wally world. 4.) last but not least of supplies is a turkey fryer.

Fill the pot with water so that when you put the deers skull in, the water comes up to the base of its antlers. Squirt about a 3rd bottle of dawn in the water and start boiling.(you can boil it just be easy with the head when removing it and putting it back into the pot). Boil the head for about 3 hours.. after about 3 hours the meat should be pretty rubbery and everything should be alot easier to pick off the skull. Pull the skull out easily and start pickin! get as much of the little pieces of meat and fat off the skull as possible. After you've done that come the fun part, the brain! That sun of a gun turns pretty much to glue. but it isnt too bad to get out if you use my trusty home made tool.... a coat hanger bent to a hook at the end!  make sure the bend is very tight and able to pass through the hole in back of the skull. you should be able to pull it out in 3 to 4 pieces.

after you finish all of the above, the skull will look for the most part bare and it will be alot easier to work with. next change your water. this time fill with the same amount of water but dump in half of that bottle of peroxide... boil for another 3 hrs. be careful because the water will semi bleach the antlers if you let it get too high. you can wrap the bases of the antlers in aluminum foiland secure it with a rubber band. something with the chemistry of the foil and the peroxide limits the bleaching of the antlers.

after you boil it in the peroxide solution you will see that the bone will be starting to de grease or the fat will be drying out of the skull. the bone will also be getting pretty good and white. OK>>>>> pick that sucker clean again! this should be the last time if you are thourough about it that you have to pick at the skull, but the better you get all that off, the better it will turn out.

Change your water out and boil one last time with water and the rest of the peroxide. when finished, the skull should be pretty white and dried out and bare. dont worry if the bases are a little discolored or bleached, we can fix later. 

after you boil the skull to whiteness and you pick the bone clean of flesh and fat you need to go out and get some beauty supplies!  go to sally beauty supplys and get some bleach powder... its peroxide powder concentrate. just ask for it, they'll know what u are looking for. also get a cheap small paint brush. mix some wate into the powder untill its a thick paste. then carefully paint it onto the deers skull covering all of the bone as much as possible. after coating, wrap it in a plastic bag and set it in a window so that the sunlight can hit the bone and bleach that sucker white as ivory! id leave it covered for about 3 or 4 days and then let it dry out.
after the skull is dry, wash the skull off with warm water and you should have a white clean deer skull worthy of a couple of coats of matte clear acrylic spray paint and ready to hang on the wall! 

if you need to, you can use some wood stain to re color the antlers back to their original color, just be carefull because a little goes a long way. just use a clean rag and a little bit at first.. you should be able to figure the rest out  

pm me if you need help, ill give you my cell number and talk you through it! good luck!


----------



## docrich52 (Dec 11, 2008)

ps - it only takes a week to do... not months


----------



## Quicksliver (Nov 22, 2006)

This: http://www.taxidermy.net/forum/index.php/topic,125076.0.html

5 hours.


----------



## Quicksliver (Nov 22, 2006)

And that "bone" between the 2 nasal passages is cartilage and comes out easily.


----------



## codykrr (Feb 6, 2011)

^ that was a tacky, careless job. even the way he mounted it looked tacky IMHO. To each there own.


----------



## Quicksliver (Nov 22, 2006)

codykrr said:


> ^ that was a tacky, careless job. even the way he mounted it looked tacky IMHO. To each there own.


What's so tacky and careless about it?


----------

