# What's the best way to de-skin a deer skull?



## TDBone (May 23, 2008)

Hey guys,

I shot a spike this weekend and wanted to save the rack and skull. I cut the head off and it is in the cooler now. What is the best way to get all the skin off so I can have it like a Euro Mount?

I have heard a few idea's:

- Put it in a red ant pile for a few days
- Burry it half-way underground and place a bucket over it for a few months
- etc.

What is the best way?

Thanks in advance!


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## RockChucker30 (Sep 6, 2007)

Take the hide off the skull with a knife. I like to boil and bleach a euro mount. Van ***** sells a kit, which I think is also carried by Cabelas.


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## stl81969 (Aug 6, 2006)

Boil it (carefully) don't burn the antlers


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## Nate331 (Jun 30, 2007)

I usually just skin the skull. Doesn't really take that long. Never had luck with the ant pile thing. After skinning, remove as much soft tissue and then boil for hour or two. Remove the rest of the soft tissue. Take a screwdriver and break up the brain from the hole in the back of the skull. May need water hose to rinse. Once that is done, I just soak in regular peroxide over night


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## cujrh10 (Feb 26, 2006)

I would recommend using your teeth.


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## lkmn (Feb 28, 2006)

Take a pair of pliers, pull off hide and boil. Another good way to get rid of all soft tissue if one's nearby, is to take to a self serve carwash and pressure wash it off. The trick is to get there and wash off before it cools down.


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## teach4 (May 5, 2005)

I bury my skulls and cover it. To afraid of burning the antlers.


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## nycredneck (Nov 9, 2007)

teach4 said:


> I bury my skulls and cover it. To afraid of burning the antlers.


Just keep in mind that some critters like to nibble on them antlers to get nutrition.You may wind up with a chewed rack.


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## John Doe (Aug 3, 2005)

I believe my beetle guy uses an air compressor. 
He sticks the bicycle needle type thing under the skin and hits the air. 
Supposedly it pulls most of the skin away from the skull, and then he takes an exacto knife and finishes the job. 
He says it's quicker and minimizes the little "nicks" that skinning it with a knife can create. 

John


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## waterfordarcher (Sep 14, 2008)

John Doe said:


> I believe my beetle guy uses an air compressor.
> He sticks the bicycle needle type thing under the skin and hits the air.
> Supposedly it pulls most of the skin away from the skull, and then he takes an exacto knife and finishes the job.
> He says it's quicker and minimizes the little "nicks" that skinning it with a knife can create.
> ...


that is really time consuming, tried it...just skin it so all the major junk is off, take out the eyes, anything in reach, then swing by your taxidermists and ask if you can toss your skull in his beetle tank (if he has them), most taxidermists I know will only charge like 10$ a week, or if you dont have them money, tell him to throw it in there whenever things get slow and the beetles need food...


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## ILLbucknut (Jul 12, 2007)

I have 2 skulls barried in the back yard with a tote covering the antlers so animals wont nibble on the racks. I have'nt checked them for about a year now, maybe check them later tonight.


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## MissouriTrapper (Jan 4, 2008)

If you do boil the head you should double wrap the horns in foil to keep the heat off of them. Cut as much meat off as you can, it goes a lot quicker of you cut the lower jaw off before you start. I always pressure wash my when done boiling.


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## Cmarti (Oct 15, 2004)

I bury it and wait for the fourth of July or Labor day. Rinse it off and paint it with bone or satin paint. 15 inutes work, that takes 9 months to to. I can't take my wife 
and daughters "concerns" about boiling a skull, and I did not enjoy peeling one. I have done 4 this way, and use a rubbermaid tub with a cement block on top, and the antlers in garbage bags.


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## yeroc (Jan 11, 2007)

Borrow your BUDDIES! turkey fryer and boil the hell out of it,last time i did one i used bleach,dish soap ,peroxide and water.takes a long time to get all the crap out.Stinks like hell to.Think about it,your actually cookin the brains? Thats why i said use your buddies!!...My dad wasnt to happy with me when he found out what i was usein his fryer for.:wink:


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## QuickReflex (Jul 28, 2008)

Bag the horns tape them off with duct tape tie them to some heavy mono line then hang them into the creek or pond let the minnows do the work.


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## ProFoSho83 (Nov 23, 2006)

Boil it in water with *sodium carbonate* not (sodium bicarbonate). It Doesnt take long at all and the remaining flesh falls off! You can find it by laundry detergent in a grocery store.


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## affe22 (Sep 29, 2005)

If you do the hot water method, DO NOT boil the water. Keep it just below boiling. Remove as much tissue as you can with a knife. I'd get the brains out with a coat hanger or something before simmering the skull. Remove the eyes and tongue pre-simmer also.



waterfordarcher said:


> that is really time consuming, tried it...just skin it so all the major junk is off, take out the eyes, anything in reach, then swing by your taxidermists and ask if you can toss your skull in his beetle tank (if he has them), most taxidermists I know will only charge like 10$ a week, or if you dont have them money, tell him to throw it in there whenever things get slow and the beetles need food...


You must know some really nice taxidermists. Most I have seen charge ~$100 for a deer euro mount.


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## Slough Hunter (Oct 4, 2008)

I usually just boil the skinned head for about an hour, take it out and spray it with a power sprayer until everything is clean. It might take a while to spray it thoroughly. It works best for me if you don't leave on any vertebrae and remove the jawbone first. Then I soak it in peroxide overnight. I pour peroxide up till right below the horns and use paper towels to wrap around the top of the skull and below the bases without touching the horns. The peroxide soaks through the towels and bleaches the top of the skull. I know it's a late post but it's taken a while to get registered.


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## Scotsbowhunter (Mar 26, 2008)

I have to ask, why do Americans love European mounts so much? Yes we have pleanty here but actually shoulder mounts are more popular and I do prefer that. Just curious. Thanks.


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## waterfordarcher (Sep 14, 2008)

affe22 said:


> If you do the hot water method, DO NOT boil the water. Keep it just below boiling. Remove as much tissue as you can with a knife. I'd get the brains out with a coat hanger or something before simmering the skull. Remove the eyes and tongue pre-simmer also.
> 
> 
> 
> You must know some really nice taxidermists. Most I have seen charge ~$100 for a deer euro mount.


ya for the whole ten yards, Im saying for them just to clean it up with their beetles and thats it...the other stuff is too easy to do to warrant paying upwards of 50 bucks...A beetle colony costs in the ballpark between 15-30$ to start up with 80 bucks in supplies, hes making money still and he knows it....


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## GreggWNY (Sep 6, 2002)

Scotsbowhunter said:


> I have to ask, why do Americans love European mounts so much? Yes we have pleanty here but actually shoulder mounts are more popular and I do prefer that. Just curious. Thanks.


1. They are neat looking.

2. They don't cost $400.00

3. You can do it yourself.

4. We are Americans :thumbs_up


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## Dom36 (Jun 7, 2007)

Well, you wouldn't want so spend a few hundred on a shoulder mount for all the bucks you shoot, when the cost is very minimal if you do it yourself 

You'll get used to the smell of boiling them out 

If you do a few you'll get a system down pat, here's what I do, may help explain it better to a few who are contemplating the process, Waidmannsheil, Dom.

First cut head off exactly where it connects to neck – a general cut around hide at this point (just behind ears) into the crack and twist it off. Remove hide, eyes (needle nose pliers and exacto knife), lower jaw (swings out down and back), scrape any large pieces of meat (tongue, esophagus, etc), and ‘fish’ out brain with bent wire. 
Place in a bucket of cold water for a day – drain and replace water at least once. This takes some of the blood out and will help eliminate ‘dark’ spots on the skull. 
Next day place in pot large enough to submerse; use wire around antler bases to hold just at water line (I have a holder made for this or just use a couple of vise grips which clamp the wire to the edge of the pot). Fill with water and a little dish soap, and boil for 30 to 60 minutes depending on size and how hard you boil it. Replace evaporated water to keep at base of antlers. 
Once this is done, rinse off good, let cool to the touch and then scrape off all remaining gristle, gum lines, cooked meat, brain casing, etc as best you can. Also, cut out the soft bone (cartilage) in the nasal passage, then let dry for a day or two, or until you have other skulls to bleach. I usually save them up and do 3 or 4 at a clip. 
Last step is hydrogen peroxide – I use a 30% solution, wear rubber gloves because it will turn your skin white and burn. Cover entire skull with dry cotton – hold in place with rubber bands. Place the skull in a shallow aluminum pan (like a small cake pan) and pour 30% over cotton – spoon works good to do area near antlers because you don’t want to bleach them. With 30% a couple 2-3 hours is good, then take all the cotton off. If the sun is out, it works great in making it really white, but it will be white even without it. You can use the 3 percent from food stores, then you could submerse the skull in it for a few hours or up to a day.
There is one step you can do after skinning and removing lower jaw, and that is to take a saw and make an angle cut just under nose bone to base of skull (sideways, but don’t cut too high or it will look ‘funny’ mounted on a flat trophy board because the angle will be wrong). What I usually do is make the cut after they are completely done – I take the skulls to a shop where they have a band saw and belt sander. Makes it easy, nice straight cut – especially since you’ll be cutting through the top of the upper teeth. The belt sander works great for getting the bottom really flat. There will then be a point under the inside where brain and nasal bone meets – this is where you want to put one screw through the plaque and into this solid point to hold it on the board.


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## rangerjoey (Sep 11, 2006)

Skin the hide off with a knife, pliers, and elbow grease. Be careful and don't gouge the skull with your knife. Add a small amount of dish soap (to cut the fat) to some water and boil in water that is barely boiling. It took me two days of boiling to get it done. Towards the end use a water hose and spray everything out. Change water several times. Soak in 3% peroxide until it is white as you want it. Don't use bleach!! Spray with a non yellowing clear varnish. Be careful and don't get the antlers in the water or peroxide. If you do use wood stain to get the color back. Oh yeah, don't do it inside it stinks pretty bad.


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## strauss16 (Aug 23, 2008)

*easy clean*

If you want to save a little work bury it in a pile of wood chips for the summer and then clean it. By the time you pull it out of the wood chips you will just have to rinse it off, no peeling or pliers. From there you can follow the final prep instructions from the other posts i.e. bleaching and laquer.


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## Hammer0419 (Nov 21, 2005)

Skin the head then save your self lots of time and mess and send it off to be eaten by beetles. I shot a hog & had the skull done by beetles and it turned out awesome. It only cost me $70. Well worth it.


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## Scotsbowhunter (Mar 26, 2008)

Wow nice collection. I would Euro mount the smallish ones, that aren't big rack wise but shoulder mounts, any taxidermy is expensive here. Around £500 for a red stag mount and £300 for a roe buck mount.

Its way cheaper to get things mounted in the US, especially MS where i'll be headed. My father in laws cousin is a taxidermist.

P.S another common thing here (not sure if it is there, my father in law has only shoulder mounts) is just mounting the antlers.


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## manboy (Mar 24, 2005)

Scotsbowhunter said:


> I have to ask, why do Americans love European mounts so much? Yes we have pleanty here but actually shoulder mounts are more popular and I do prefer that. Just curious. Thanks.


americans are cheap! thats just the way it is.....
for a euro mount deer i am $140.00, all you are doing is buying someone's time. i make $25.00 on overtime. i work 50+ hours week at fulltime job so taxi work is overtime for me. it takes me around 5 hours to do a euro mount, and around 20.00 for bleaching paste and peroxide.


oh, and guys DON'T BOIL THE WATER! :wink:


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## Scotsbowhunter (Mar 26, 2008)

manboy said:


> americans are cheap! thats just the way it is.....
> for a euro mount deer i am $140.00, all you are doing is buying someone's time. i make $25.00 on overtime. i work 50+ hours week at fulltime job so taxi work is overtime for me. it takes me around 5 hours to do a euro mount, and around 20.00 for bleaching paste and peroxide.
> 
> 
> oh, and guys DON'T BOIL THE WATER! :wink:


I got priced $350 for a whitetail shoulder mount in Mississippi that is cheap compared to $600 here i'll go with the mounts 

I wouldn't give them the money here to be honest.


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## Rocket21 (Jan 21, 2003)

I used a knife and scratched all the skin and hair off. Soaked the skull cap in a bucket of bleach and by morning it was perfectly white and clean. Just be sure not to get the antlers in the bleach.


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## Slough Hunter (Oct 4, 2008)

So if you don't boil it, how long do you let it simmer? It's never been a problem for me since I don't boil it too long. It doesn't bother me if the spayer etches it a little but I might just simmer it this year. The biggest pain is spraying the brains out. The reason I do them (skull mounts) is they look better than just sawing the horns off but they aren't big enough to mount. Also I usually have it done about 3 days after I kill it.


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## manboy (Mar 24, 2005)

slough hunter,
it doessn't take to long 1-2 hours, put a little dawn soap in and some baking soda couple oz. then just keep picking it up and looking, the meat will just fall off, take a wire brush to it when cooled a little.:wink:


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## NEWYORKHILLBILLY (Nov 17, 2007)

the problem with boiling is sometimes will crack the teeth. if you do boil if you use sal soda it will desolve the meet. If you just put into a tub of water and put it outside for 3 mouths there will be no meet left. then bleach it with hydr and your done


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