# European Mount - throw head in pond?



## wango tango

Someone told me that you can put the head in a pond and pull it out a short while later (a couple 3 months?) and the skull will be more or less ready to go...obviously may have to clean it some.

I'm not sure I want a stinking head laying around for lord knows how long...and dont really feel like burying it. 

TIA!


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## buckeyewtp

*Beetles*

I would have the skull beetle cleaned cost around 50.00 plus shipping done in about 1 week


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## BigDoggDarren

wow ........

instead of paying just to have it beetle cleaned and come back smelling and looking like crap - why not just pay the few extra bucks to have it cleaned and whitened ? the cleaning is only the first step - and actually one of the least important


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## buckeyewtp

*obviously*

well yea but it sounds like he wants to do it himself dont know what you use to degrease them but mine dont smell or look like crap


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## BigDoggDarren

if they are just beetle cleened and not degreased is what i meant.. I had a guy ask me to do that until i showed him what a skull looks like out of the beetles. there is a ton of info on taxidermy.net for those that want to clean there own..... just read before you attempt it - once damaged not much you can do to fix it


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## buckeyewtp

*True*

That is very true they can get screwed up easily nice website btw


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## TimberlandTaxi

I wouldn't throw it in a pond. If you want to clean it by maceration, use a plastic tub or something. The mud in the bottom of a pond will permanently stain your skull. After maceration, you will still need to degrease and whiten.


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## SPITTLERHUNTIN

Yeah works good, make shure u tie it off with good rope


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## BigDoggDarren

buckeyewtp said:


> That is very true they can get screwed up easily nice website btw


thank you... still a work in progress, but it did almost pay for itself in the first year


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## erictski

my dads been using the pond for years...

then boiling with some type of bleaching agent on the campstove...he likes to spray them white with paint anyways...but the pond will definately reduce your cleaning time.


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## CutTheLoop

TimberlandTaxi said:


> I wouldn't throw it in a pond. If you want to clean it by maceration, use a plastic tub or something. The mud in the bottom of a pond will permanently stain your skull. After maceration, you will still need to degrease and whiten.


5 gallon bucket and handful of dirt :thumbs_up


Keep antlers covered from sun bleaching too.


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## SharpShooter505

my dad and his friend did a european mount on my buck and they boiled it in this type of acid. it looks really nice


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## wango tango

i plan on letting it hang/suspend below my dock. no mud *should* get on it.

any guesses as to how long it'll take?


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## Garth

just boil and bleach yourself.


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## BowKil

A moving creek or stream works way better then a pond. Put the skull in a potato type open mesh bag, stake it down and toss it in. Check on it in a few weeks.


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## Brad66

I always get a chuckle out of the guys who just automatically assume that beatles are the best way to go. All they do is eat the meat and tissue off, they dont do nothing as far as whitening goes. And if you cut corners and spray paint it, well in a few years you will wish you hadn't............


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## micah123

Yeah, I have heard of people doing that, or burying it. They say put the horns in a bag and tape it down tight so it doesnt bleach them.


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## buckeyewtp

*Beetles*

beetles are just the fastest way to get the job done! as far as whitening why spray paint thats a cheap way i use peroxide


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## scrub-buster

buckeyewtp said:


> beetles are just the fastest way to get the job done! as far as whitening why spray paint thats a cheap way i use peroxide


Beetles are the fastest??? I simmer my skulls for about 4 hours. Spend 1-2 hours doing the fine cleaning, degrease, and then soak it over night. I can do a Euro mount in one day. They turn out like this.


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## noahsdad

CutTheLoop said:


> 5 gallon bucket and handful of dirt :thumbs_up
> 
> 
> Keep antlers covered from sun bleaching too.


can you tell me more about the hand full of dirt

thanks


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## bighornboy

The problem with throwing it in a pond, your antlers will bleach out. I put mine in a 5 gallon bucket of water and make sure the antlers are not in the water. I put a wet rag over the skull that is not in the water. Usually takes a couple months to get it completely clean. During the summer, usually less than a month. The bacteria grows better when it's warm. It does stink, but all the nasal bones are left in there. You may have to super glue the teeth back in there. I then degrease and whiten.


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## affe22

scrub-buster said:


> Beetles are the fastest??? I simmer my skulls for about 4 hours. Spend 1-2 hours doing the fine cleaning, degrease, and then soak it over night. I can do a Euro mount in one day. They turn out like this.


Just curious but do your skulls all start separating at the nasal bones like the one above?


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## erictski

We skin the hide off the head and bust off the lower jaw...then put a plastic bag over the head but not antlers...hand it in the barn...in the summer the bugs will find it and in a few weeks to a month itll stink bad but be pretty much ready for boiling...not along of work that way...


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## scrub-buster

affe22 said:


> Just curious but do your skulls all start separating at the nasal bones like the one above?


NO. I have never had any nasal bones come out on my skulls.


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## get er dun

*no bugs-*

i am a taxidermist and highly disagree with the beatles.just boil and whiten but make sure you get it ALL out. it isnt clean when it looks clean. if you smell what i am steppin in. if you have any mounts in the house at all deer,fish,birds,ect. i do not recomend the bugs.and for all who want to argue dont- because i have redone enough mounts that the bugs either found or the owners had bug cleaned bone in the house.:wink::wink::wink::wink:


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## affe22

scrub-buster said:


> NO. I have never had any nasal bones come out on my skulls.


That is not what I asked. I meant do the bones that make up the bridge of the nose always start separating like the skull you have pictured?


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## affe22

get er dun said:


> and for all who want to argue dont- because i have redone enough mounts that the bugs either found or the owners had bug cleaned bone in the house.:wink::wink::wink::wink:


Sorry but you are getting an arguement because this is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. If any live beetles make it from the shop to the house, something was done terribly wrong. No beetles make it through a proper skull cleaning and they should be cleaned out of the skull anyway. Good people also don't keep their beetles anywhere near the shop they do their mounts in.


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## get er dun

affe22 said:


> Sorry but you are getting an arguement because this is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. If any live beetles make it from the shop to the house, something was done terribly wrong. No beetles make it through a proper skull cleaning and they should be cleaned out of the skull anyway. Good people also don't keep their beetles anywhere near the shop they do their mounts in.


you said it correctly-PROPER skull cleaning- if i read this correctly he is a do-it-yourselfer if not i am sorry. just speaking from past jobs thats all


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