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How do you preserve a deer head for mounting?

4 min read

Asked by: Jeannie Brown

How do you prepare a deer skull for mounting?

How To Make A Euro Mount Step-By-Step

  1. Remove the skin of the deer head. Using your knife, remove the skin from the deer head and remove the lower jaw.
  2. Boil the skull. …
  3. Remove tissue. …
  4. Add Peroxide. …
  5. Wrap antlers. …
  6. Boil skull again for 30 minutes. …
  7. Remove shrink wrap and touch up as needed.


How do you preserve a deer skull?

If you want to keep them in the skull, work gently with them. Flushing water through the brain cavity and nasal cavity will work out some of the residual tissue in these bones. After the skull is as clean as you can get it, soak it in an enzyme-bleach powder (such as Biz) using about ¾ cup to a gallon of water.

How do you preserve deer skull and antlers?

Hold the skull by the antlers, and immerse in the boiling water. Allow the skull to soak for 15 minutes without immersing the antlers in the water. Pour a 40 percent solution of hydrogen peroxide into a pot. Allow the skull to soak in this solution for at least 12 hours.

How do you prepare a hide for mounting?


And you should put at least an ounce of baking soda per gallon.

How much peroxide does it take to bleach a deer skull?

Use 5–10% hydrogen peroxide. Remember to use gloves and protective goggles. Leave the skull in the hydrogen peroxide until it has reached the desired whiteness. For a deer skull, this usually takes 24 hours.

How long do you boil a deer skull?

When you’ve got as much tissue out as possible, cover the skull — not the antlers — with water and a few tablespoons of Amway dishwashing powder or its equivalent. Boil or, better yet, simmer the skull for about 1-1/2 hours (less for a small deer, as too much boiling can loosen the fragile bone connections).

How long do you soak a skull in hydrogen peroxide?

Make sure no water gets into the bag with your skull! Then pour your solution of 1:3 hydrogen peroxide to water into the bag. The water in the trash can will fill the empty space around the skull allowing you to use less hydrogen peroxide. Tie off your bag and let the skull soak for 24 hours.

How do you salt a deer head?

Liberally rub salt into the underside of the skull plate and then set the skull plate on the salt layer with the horns up. Pour the remainder of the salt on the plate and rub it into the bone. Leave the horns in the salt for 48 hours to draw the moisture out of the skull plate.

Can I freeze a deer head before mounting?

If you can’t get to your taxidermist right away, put the head and cape in the freezer. Don’t make the mistake of keeping the head and cape in an ice chest for too long, he said. Although it’s on ice, bacteria can — and will — still grow.

How do you preserve a deer hide?

Tack the deer hide, hair side down, to a piece of plywood. Partially dry it in a sunless place, then rub in a coat of fat liquor oil (3 ½ ounces of neat’s-foot oil combined with 3 ½ ounces of warm water and 1 ounce of ammonia). Work in half of this mixture, allow it to stand for an hour, then repeat.

Do you tan a hide for taxidermy?

And we'll come back in the morning and we'll go ahead and tan our hide. Sort of all of this oil. Now I might come back and check it in a little while and if it appears to be very dry.

How do you remove deer hide hair without chemicals?

So this year I'm using lime. And this makes the water. The alkalinity of the water go way up and it's it helps loosen the hair so that you can scrape it off while it's wet.

Can you tan a hide with olive oil?

Coconut oil, olive oil, almond oil, or vegetable oil can also be used. Some tanners apply oil both before and after smoking to help ensure the leather does not dry out too much and crack during the smoking process.