Posted: 11/3/2008 9:24:55 AM EDT
| I got a deer, and instead of getting the rack mounted I just sawed them off with part of the skull. Except it's kind of messy. Is there a trick to cleaning the left over hair/tissue off? Some kind of cleaning solution perhaps? I was thinking about setting it in boiling water, but don't know if that would discolor part of the antlers or not. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance. |
|
Quoted:
I got a deer, and instead of getting the rack mounted I just sawed them off with part of the skull. Except it's kind of messy. Is there a trick to cleaning the left over hair/tissue off? Some kind of cleaning solution perhaps? I was thinking about setting it in boiling water, but don't know if that would discolor part of the antlers or not. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance. Just sit it in the garage for about a week it will be fine. You dont have to put anything on it. |
| Hang them over the fence for a month or so and let the critters do their thing. Then take them into the house and set them in a pot of boiling water (try not to dip too much antler in the water - skull only) for about a minute or so - just enough to loosen up the left overs. Then use a pair of pliers and a small scraper to remove everything else. Once you get it all the way clean you can then spray a little bleach on the skull and wipe it down. |
The best way to do it is to sit down (while it is still very fresh) with a SHARP knife and carefully cut the skin/hair off. Start at the sawed edges and work toward the antler bases. Once this is done, let it dry for a couple of weeks, then clean up any remainder. There is a thin membrane in the brain cavity that pulls right off with a bit of tugging. You will then have a nice white skull plate. 
|
|
Quoted:
The best way to do it is to sit down (while it is still very fresh) with a SHARP knife and carefully cut the skin/hair off. Start at the sawed edges and work toward the antler bases. Once this is done, let it dry for a couple of weeks, then clean up any remainder. There is a thin membrane in the brain cavity that pulls right off with a bit of tugging. You will then have a nice white skull plate. This / If you do use the boil method be careful not to boil the antler. Antler's natural color is white since it is nothing more than bone. The pretty brown coloring is just dirt and tree sap and will easily boil off and then you will need to re-stain the antler to make it look right. |
|
What ever you do, do it outside. I forgot and left a freshly sawn off rack and skull plate hang in the basement for a few days, maybe longer. Rather aromatic!!!
Boiled and scraped a entire antlered skull in the kitchen. House stunk for days. Wife still hasn't let that one go. I still do several skull plates and a couple of european mounts every year. I just use the propane fish cooker out in the drive way. I did one for my nephew last night- first buck from the youth hunt. A shallow pan filled with a water level that just comes up to the antler burr works well. It works best if you take a knife and skin the head first, remove the eyes, the brain and as much meat and tissue as possible before you start the boiling. Add a little TSP, dish soap, or simple green to the water to help break loose the grease and fat from the bone. I'll boil mine for a while until I see the tissue has started to "cook" and pull back. Scrape for a while with a knife and return to the water when things start to get difficult or the head cools to cook some more. I'll change the water a couple of times during the process just because I don't want the skull or bone to continue to boil and simmer in greasy, scummy water. Once I get all the tissue off the bone I'll use hydrogen peroxide to bleach it white. Some people suggest using the high percentage peroxide that hairdressers use but I have gotten really good results using regular 3% hydrogen peroxide. The key to getting the best results with the 3% stuff is to bring it to a boil. After the final scraping is done on the skull plate or skull return it to the water one more time for a few minutes to get the bone hot. Place the skull or skull plate in a shallow pan and pour hydrogen peroxide into the pan to a level where it comes up to just under the burr and completely covers the skull or bone. Here's where you really don't want to get peroxide on the antler as it will beach them white. Make sure you do it outside. Using either the fish cooker or a coleman stove I'll bring the peroxide solution to a raging boil and then turn off the heat and allow the skull or bone to just sit and soak in the hot peroxide solution until it cools to room temp. Once cool I'll remove it and allow it to hang with it continuing to whiten as it dries. |