# Another Euro mount



## LindyRigger (Apr 13, 2004)

I did this European mount with a kit from Cabela's. I would highly recommend it. It had thorough instructions and materials worked great. It was also rewarding to do it myself.
LindyRigger


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## fatkid (Oct 14, 2006)

looks good what all did you have to do to it. i normally skin mine out bowl the head and hit it with pressure washer than bowl it a little more in bleach water and it turns out alright but the skull never looks that white so sometimes i will paint the skull . and if the horns are real bleached white . from maybe being a deer you found that had been dead for a while I take brown shoe polish and put that on the antlers it makes them look super good. anyway man that thing looks great


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## rackman323 (Jul 13, 2007)

Just curious, what is the total time you have into that kit?


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## LindyRigger (Apr 13, 2004)

I skinned the skull about two weeks after the kill. It was frozen and took longer to skin than would be expected. Razor blade knife made the job significantly easier. I also used it to cut away excess meat/tissue etc. I thought the lower jaw remained intact, so I was careful not to mess up the jaw joint (TMJ) but later discovered that the lower jaw needed removed. This would have saved cutting/cleaning time and boiling time. Once as much tissue is removed as possible (eyes included...these are tougher than expected) you boil the skull (not the antlers). Boil in a large pot with 1 gal water to 1/4 Cup sodium carbonate for 30 min. Remove the skull and use wire brush, plyers, knife etc. to remove more flesh and then return to boiling pot. Repeat the boiling step as needed. The instructions say up to an hour but this step of boiling took me about 2-3 hrs. I would recommend removing the brain with a hanger after the first or second 30 min boil and also use garden hose to rinse out inside of skull. Caution: The instructions also say over boiling at a high boil/ too long will cause the skull to seperate and teeth to become loose. I did not have any problems. Once skull is free from grisle, meat etc. you mix a bleach powder with hydrogen peroxide (100%) to the consistency of mayonaise. Use a paint brush and brush the entire skull with the paste. Let set for 24 hrs and then use another brush to dust off the dry paste. The result is a bright, white skull. The skinning, meat cutting before boiling was about 1 hour. Boiling process about 3 hrs. Applying the bleach paste 30 min. Dusting the skull 30 min. Mounting the skull onto plaque included in the kit about 1 hr. This is easier with two people. Besides for the 24 hr wait it took about 6 hrs. I boiled outside using a turkey fryer with large kettle. Smell was not too bad, but would not recommend doing this inside. I hope this helps. 
LindyRigger


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## Fishstix (Aug 16, 2005)

Nice job with the Euro mount! It definitley makes it more special when you do it yourself.


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## HUNTorFISH (Dec 1, 2008)

i have used the same kit from cablea's twice now, and it is a great deal. when you look at how much people charge to do a european mount, it is worth it to take a little time to do it yourself. boiling makes it a lot easier, but you can scrape it off with a knife after awhile. this year i boiled mine one time and scraped most of it off. then over the next week whenever i had time i would scrape it off a little bit more until it was just bone. great job on yours, looks great on the wall!


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## rackman323 (Jul 13, 2007)

Thanks for the reply. I ask because I have done the boiling method before and found it very hard to get all the meat out, especially in the nostril area without damaging the bones. This year I had my skulls cleaned with bugs for 100 bucks. When I think about the time, clean up and cost of the kit I got to think my time isn't worth it. Nice part about the boiling is it can be done over the weekend versus waiting a month to get the skull back. Plus the teeth can fall out and the skull plates can seperate if you are not careful and overboil it. I have 5 old euro mounts I did myself and compared to the bugs they don't look as good. Although I did not use bleach either since it deteriorates the skull as well.


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## FSHNERIE (Mar 5, 2005)

very nice...


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