Deer Mount Help

Axis II · Jun 28, 2019

Okay guys I need your help.

I have that big 12pt I shot 2yrs ago just sitting in the basement and would like to mount it. I did a Euro mount of it and would like to do something with a wood background. I have been looking around online and see some different plaques but the thing I am having a hard time with is what type of wood to use? I have a Menards close, so I can get Oak, Hickory, Poplar and Maple. Below is something I am thinking about making.

I thought about doing something nice with stain and what not and then I thought to myself, this was an old deer that was shot on an old cattle farm that has lots of old trash and equipment laying around it, so do something distressed looking. We had a lot of old barns taken down around me the last few years but everyone wants $100 a board or tells you not for sale. If I went with the distressed looks I could beat it with a chain a few times and leave it outside in the weather with some nails for awhile and find some old hinges at the flea market. Maybe snap the boards in half to give the broken look? I would kind of like to put a small Ohio decal out of wood in one of the corners too. I would also kind of like to turn its head a little bit so its not looking forward.

BTW these are not my pictures. 4-6 pic is of the buck to be mounted.

earlthegoat2 · Jun 28, 2019

Did you bleach the skull or not? If you didn’t then your idea for a distressed look will look quite nice. If it is bleached I would go with something fancier.

Just my opinion.

Here is mine. It is unbleached. This is walnut finished with poly.

Axis II · Jun 28, 2019

earlthegoat2 said:
Did you bleach the skull or not? If you didn’t then your idea for a distressed look will look quite nice. If it is bleached I would go with something fancier.

Just my opinion.

Here is mine. It is unbleached. This is walnut finished with poly.

View attachment 847953

Its bleached. I was also going to clean my buddies buck up (9pt behind mine in the pic) and make something nice for him, but he never cleaned or bleached his and just let nature clean it, so probably wont whiten it. We killed those bucks 5min apart on the same farm. I was watching mine and he fired and mine ran a little bit and stopped and I dropped him.

Nice deer by the way!

Mn Fats · Jun 28, 2019

I have some oak slabs like this laying around with the bark on. Not narrow like the ones below, but you get the idea.

But it's been awhile since I got a buck so I haven't had the chance to put one to use yet!

For an even more rustic look...

I like the first one much better though.

If you your interested, and you don't have access to woods, I'd happily send you one of my slabs. I even have heart shaped ones lol.

Axis II · Jun 28, 2019

Mn Fats said:
I have some oak slabs like this laying around with the bark on. Not narrow like the ones below, but you get the idea.View attachment 847966But it's been awhile since I got a buck so I haven't had the chance to put one to use yet!

For an even more rustic look...View attachment 847967I like the first one much better though.

If you your interested, and you don't have access to woods, I'd happily send you one of my slabs. I even have heart shaped ones lol.

My buddy will be clearing some trees here soon. I may ask him for some slabs from the trees. Thanks for the offer.

Nice bucks on those plaques.

hps1 · Jul 7, 2019

Michaels or Hobby Lobby carries various plaques that work pretty well for mounts. I have cut my own from cedar siding and even mesquite logs. Advantage of using logs is you can taper to angle the horns/antlers correctly. Flat plaques require wedge spacers.
Mesquite slab V

Cut from Cedar Siding V...................Hobby Lobby ^ V

Regards,
hps

hps1 · Jul 7, 2019

Mn Fats said:
I have some oak slabs like this laying around with the bark on. Not narrow like the ones below, but you get the idea.View attachment 847966But it's been awhile since I got a buck so I haven't had the chance to put one to use yet!

For an even more rustic look...View attachment 847967I like the first one much better though.

If you your interested, and you don't have access to woods, I'd happily send you one of my slabs. I even have heart shaped ones lol.

Really like the rough bark idea! :thumbup:

Regards
hps

Cocked & Locked · Jul 8, 2019

I usually just use some available piece of wood that looks fairly rustic...some times not.

Armored farmer · Jul 8, 2019

I may have overdone my 2018 mount.

This one represents the deer, Turkey, ducks, and geese that I took in 2018.
Some ideas for yours might be a stained plywood square framed in saplings that have been "rubbed" by a buck.
Maybe a hunk if barbed wire.
Here's one I made for my son.....

Also, you can search YouTube for "dipped" deer mounts.
I have a couple that I'm going to dip pretty soon.

FL-NC · Jul 8, 2019

Old boards from wood privacy fences are fun to work with, as is pallet wood. Here in Fl, cypress trees and oak logs are also popular.

Armored farmer · Jul 8, 2019

A plywood cutout plaque of your state is cool too.

Axis II · Jul 8, 2019

Armored farmer said:
A plywood cutout plaque of your state is cool too.

I wanted to do that but cant find something small or large enough as a stencil. I got one from a taxidermy shop but that things like 5ftx5ft.

Armored farmer · Jul 9, 2019

ohihunter2014 said:
I wanted to do that but cant find something small or large enough as a stencil. I got one from a taxidermy shop but that things like 5ftx5ft.

Drag out a roadmap and use a compass(dividers) to enlarge or shrink to size.

Axis II · Dec 18, 2019

Okay guys I still haven't mounted this euro mount and found state of Ohio templates ranging from 12x12, 15x15, 20x20, 25x25, 30x30 and 35x35. I plan on using 3-4 different colored pieces of barn wood and biscuit joining them together and cutting out the state or a large piece of oak and staining it. What size plaque would you guys go with?

Rembrandt · Dec 18, 2019

I've seen old weathered fence posts that were ripped in half so they would lay flat against the wall, then wrapped with some old rusty barbed wire and dried grass.

Not quite what you're asking for, cut a tree from the timber and attached it to a barrel drum dolly, filled with concrete for ballast. Solved my problem of what to do with boxes of racks and sheds. Call it the "Antler Tree"

Milt1 · Dec 18, 2019

In my opinion the "bleached' look draws attention to the skull rather than to the antlers where the focus should be. I liked what Armored Farmer did with a leather covering over the skull. Something along those lines is in my opinion is more sight worthy. You could experiment with leather swatches to see which color is most appropriate.

hps1 · Dec 18, 2019

Milt1 said:
In my opinion the "bleached' look draws attention to the skull rather than to the antlers where the focus should be. I liked what Armored Farmer did with a leather covering over the skull. Something along those lines is in my opinion is more sight worthy. You could experiment with leather swatches to see which color is most appropriate.

A quick and easy way to cover skull plates is plaster of paris (smooth finish or rough to taste). I used rough cedar to mount a few of my son's first deer to hang in his room when
he was ten.

Here's rough finish on cedar siding plaque. (Guess I better get the ladder out and dust this one.

)

Regards,
hps

Milt1 · Dec 18, 2019

That's what I'm talking about hps1. The focus goes immediately to the antlers! Very well done my man!

Wvcoalminer94 · Dec 23, 2019

View attachment 879714

Wvcoalminer94 · Dec 23, 2019

sage5907 · Dec 24, 2019

You could do yourself a big favor by getting on Google and typing in Ozark Woods. They are in Harrison, Arkansas and have some of the highest quality panels in the taxidermy industry. You can see all of the panels they offer just by looking at their website. I personally like walnut panels so that is all I use. The panels come already stained but if I don't like the color it doesn't bother me to use MinWax medium walnut stain with a coat of polyurethane sealer.

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