Antelope question

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redneck2

redneck2

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After three years of trying, I got drawn for antelope in Montana. Shouldn't have a problem getting one as there have been plenty every year we've gone. I've been limited to prairie dogs.

If and when I get one, I'd like to do a european (bleached skull) mount. Wondering if anybody here has done one, and anything to do/not do. I've heard that the outer black sheath comes off pretty easily when mounting one of the heads.
 
Skin it and bury it in sand for a couple weeks under an old cast iron tub or cauldron. The bugs will pick it clean of nastiness and your left with clean bones to preserve. From there you can either paint it white or bleach it with high strength peroxide
 
I've done quite a few hog skulls by boiling them. I put them in a big pot over a propane burner and put a little bleach in the water to sterilize things. After it cooks up good, you can pull it out and blow off any meat still attached to the bone with a water hose. I let it dry out good and just spray a light coat of white krylon on it. They seem to last a long time this way and you can do most of it in an afternoon.
 
Thanks for the tip about bleaching the skull. Should work fine

My concern is the horns, which are actually hair, not calcium like antlers
 
If the horns separate from the bone,you should be able to use epoxy to reattach them. Just hold the skull upside down until the glue sets so it won't run down the skull.
 
The outer sheaths (horns) will separate from the bone in a few days. Do NOT bury the outer sheaths as worms will eat the edges. Dry the sheaths for a few weeks, disinfect them by pouring some 70+% alcohol in the cavities, dry again and coat the inside with a lacquer or polyurethane spray. Glue them back on the bleached skull and mount.

How do I know that worms will eat them? ........ don't ask.
 
I buried mine for about a month. The hair that creates the horns will just pull off the bones after that. The rest is a process of boiling the skull to remove all the remaining flesh and what not. Then if desired, you can soak it in bleach for an hour it to give it that nice clean white look.

GS
 
Or you could ask around for a taxidermist who does european mounts. I had an antelope done that way back in 2006 in Wyoming because I already had a very nice antelope on the wall from 2003 and the wife doesn't want another "head" hanging around. Don't recall what the cost was but it was a lot less than a full mount and it was all done nice and professional and probably much nicer than if I had done it myself.
 
22250Rem said:
Or you could ask around for a taxidermist who does european mounts. I had an antelope done that way back in 2006 in Wyoming because I already had a very nice antelope on the wall from 2003 and the wife doesn't want another "head" hanging around. Don't recall what the cost was but it was a lot less than a full mount and it was all done nice and professional and probably much nicer than if I had done it myself.
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+1 to that. Plus you can help keeper a skilled tradesman in business just like gunsmiths taxidermists are fading away.
 
I stopped by our taxidermist the other day to say hello and check on a mount he was doing for one of my sons. The subject of European mounts came up, as they were scattered all over his floor.

His procedure (and why you should pay a professional) is, once the beetles clean off the meat, is to soak the skull in heated (he said 120 degree) acetone for several hours to draw out the oils. That's how he gets his white. Sounds to me like you would either blow yourself up or get extremely high. Leave it to a professional!

I am amazed at how much work almost every aspect of taxidermy is!

Laphroaig
 
We took my son-in-law's buck deer skull to a business called the "Bug Works".It came out a polished white.
 
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