Barnwood plaque for Dad's elk antlers

[7mmfan]

My dad has never been one to mount anything. He shot a beautiful bull and the horns are leaning against the wall next to a few sets of beautiful mule deer horns down in the basement. I decided that since this is his one and only elk that he's killed, I would try to do something nice. I'm building this plaque from some old barnwood that I had laying around. I like the character of the knots and old screw holes in it. Its being glued right now. I haven't decided if I'm going to shape this in any way, or if I'm just going to leave it as is.

I also haven't decided what I'm going to cover the skull cap with. I saw on another form that many taxidermists will provide the molded foam part to "even out" the skull cap before you cover it. Is this something thats readily available to anyones knowledge?

I'm pretty excited to get going on this, it looks good I think!

[7mmfan]

Has anyone done a board/plaque like this before? Hoping to get a little inspiration and maybe some photos of what other people have done similar to this.

[Karl Blanchard]

I think it looks awesome man!  I have done similar as well.  DON"T SHAPE IT!  Its barn wood, its supposed to look rough.  Cut a couple lengths of rusty barbed wire and run one the length of the board towards the top and towards the bottom.  Fills a bit of the "nothing" area of the plaque and adds a bit of rustic flare.

To cover the cap, just get some felt or whatever color cloth you want, some pliable foam and then just wrap and tack it down.  I'm sure Van Dyke's or somebody sells something more professional though that may look a bit better.  Looks pretty good as is though

[7mmfan]

Thanks BLRman. I agree on not shaping it, I decided to keep it that way. I found some old rusty door hardware that I'm going to add to it, I think it will look good. I also found online where someone wrapped the skull cap with jute cord, looked good and maintained that rough look, so I think I'm going to play around with that.

[Natures Way]

make sure you clean the skull. everything needs to be off of it first. good luck looking forward to seeing it done.

[7mmfan]

Thanks for the heads up. The skull is actually in a pot of hot soapy water right now. Should be able to clean it up very well in about an hour or so.

[Magnum_Willys]

Seen em wrapped with moss from michaels Mite be worth a quick try. 

[NRA4LIFE]

I have used modeling clay to form the shape around the skull.  Then cover it with deer or elk hide and tack it down with some decorative tacks.  If you're careful, you can hide the seem of the hide behind one of the antlers.  The clay will eventually harden up somewhat over time.  I like the barn wood idea.

[pilebuck]

Looks awesome 

[robodad]

Here is one I did a couple years ago !!

[Charlie]

Nice mount Robodad! You can also try Hobby Lobby. They have tons of supplies that may give you some inspiration. You are definitely on the right track.

[7mmfan]

Man that is a battle scarred veteran there Robodad! That looks great. I really wanted to do a euro with this bull, but Dad went home after he shot it, and I stayed to fill my cow tag. When I got home, he had capped it! 

I have a few blocks of foam laying around, I will probably try my hand at shaping one first to see how it goes.

Here is the horns cooking right now. If only the wife knew what I did at home alone during the week 

[Ballance1]

Some burlap sack to cover would keep the rustic look

[Fowlweather25]

  to be honest I like it just the way it is, without adding a cap cover. Blr has a great idea with the barb wire. That would look killer!

[Bean Counter]

Barnwood for a euro is my favorite