DIY Euro Mount

[pickardjw]

I tried the simmer and pressure wash method to euro my buck skull this weekend and I'm less than impressed with the results...Simmered for 3 hours with Dawn soap and about 80% of the remaining meat came off with the electric pressure washer. Simmered again for a couple hours in the same water/soap mix and pressure washed again. There's still meat on there than won't come off so I'll have to figure out how to dig some of that out, it's it the brain cavity and ear cavities mostly.

So I'm not doing that method in the future. And it sounds like an ordeal to maintain a dermestid beetle population. Any good options for that around WA?

Seems like the other option would be maceration. Anyone tried this?

[Karl Blanchard]

Yikes a bit more elbow grease than just pressure washing. Bent coat hanger works well to dig into the brain cavity.  Pro tip...after initial simmer, take needle nose pliers and pop the little cartilage piece out. Scramble up anything in the brain cavity then take an air hose or water hose and give em a shot into the ear canal. It'll blow everything out the back of the skull.

[KP-Skagit]

What do you mean by "meat". In my experience there is generally some stubborn cartilage and connective tissue. Actual meat comes off pretty easy. I don't skimp on pressure washing either. Generally I am in and out of the pot 5 or 6 times but with shorter durations than you mentioned. First one about an hour, take off what comes easy and then do another 30 mins, etc. Doesn't have to be that way, I am just impatient.

I have a set of very long and thin needle nose for getting tissue out of the brain and nasal cavities. Around the ears there is generally some cartilage and such that is really embedded. Honestly, I just leave it. It dries out and is fine.

[pickardjw]

Good tip for the ears. I don't mind working on it more, I just don't want to miss meat in some nook somewhere and have that rotting on my wall.

[KP-Skagit]

Good tip for the ears. I don't mind working on it more, I just don't want to miss meat in some nook somewhere and have that rotting on my wall.

You can always set it outside for a week or two when you are done and let nature clean up your mistakes.

[vandeman17]

I have done a few now with the boil and pressure wash method and the most times I have had had to boil is twice and I only boil like 45 minutes. I do take a little time and try to get as much meat off initially as I can and also during the boiling process, will move the skull around a few times.

I also have a pressure washer that is pretty high powered so my bigger concern is usually how much matter ends up all over me 

[jrebel]

First things first.....don't boil!!  Simmer the skull for 2-6 hours depending on skull.....deer less than moose / cattle, etc.  Treat it like a crock pot with a bone in roast.....when the meat and connective tissue pulls away from the bone easily, you can take it out and clean it up.  You can always put it back in...but if done correctly, you shouldn't have to. 

I simmer in a large pot of water with a ton of dawn dish soap. 

I try very hard to take the brains out prior to boiling....its very easy within a day or so of the kill.  Wire or Coat Hanger bent into a loop.....stick in brain cavity and twist around scrambling the brains....turn up side down and shake them out.  Flush with water and usually ready to prep for boiling. 

Long needle nose pliers, picks, air hose, scalpel can all be your friends.   Be patient and usually it is a very easy process.  I used to hate doing my own euros....now that I have done a lot and have started to master the craft....I don't mind it and it is pretty easy. 

I use Hydrogen peroxide past to whiten.   

[OltHunter]

I've stepped up my euro game recently. Here are some tips.

Watch white bone creations on YouTube.

The key is prep. Get as much meat, skin, brain, off the skull prior.

I simmer for never really anymore than the nose skin to split in half. Was about 45 minutes for my elk and 30 for a buddy's deer.

In that simmer, I have some oxiclean detergent and some borax.

WBC will show you how to knock out the ear bones and clear out room to spray. That will save you a huge amount of time. Nobody really cares about the bottom.

Long forceps to get membranes out.

Electric pressure washer on a 0 degree nozzle. Mine is 2100 maybe.

Spraying does take time. Maybe an hour total. I've had to return to a boil maybe a few times for a few minutes.

Then I use a wire brush on my drill to clean out that stuff on the back of the skull that is impossible to spray off.

Then the bleach simmer so a bit and I've got a grow light I sit it under for the drying process then some mop and glow.

Nothing close to looking like a bettle skull, but fine for me, and much better knowing I did it.

[blindluck]

If you were going to do the pressure wash method you might try boiling the skull until the tissue splits apart on the forhead and the bridge of the nose at that point pressure wash, Much less time in the hot water

[haftard]

if you have a place to do it burring the skull looks killer. what i do is get as much meat and skin off the head as i can. wrap up the horns with a trash bag and tape. burry the head in the garden to the top of the skull. wait till spring. wa la you have a ero mount that looks like a fresh dead head. give the skull a cool brown color and you can always bleach it white if you want. very minimal effort. the wife garden works well. place a bucket over the horns to keep critters from chewing on them.

[fishngamereaper]

Am I the only lazy one that has switched completely to MM record keeper kits....

I can do one in about an hour, no mess, no smell,no small bone fragments everytime I move or clean em. And realistic enough for me.


 

[Rutnbuxnbulls]

Simmer longer.  Change out the water several times.  My euro's can take several days but I'm not in a hurry, I usually do them while I'm doing other chores or running errands.  Use dish soap at first. 

Pipe cleaners, hard bristle brushes work great for the hard to reach stuff.  Pressure wash as needed. Sometimes I leave the nasal cavity in tact, other times I wipe it out completely.  Depends what you're going for. 

Don't use bleach. Ever.  It can damage the bone and continue to erode the bone tissue.

Use Hydrogen Peroxide Cream and brush it on the head, if you want to whiten it up.  May take several coats.  This is a process and there's a reason people pay others good money for it.

[chukar hunter]

If you don't have a gag reflex/resistant to gross smells do Maceration. 

Build a plywood box, lined with rigid foam insulation.  Ideal to have a slope on the roof, as the air will condense inside and you don't want the condensation to drip on heat lamp.  Make it as air tight as possible(HVAC tape works well) with removeable side/door.  Use a plastic tote.  Fill with water above the skull plate, onto antlers OK.  Fish tank heater in tote as high as it will go and 200W heat lamp suspended off of roof.  10-14 day soak.  Check water after 5-7 days.  Empty 2/3 pulling big chunks and replenish water.  **Note** smell is horrendous.    Wash with hot water in utility sink, scrubbing gunk accumulation on antlers with a toothbrush.  Skull clean, with nasal bones intact.

Degrease with 2 hour soak in Kerosene(don't submerge antlers). 

Whiten as preferred, though I boil H202 with a 1/4 cup of Volume 40.  Ladle onto skull plate +250 times while you drink beer, not getting any onto antlers. 

[lewy]

Another tip- just pop the ear drums out instead of trying to clean around them. This also makes it easier to run a wire loop threw to hang it from

[Duckslayer89]

Take it to skull and bones in eatonville and pay the 100 bucks. Looks pro and he has Beatles.