Hunting Washington Forum

Community => Taxidermy & Scoring => Topic started by: blindluck on October 12, 2014, 04:25:18 PM

Title: Macerating a velvet spike Elk
Post by: blindluck on October 12, 2014, 04:25:18 PM: So, I plan on macerating my spike bull I got this year, Being that this process is so stinky I'm not sure If I can keep the velvet from becoming totally contaminated by the soup. I thought I'd wrap in plastic then tape it off, but not sure how well that will work. Any thoughts?
Title: Re: Macerating a velvet spike Elk
Post by: longstevo on October 12, 2014, 04:28:50 PM: I macerated my mule deer from last season. Never again. Better off boiling.
Title: Re: Macerating a velvet spike Elk
Post by: Weehunt66 on October 18, 2014, 07:57:06 AM: There is an antler in velvet tan solution that you can buy form McKenzie Taxidermy supply. If the antler is soft you inject it into the antler veins and brush it on the surface. If it's solid you brush it on in a couple of applications and let it dry.
I am in the process of doing the same thing, but I am boiling the skull. I tried maceration last year. I smell was awful. I'll let you know how it turns out.
Title: Re: Macerating a velvet spike Elk
Post by: blindluck on October 20, 2014, 01:26:44 PM: I will definitely be macerating, just don't know if I will be able to seal off the antler from the soup. My guess is in the end the velvet will be removed
Title: Re: Macerating a velvet spike Elk
Post by: Ridgerunner50 on November 22, 2014, 06:38:22 PM: I've done a couple of Euro mounts by boiling. Never heard of macerating what type of process is that?
Title: Re: Macerating a velvet spike Elk
Post by: bowhunterwa87 on November 22, 2014, 06:44:24 PM: It's gross and time consuming. I like to boil them and pressure wash them..most people who don't like boiling, over boil and the whole nose falls apart and teeth fall out.
Title: Re: Macerating a velvet spike Elk
Post by: Kuduman on November 23, 2014, 05:13:09 AM: I've done maseration for years and on several skulls that were in velvet. Here is what I've found that works.
If the antler I'd underdeveloped and still soft, the antler will need to be freeze dried in order to preserve it. If the antler is hard you can get away with a velvet treatment such as stated before. I've always used a glycerine and formaldehyde mix but formaldehyde is hard to find anymore.
In either case I always removed the antlers from the skull prior to maseration. Trying to maserate while trying to preserve the velvet at the same time is IMO just too hard to get good results on both the skull and antlers simultaneously. You can use a hacksaw or whatever your comfortable using and remove the antler just below the base where it meets the pedicule. Index it if you need to so when you reattach it you get correct placement.
Maserate skull as you would normal and reattach antlers after they have been preserved.