Deadhead:From field to deco
- Thread starter finelyshedded
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Mao
Member
Looks great. Have you ever done the "bury them in dirt" up to the pedicles and cover with a trash can over the winter trick? I did it with the one rack I have hanging in my house and it turned out pretty good. Just took a pressure washer to wash the dirt and little remaining hair off of it. I didn't try to bleach it b/c I covered the skull cap with some tanned deer hide.
No I've never tried the dirt method but I have heard of some doing it though. I enjoy the boiling method cuz I can sit near it and drink beer while doing it...
ickle:I try to not over boil the skull though as it can cause the upper teeth to fall out. The lower jaw will always come off though so there is no use saving it unless you wanted to send a cross section of it away to have your deer aged.
Just a word of advise though. Before boiling your head use a reciprocating saw to cut as much of the neck off as you can. Start right behind the antler bases and cut at an angle toward the back of the lower jaw. Becareful that the saw blade doesn't kick up and nick the antler beams in the process. My brother in law did his and his sons heads while I did mine and his took much longer and was nastier because he had about 4-5" of the neck still attached. He was gagging his ass off during the process.....lmao He actually started giving me gag factor numbers throughout his ordeal!(that one was a gag factor 9 out of 10....etc) lol He had spinal fluid and brain matter splattered all over the place. You are basically par boiling the meat,eyes and other yak makers so do it where you have plenty of ventilation(not your garage...lol)
Once you get the water boiling set your skull down into the water but try to keep the bases out of the water. Use bricks or gravel in the bottom of the pot if you have to. I let it soak a good half an hour(2-3 beers) then take it out and use an old filet knife or boning knife and scrape,cut and prod chunks of meat and gristle off then set back in the pot. I do this every 10 minutes or 1 beer or so till I'm done. Lol
If you cut the head off like I explained you'll have a lot less messier job and it won't take near as long. I'll try and post a pic of how I cut the head off before I boil when I get time.
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Yes, cape out the head, then boil for 2-4 hours cleaning as you go till its completely free of all meat,crud and anything that would cause a stench when dry. Then let soak in peroxide/water solution for 2-4 days. A pint or quart of 3%peroxide per 2-4 gallons of water should be enough. Keep just the skull in the water during the boiling and soak so's you don't ruin the color of the antler bases. I use an old rag,towel or paper towels to wrap below the pedicles or the burrs and let the solution wick into the towel real good to whiten the skull cap and what's below the burrs.
Fullbore
Senior Member
Lol, I would have loved to have been there! To see Tim gagging and hacking during this process. Lmao.
Lmao, he kept saying, "Geezoy"! Rotflmao. The brain matter just kept coming and coming looking like chopped up maggots! Haha
It doesn't really bother me after doing this a half a dozen times or so. Those with weak constitutions might be in trouble though....lmao
This pic shows where and how I make my cut before boiling. This reduces the brain matter greatly. You'll just have to pop out a compact portion of the brain when cutting like this.
Buckmaster
Senior Member
I may add: If any discoloration on the antler from the peroxide....I've successfully touched them up with a brown marker and/or stain/shoe polish.
HeritageAndy
Junior Member
That is a pretty Rad idea to cut the skull like that!! I did my first Euro last year and picking out all that brain was a pain.
Thanks for the addition info or ideas Ben. If anyone else has more to add or better ideas on anything just post it up!
Ron and I were out shed hunting a couple years ago and found a dead young buck that had a bunch of these same beetles all over the carcass eating away. If we had something to collect them up with we'd have done it but it was a pretty good distance from the road and we just never went back to get them. Just had no knowledge of how to keep alive and feed them.
The whiteish color around the bases of the racks above is nothing serious. It will come off with hot soap and water, I just haven't taken the time to do it yet. lol
