Does anyone know how to do a European mount?

[Big country]

I just wondered if anyone on here has any info on how to do a European mount. I was thinking it could be something for some of the guys and gals to try out this time around.
Disclaimer: I'm not recommending that anyone try something new on there once in a life time 15 point 30" (inside of course) buck. But I thought if some of you get a decent or average deer you might want to try and do the white skull thing this time around. I personally love the way a well done European mount looks. I know you have done a little bit db any advice for the first time out for some one?

 

[Okierifleman]

A buddy of mine bought a kit from Academy or Bass Pro, I cant remember. It comes with a white fiberglass skull and all you have to do is screw your antlers into it. He did one the other day and it looked very real.

 

[dbgun]

Here is my first attempt at doing a Euro-mount. It's the buck I killed last year.

 

[Big country]

How many points are on the deers right side db? I can only see three. Okierifleman, how mutch do those fiberglass kits cost? I've seen them before but IIRC they weren't cheap.

 

[dbgun]

How many points are on the deers right side db? I can only see three

Three. It's a seven pointer.

 

[Big country]

Thats what I thought good width for a 7 pointer tho!

 

[Okierifleman]

I think it was $20-$25, it was really pretty neat.

 

[Big country]

Cool. I thought they were like 30 or 40. I did see one I liked at Academy that had the Bone Collector Logo on it. I might just have to get one for the next time I actually get to go hunting. LOL

 

[Nate C]

Doing a Euro mount is easy. I did my first this year.

First, cut off all the extra skin/meat/fat that you can. Get a big stainless pot, bigger than the one you would fry a turkey in. Fill it with water and put on a propane burner. Heat water, insert skull. Don't let it boil real hard, but keep it just barely rolling. If you boil it too hard, the skull will disintegrate. I periodically pulled the skull out to pull off chunks of meat with a pair of pliers. Some of the internet sites suggested putting sal soda in the water to help get the grease out of the skull, but I didn't know this until afteward. After about 7 hours, I had most all of the meat off the skull. You need to take a piece of wire and get the brains out while you have the skull cooking.

I then let the skull hang to dry for a couple of weeks, but mostly because I was working and couldn't devote any time to working on it. You don't have to wait this long, but the important thing is to get all the tissue and membrane out of the inside of the sinus and brain cavities. I think it was easier after this had dried, but one guy on the internet used running water and compressed air to do it a lot faster.

Using hot water and Dawn dish soap, wash the skull to help get the fat/grease out of it. This is critical, because that fat can leach into the bone after you have whitened it and ruin your work. Plan on a soap/water rinse several times.

When you have picked out all the gunk and gotten the skull well cleaned, go to Sally's Beauty Supply and get a bottle of the 40 power whitener (I got the gel rather than the liquid) and a can of the Basic White whitener powder. This cost $25 total, and you have enough to do at least 2 skulls and maybe 3. Mix a bowl (don't use a metal bowl) of the gel or liquid and the powder and start applying it to the skull inside and out. I used a foam paint applicator. Be careful not to get it on the antlers--I wrapped mine with saran wrap and masking tape. If you accidentally bleach the antlers, you can use touch up paint later to get them back where you want them.

Once you have a good layer of the paste all over the skull, set it in front of a heater for a few hours. You will get the same result without the heat, but heat speeds up the process. Be careful not to get the paste on your skin, clothes or momma's carpet because it will bleach the clothes and burn your skin. After it has dried, rinse it off with soap and warm water, and apply another layer or two as needed.

Once the skull is as white as you want, take Elmer's school glue and mix it 50/50 with warm water until you have a paste. Apply a coat or two of this to the skull, allowing it to dry between coats. This is a protective coating that will help hold things together. (The teeth and bones around the nose are pretty fragile. In fact, the teeth might fall out during the cooking. Don't worry, you can glue them back in later.)

Some folks call it finished right there, or even skipped the glue, but I applied a couple of coats of clear satin eurethane after that. (Don't use varnish. I am told that varnish will yellow over time.) I then ordered a nice plaque to mount it on the wall, but you could easily make your own from any piece of wood. I ordered a really nice one from TexasEuropeanMounts.com in Wichita Falls that offsets the angle of the skull away from the wall.

All I put on the actual antlers was a little linseed oil, but I think Pledge furniture polish would have been just as effective.

If I can do it, anybody can.

 

[RetArmySgt]

The way ive always seen it done when i was younger was to put the head in a fire ant bed for a few days. The ants do all the work you just pull it out when its done and get the ants off.

 

[GM.Chief]

Excellent how-to Nate and the result looks very nice. RetArmySgt, I like your idea about the ants, sounds like it would probably clean up nicely that way...lol

 

[RetArmySgt]

A good ant bed will strip it down in 2 days not a speck of flesh anywear on it or in it. A real good ant bed will do it over night lol.

 

[Big country]

The fire ant mound is good but that is one of those if you don't have a hound dog kinda things. LOL! But you still have to get the skull white to.

 

[Big country]

I see nosing!

 

[Big country]

I Like it! I've seen those at academy. I think they look pretty cool.

 

[dobarker]

Fire ant beds work real well, especially if you're out in the Fredericksburg, Doss area where all the fireants are the size of honey bees. The hound dog problem can be remedied with a large mesh basket or the wifes old yellow clothes basket and a large rock on top of it.
A little advice learned the hard way, Before you boil the head, take the brains out. If you look at the back of the skull, right where it would have been on the spine, there is a small hole about big enough to fit a finger in. Get a wire coat hanger, twist one end of it into as irregular of a corkscrew shape as you can, the more jagged, the more brains come out with each try; push the wire up through the hole into the brain cavity, scramble the brains around as if trying to blend them, and then pull it out. If you're lucky, the whole brain will come out with one try.

If you try to boil the head and then remove the brains, you will be doing a lot of scratching and poking and not much removal for the effort put in.

 

[wilded]

Here is the way I do it. ET
Wild Ed's Texas Outdoors: European Skull Mounts the Texas Way

 

[Wolfwood]

only european mount i know is the Italian chandelier. but i dont think that is what you are talking about....

sodium carbonate.
cleaning soda @ walmart is technical grade i believe. dont get it on your self though ass it eats the shit out of flesh.

 

[TimberWolf7.62]

Yeah, every time I see this post title, it makes me think of a former girlfriend who was Swiss . . . I got a lot of practice with that mount!

 

[Wolfwood]

Yeah, every time I see this post title, it makes me think of a former girlfriend who was Swiss . . . I got a lot of practice with that mount!

Roflmao!