Do you do your own mounts?

[manford]

Just wondering if anyone out there does there own antler mounts or head mounts? I'm working on about 1/2 dozen moose and deer antlers right now.

[sir_huntsalot]

Yes I do all my mounts. I'm a former professional taxidermist, so I save alot of money by knowing how to do it myself. I also teach if anyone wants lessons. I have a deer and a bear right now to do.

[manford]

Hey Sir how do you get the flesh off of the skull plate? I have boiled them and just picked them clean with a knife. Just wondering if there is another method out there to try?Thanks :wink:

[sir_huntsalot]

Cleaning skull plates is a pain no matter how you do it. Deer are not so bad but the big stuff like moose is abit of a job. I try and get as much of the meat off as soon a I skin the head and cut the antlers off. I sometimes boil them like you do but if it is just a deer I will clean most of the meat off when fresh and then give it a good salting. With the salt on it drys out pretty quick and does not stink. When I get to it I just takes a knife and slice of the dryed up flesh, it usually only takes 5 minites for a deer but the big stuff take awhile.
There is also a chemical you can add to your water called sal soda (not sure on the spelling). The sal soda makes the meat come off alot better than just plain water . I always wondered how an air chilsel would work on the salt dried skulls but I never tried it but I think I will on the next moose.
Sorry I dont have any secrets on this one manford.

[manford]

Thanks Sit there wa a couple of ideas there I can try. I did find one thing that works for the moose antlers that saves a bit of time. I take a propane torch to get the final little pieces off and just glaze over the skull plate to turn everything to a crisp. The bone will turn brown but it hasn't seemed to weaken anything. Then I use a little wire wheel on my cordless drill and it polishes it right off. I've done a few times now and it works real good. The whole process only takes me about 10 minutes(final stage). I've noticed it helps to dry the plate out as well.