Deer Skull cleaning a unique hit

[Toecutter]

Awesome pictorial, thanks for sharing!!  Only thing I added that might help is two years ago I read about arm and hammer soda wash. Emulsifies fat real fast!!  Cuts the whole process time in half for me.  Just be careful that you dont use it for more than half an hour. Supposedly leaches calcium form the  bone as well.  I've used it for 45mins with no problems.


My uncles '09 buck that I did for him.  Didnt seem to have any ill affect on him.
 

 

[mscampbell75]

Cool post!  A buddy is going to try this tommorrow!!  Thanks guys!

[smokin joe]

I like the look of the European skull mounts, and I never knew it could be accomplished in one day. Thanks for a showing us how its done.

[NorthernCaliforniaHunter]

It will come completely white with concentrated hydrogen peroxide. You'll need the 30% solution, not the 3% sold for health use. Try hydroponic garden shops.

[RedShaft]

awsome! i got a skull just like that. same thing happened to me, but i had to shoot the deer again to finish it. the thunderhead is lodged in its skull.

[Bonebuster]

Excellent!

Thanks...ALOT  

[GWC]

I clean LOTS of skulls also.bears,wolves,have a pretty large skull collection.your deer look good.I add the dawn detergent and borax right from the beginning to help with the smell and meat removal process.and i also soak them in a peroxide solution afterwards to whiten them more.but most skulls take me more than a day to finish because they need to be degreased after the meat is removed.especially bears,coons,etc.
even if they look white now,if theyre not degreased,then they'll begin to yellow as the grease and oils seep out over time.anyway,nice job,gonna look cool up on the wall.Ross

[LV2HUNT]

Nice job, turned out well.

[JamesV]

I live in the south and am also lazy, great combination. I put my heads on a fire-ant hill and let the ants clean it up. Works great

[HATCHCHASER]

I had the exact thing happen with a woodsman elite.  Hit a branch on a quartering away shot and hit him right behind the ear.  He ran in a circle and stopped and a double lung shot finished him.  

I always boil mine and then take the pressure washer to it.  Works great.

[BTW]

Ross, How do you degrease them?  I have done a few, and the nose area is sensitive to the boiling. If one of the bones falls off, just pay attention that you don't throw it out, and you can just glue it back on with super glue. I know a hairdresser, and she got me some of the 30% peroxide. Mix it with some chaulk powder to form a thick paste and brush it all over the skull and let sit for couple days. Then just wash off.

[Jwilliam]

Nice job !!!    Thanks for sharing


BIll

[Don Stokes]

I shot a spike buck some years back that had a perfect "x" in one ear and at the base of his skull from a broadhead, but the head didn't penetrate enough to kill the deer. It was healed, so he must have been shot the year before.

[Mint]

If you have a little time and don't wantto boil the skull in the house this is what I do. I put the skinned skull in a small plastic garbage bag and tie it off. Then  i poke two holes in the bag with my finger and leave the bag in my backyard. Flies will find the skull and go through the holes and lay eggs which in turn become maggots and they will eat the skull clean in about two weeks. The bag keepseverything moist. Works like a charm and comes out sparkling clean after you hit it with a hose.

[Onehair]

I have taken mine after boiling to a high pressure care was. You get wet but can clean that head up pretty quick. Also if you use peroxide,,,keep it off of the rack as it will dry it out and leave it chalky . Good job.

[Rank Bull]

Looks awesome. But I did this once, and looking at the pictures brings back memories of the smell. lol

I never want to smell that again.

[doeslayer]

I normally clean mine as well as possible, boil it for about 2 hours and then use a small pressure washer on low psi. Cleans it up perfect. I than sit it in peroxide for 24 hours. I wrap the antler bases because the peroxide will bleach the bases. Ill try to post a pic.

[lt-m-grow]

Very cool. Thanks for the pictorial.

Just curious, why didn't you leave the arrow in it or put it back in after cleaning?  Seems like part of the mount on this one.

[GWC]

BTW,to degrease the skulls i have a big crock pot.i set the skulls in the pot and add dawn detergent and some ammonia.then set it on low heat.iv left skulls in there up to two weeks before,especially for black bears because theyre so oily.after a while in the pot you'll start to see the skim on top of the water.i'll change the water a couple times during the process until it doesnt cloud and skim up.of all the skulls iv done,iv yet to do a deer skull.im about to do one for my cousin that he just killed.im definitely not a professional,just some things iv learned by trial and error and off taxidermy sites.i get my 30% peroxide from Sallys beauty supply.good idea on mixing it with chalk,never tried that.sometimes i just brush it on and other times iv mixed it with some water and soaked the skulls in it for a day or so.and regular peroxide is plenty strong enough for whitening small skulls like fox,yotes,coon,etc.
Really nice job on the deer,im looking forward to trying a deer skull also.Ross

[RGK]

Skull cleaning revisited

Not satisfied with the blood staining in the bone of the buck my brother-in-law shot in the brain, I decided to try something different . It cost me a whopping $4. I went to wally world and bought some Oxi clean powder and a quart of 3% peroxide.  

 

I covered the antler bases with Saran wrap and tape in case this mixture would lighten the bases.

 

I mixed 8 scoops of the Oxi clean with the quart of peroxide in my skull cleaning pot. I used a tooth brush to spread and coat the skull. I spent about 10 minutes on it. As you can see, It only covers the bottom of the kettle. This is not important now but will be later.

 

Then I rinsed the skull and used a blow dryer. The results were very good. I wonder what would have happened if I left it in there longer? The skull is much whiter and many of the stains were removed. The teeth seemed to be most affected. The skull on the right is after the oxi clean.

 

 

While I was rinsing and drying and uploading the photos, I placed another skull in the mixture. This is a skull I found in the woods while bowhunting/scouting a few weeks ago. I paid no attention and perhaps an hour had elapsed until I noticed the pot. The other skull was much dirtier having been rotting in the woods where the animal died. It seems the oxi clean and peroxide really went to work on all the gunk and stains from that skull. It did a hell of a job getting it clean too. I think this $4 investment was worth it.

Until I I.D. this skull, I won't show it just yet. I think I know what it is but I am not certain.