I'm not sure if I may have went wrong on Buzz's recipe but, I used post 22 on a whitetail and everything went pretty well except that the sal soda concentration seemed to cause some bone degeneration on the skull. The finished product left the skull kind of chalky with some material flaking off. I had other buddies that use a similar approach minus the sal soda with no issues. I'm thinking next time I'll cut the sal soda concentration in half or out of the process all together. I assume this was the cause. Not knocking the recipe, just sharing my experience. I absolutely love hunttalk for practical info. It has been a huge help to me. Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Bury instead of bugs
- Thread starter mdunc8
- Start date
mdunc8
Well-known member
I've had similar experiences. I'm now using about a third of a cup per gallon.
RobG
Well-known member
I tried the arm and hammer washing soda (sal soda) and it worked awesome on the nasal passages. I still spent a lot of time on the eyes and ear area and getting the membranes out of the skull cavity. I think I'll try flushing the skull cavity and peeling off as much meat as possible after an hour or so to expose more cartilage to the soda as it continues to soak.
Getting the skull cavity clean is great fun. Flushing the softened brains out with a hose seems to work ok but looking for a magic solution there too.
The skull looked a little dry after using the soda but I assume it will look ok after bleaching.
Getting the skull cavity clean is great fun. Flushing the softened brains out with a hose seems to work ok but looking for a magic solution there too.
The skull looked a little dry after using the soda but I assume it will look ok after bleaching.
el unit
Well-known member
The Buck Boiler works great. Easy, plug in, keep outside. Worked great on mules and whiteys. Elk heads don't fit though- I'm trying to modify it to a larger bucket (mineral lick tub?)
2rocky
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- Jul 23, 2010
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- 5,137
Buzz, Could you post a close up of your Weedburner Boiling setup?
Blueniner9
Member
I buried two heads, and I will never do it again. Both got cleaned, but both were also stained really bad. I've boiled 5 and they all turned out great, so I'm going to stick with boiling from now on.
Does anyone ever include the bottom jaw on their deer/elk euro mounts? Just wondering. I've never seen anyone use the bottom jaw and wondered. I'm sure it would be a bit trickier to mount to a plaque, but thought it could be a neat look.
RobG
Well-known member
The look isn't right - they smile at you like they are about to spring a trap on you.
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RobG
Well-known member
Does anyone have any tricks to get the cartilage out from around the ears, back of the skull etc? Even with sal soda (Arm and Hammer washing soda) they didn't dissolve and I can spend hours working on it.
FWIW, I found if you pull out the membrane that lines the skull cavity all those pain-in-the-butt nerves that go from the inside to the outside pull out with it.
FWIW, I found if you pull out the membrane that lines the skull cavity all those pain-in-the-butt nerves that go from the inside to the outside pull out with it.
I did one like that for a pronghorn and love it.
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devon deer
Well-known member
I have done a fair few heads now, there are no shortcuts in my opinion, skinning, boiling, bleaching is the way to go.
Burying, nope the skull is a nightmare to get white again.
Insects, pretty good but not for me.
But, i got lazy recently, it has been very hot where i am in the UK, so i submerged a roe buck head in water, and left it, occasionally i would check on the progress and it appeared to be working....until today!
My friend came by to pick me up for work, he noticed it a second before i did, what a stench!
He thought it was cat's crapping in my garden, but i knew what it would be, it was horrendous, i dug a big hole and buried the lot!
Maceration....never again!
Cheers
Richard
Burying, nope the skull is a nightmare to get white again.
Insects, pretty good but not for me.
But, i got lazy recently, it has been very hot where i am in the UK, so i submerged a roe buck head in water, and left it, occasionally i would check on the progress and it appeared to be working....until today!
My friend came by to pick me up for work, he noticed it a second before i did, what a stench!
He thought it was cat's crapping in my garden, but i knew what it would be, it was horrendous, i dug a big hole and buried the lot!
Maceration....never again!
Cheers
Richard
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Nameless Range
Well-known member
For the last six years, I have followed @BuzzH ’s directions on post 22 of this thread, and they have worked flawlessly.
Doing it today, so figured I’d resurrect the thread.
Doing it today, so figured I’d resurrect the thread.
OntarioHunter
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- Joined
- Sep 11, 2020
- Messages
- 5,980
I put the skulls in a rabbit cage or dog cage and place out in woods behind barn. Keeps animals off them. I did it with a shot up Javelina skull. Looked decent. Just started again with a few Antelope skulls. Think I will try Buzz's salon formula to finish them.
BAKPAKR
Well-known member
A lady I worked with told me that her husband buried his skulls for euros so I decided to try it on a buck last year. I kind of like the aged, stained outcome. The buck was small enough that I was able to cover the antlers with a plastic tote to prevent premature discoloring (antlers on our bucks usually start out pretty light). I wouldn’t try it with a big buck because I would be afraid of a critter or person taking it or something gnawing on the antlers.
Swamp Hunter
New member
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- Feb 2, 2022
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- 13
Not a fan of the bury method, personally.
