How long leave deer skull in ground

[Bowhunt_406]

Water maceration is the way to go. Most museums use this method. Basically cover skull in water to let bacteria break down any tissue. There are several step by step how to's online. Preserves small bones, no discoloration, etc... Don't go crazy on the prep work, I did and ended up having to add culture (broth) to my skull it was so clean. Just get the skin off to speed things up. If you have one you've hung in a tree or has dried skin left you can use the same technique, just add about 1/2 lb of fresh meat to the first batch of water and in a few weeks it'll be clean. This needs to be done in the summer or you will have to use an aquarium heater to keep the water warm. This technique sounds horrible, but really isn't that bad and it produces a great skull. The first water change is the worst part, after that its not that bad. Here's a deer and pronghorn I cleaned with this tech. The deer by itself is before it went into the water. Don't worry about getting it this clean. We macerated several at the same time and it really didn't affect how the skulls came out. This deer actually took longer than one that didn't have any flesh removed after it was skinned.

Any tips for keeping the color in the antler? I macerated my most recent whitetail and pronghorn and my whitetail lost all the color in his horn?

 

[SaskHunter]

I can clean a skull by simmering and pressure washing in about 2 hours. Never had any issues.

I've now fixed three skulls that friends have burried. All turned out like sh*t and stained brown/yellow.

 

[Foxtrot1]

Any tips for keeping the color in the antler? I macerated my most recent whitetail and pronghorn and my whitetail lost all the color in his horn?

On pronghorn, you pop the sheath off the core in a few days. They just slide off. On antlered heads, I wedge them with the antlers out of the water level. Play with the angle. If the very top of the cranium is exposed, you can cover it with paper towels. They will wick water to keep it moist. This time of the year, they should be clean in 2 weeks or so.

 

[Borny1]

I leave my heads out until the maggots are hammering them, then I put it Ina garbage bag and bury it. They don't dry out that way and the maggots continue to do their work. I pull it out in the spring. The hide falls off and everything else is gone. Then I toothbrush scrub with Comet and magic eraser.