Resurection project

[OntarioHunter]

I found this deadhead more than fifty years ago, the second year after I started hunting. That day my young Lab and I ventured for the first time into new territory a few miles upriver from my family's home. One of my classmates told me about an inaccessible oxbow backwater across from the plant that had lots of ducks and grouse. I didn't get any birds that day but did stumble on this fantastic deadhead whitetail skull. Unfortunately, nature and vandals had taken a toll. The first point off the buck's right main beam was missing some of the end and most of the last three of eight points on the left beam were gone. Either the buck had broken them or they rotted off (unlikely). The damage was not clean enough to be the work of rodents. Worst damage was vandalism. Some idiot had shot the skull twice with a .410 and broke it in two. I carried both pieces and my Model 12 back to the house which was no easy chore. The broken rack sat in the top of my bedroom closet till after my mom died and then my brother's shackup tossed them in the garage attic. Three years ago when my daughter enrolled in a Montana taxidermy course I stopped by the house to pick up a road kill whitetail rack for her to shoulder mount. She saw the big deadhead and wanted to fix it up. Her classmates helped her get started but it took too much time and she gave up. They did manage to get the skull wired back together. A couple weeks back I became tired of moving the rack around the shop out of the way and decided to take up the project again. Last year we picked up an antler repair kit to fix two tips on my 1980 elk rack that were sawed off while in storage at the family home (grr!). Guess someone (no doubt my brother's crazy shackup) decided to try the aphrodisiac stunt. The big whitetail is still a work in progress but thought I'd give you folks a peek at where we are now. We'll be experimenting with paint and stains this week. It's a bit tricky. The epoxy sculpting material takes stain differently than bone.

 

[OntarioHunter]

Project is stalled for a couple weeks as yesterday my daughter was sent into quarantine by District Health Unit just as she was finishing paint job on last reconstructed antler tip (left G2). She was exposed to COVID variant at hearing test clinic last Thursday. She's doing a fantastic job painting. I did the sculpting and preliminary mount to backing plate. It's a great project to work on together. That will make it memorable into the next generation. Just heard several groups and USFS are trying to save that large parcel where I found the rack from development. I will send them a healthy donation if they keep it closed to vehicle traffic.

I guessed it at 170. Scores just under 168 typical. Of course end of right main beam, most of right G5 point, drop point at that G5, and tip of right G2 had to be rebuilt but very conservatively. This buck had to have scored at least 168 on the hoof. A very nice rack. Just enough nontypical to make it interesting, not freaky.

 

[NECALI]

Looks great.