How do you clean/bleach the antlers so it can be mounted?

Question

My hubby got a nice 10 pointer. And processed it himself. Kept the "rack" to mount it. But he's not sure about how to clean it or bleach it. He wants to mount the rack. Someone mentioned to him soaking it in salt water??

Answer 1

Don't use bleach on the antlers themself; use it only on the bone plate or skull to get a completely white bone finish. Of course, like Dave mentioned, you have to de-flesh it first. You can bury it where ants or other bugs can get to the flesh but make sure dogs don't get to it. You could try boiling the flesh off (adding table salt to the water won't hurt), dry out, bleach the bone and then find a suitable mount. Places like Academy sell them.

As a final touch you might want to rub boiled linseed oil on the rack itself to shine & preserve it. Do this as needed. I have a nice 10 point skull mount (bleached skull & antlers only) that I use a large brass cup hook when I display it on the wall. I also have a nice nine point antler mount attached to an antler mount velvet kit I bought at Wal-Mart. Both look nice.

Good luck.

H

Answer 2

As mentioned before, don't boil or bleach the antler section at all. If he intends on doing an English mount, which is leaving all of the skull, use 40% hydrogen peroxide to clean and bleach the skull. You can use an 8 inch piece of coat hanger bent over into an "L" with a 1 inch leg at the top to scramble up the brain using a power drill or by hand. The brain pan can be accessed through the hole where the spinal cord attached. The peroxide you get at Mart Brothers is 3%, the higher powered stuff is available from the link below. You can boil the skull first in plain water to remove the biggest part of the left over meat after boning it out. It would be wise to do this outside as the stench can be pretty powerful. After boiling for 20 minutes or so, scrape the major chunks off and go to the peroxide. The peroxide will get the rest and leave the skull white. If you boil the antlers it's possible that they will fall off. If that happens finish the skull and use epoxy to re-mount the antlers.

Good luck and congratulations to your hubby.

Answer 3

To do a european mount with the skull intact the skin and meat will need to be removed. This can be done by boiling JUST the skull keep the antlers out of the boiling solution. This can be boiled in water, or as its been mentioned 40% peroxide.

Another way to clean up the skull is allowing bettles and maggots do the dirty work. Just make sure you cover the antlers so that the sunlight will not beach the colour out of them.

Once the skull is cleaned, You need to protect with a varinish of some sort. I can't remember the name of it but its a solution that coats the entire skull and bleaches it even more to give the nice White finish. You should be able to purchase this stuff at your local hunting pro shop.

HOpe that helps

Answer 4

I'm an old fart and have bagged a few deer and elk in my time. I have never bleached a set of antlers. When he rack is removed, strip the center down to the bone and let it dry. Drill a couple small holes in the center of the rack and attach it to a wooden base with screws. You can then cover the center section with different colors of velvet by gluing the velvet to the bone. Double the edges under and it makes a nice finished product. If you want you can leave the skin and hair on the center of the rack and mount it naturally. It takes a little more time to dry out. Leave it outside to dry, tied in a tree so no critters run off with it.
You can also buy a pre-cut shield to screw the rack to at places like Hobby Lobby or Michael's. Stain the shield and give it a coat of lacquer (spray) and you will have a professional looking trophy.

Bleach is used for things like cow skulls that have been laying out in the weather. You don't want to bleach your husband's new trophy and take the natural color out of the rack. Just wash it down with soap and water after it is dried out.

Enjoy that new trophy hanging above your fireplace. or , If ya'll are rednecks, above the bed with his rifle hanging on it. LOL

Answer 5

the rack ca n be cleaned with water or alcohol, then purchase some light brown wood stain hit it with it then low gloss varnish the Skull you can purchase maggots, or a beetle I cant remember the name I saw it on EBAY or you can get a fake skull from www.mckenzietaxidermy.com and have a nice European mount.