Rack mounts??

[mudfish2]

who has the best rack mounts for doing it yourself...I did a 6 point do it yourself from wal mart and I didn't like it..any ideas?

[Bucktales]

Mud, I take the head, cut it all the from the back of the antlers, to the tip of the nose. Skin the skull plate, and boil it just long enough to get all the meat and goodies off. I like the looks of the extra bone on the mount.

[deerslayer11]

Im too cheap for that, and am too lazy to do the european mount like kips talkin about. I just hacksaw em and cut the skin/hide off the skull plate.

[mudfish2]

the way the processor here cuts the horns off is above the eyes and right behind the horns in the back till they meet at the eyes

I've already cut the skin and extra goodies off and boiled the bone..now what? are you saying mount that alone on a plaque?

[Bucktales]

Ok Mud, seems how its already cut, I'll tell ya how my buddy does his. He takes plaster of paris, and makes his own shape, with the skull plate inside of the plaster.
He then covers the plaster with Flock. (kinda looks like velvet after its applied on the form.) I have 1 that I cut the same way you describe, and covered it with leather. Doesnt look too bad.

[benhuntin]

I cut off the horns from the skull and remove the skin.
Then I let the it dry for a couple of weeks. Next I mix some flour, water, and elmers glue in a small bowl. I then dip strips of paper towel or newspaper in the mix
and wrap it around the skull part of the antlers. I'll do
3 or four layers and let it dry for a couple days and repeat the process until the skull is built up to the base of the antlers. I then paint it brown and mount it on a plaque. Looks great.
You can also use bondo to form the skull.
As far as the store bought kits. I like the one with the
cutout on the bottom of the plaque where you can put
a picture under your antler mount. You can find these at Wing Supply and I think Bass Pro has them.

[flhuntress]

maybe you should try a european mount....mine looks awesome.

[benhuntin]

flhuntress said:

maybe you should try a european mount....mine looks awesome.

Fl, could you describe this mount or post a pic?

[t-roy]

my uncle makes these for alot of hunters around here. a european mount is the entire skull, along with the rack. the white skull, along with the dark antlers, makes for a nice looking trophy. there are many ways to clean the skull. one way is to make a "box" out of 1/4" hardware cloth and hang in the yard. the cloth lets bugs get in to eat all the hide and meat, but keeps mice out. my uncle soaks the heads in a 5 gallon bucket of water and salt. as the water evaporates, he adds more, until the meat is REAL rotten and soft, then as the water continues to evaporate, the bugs eat off the flesh. when the skull is clean, he sprays it down with clear laquer, and hangs it on a piece of old barn board

[flhuntress]

try this......

www.southernvisuals.com/LeBouf/european_deer_skull_mount.htm

[flhuntress]

it's not the best pic in the world but gives the idea.....
mine's got a nice piece of wood behind it.

[BlueNorther]

This is how I mount my racks,don't have any that deserve a full shoulder mount.

[t-roy]

that is the way i do most of mine too

[benhuntin]

www.jimallred.com/

I just ordered the foster mount. Thought it looked pretty cool.

[Dave1]

Mud

On most of the bucks I take, I cut the top of the skull off, scrape, clean, & dry it, and I'm done. Comes out nice with no smell and is suitable for hanging on the wall or other. The entire process takes about 1 1/2 hours and it is ready to go on the wall.

I'll try to explain how I do it. It may sound complicated but it really isn't, just takes some time.

First cut the head off the neck close to the back of the head. Use pocket knife and skin the top half of the skull so the hide is out of the way allowing you to make the saw cut lengthwise thru the skull. After the hide is peeled down you are ready to make the saw cut.

Before starting the saw/cut, study where you will want to make the cut. Essentially the cut needs to start about an inch or two back from the nose and go straight back thru the upper half of the eye sockets, under the horn bases, and out the back of the skull. What you have done is cut the top of the sinus bones and skull off in one piece. By starting out near the nose you have left the long part of the skull intack which makes a more attractive mount but you can shorten the cut if you want less bone/skull.

Once you know where the saw/cut is to be made, place the head on the ground resting on the back of the neck and horns and with the nose pointing up. Use a good sharp hack saw or similar and start the cut slowly and carefully because you are going at a slight angle thru the thin nose cavity bones to start out. The beggining of this cut is critical so your cut will be straight and square all the way thru. Once you got the cut started, saw/cut straight back going thru the upper half of the eye sockets and right out the back of the skull.

Once the long lengthwise cut is complete, put the saw right behind the horn bases a 1/2" or so and make saw/cut straight down to square off the back of the skull. Congratulations, you are half way.

Next, find a comfortable place to sit out in the yard (not in the house). Using a sharp pocket knife, peel the brain out, and start scraping and peeling all of the tissue out/off of the skull bone, brain cavity, up in the sinus cavities, eye sockets, etc. You will find that it can be scraped out/off with the knife. Scrape it fairly hard right down to the bone. Be careful to not let knife slip and cut yourself. There are many little cracks and crevices that have to be scraped out, so take your time and get it all. Use knife point to get into the more tiny places. Turn the knife blade on its side a scrape right up under the bases of each horn. The goal is to remove EVERY bit of tissue from the bone. This scraping is the time consuming part. Hose it off every once in a while and you can see your progress. Once you are done scraping, wash it with soap and water, rinse, let sit in the sun to dry, and you are done. If you have done well and removed all of the tissue from every little crack and crevice, there will be nothing left to cause any odor and the bone will be fairly white. You are done.

The skull can then be spray painted white of left as is and mounted on a board, mounted or hunt on a wall, or left sitting on mantle, coffe table, or wherever.

If you have any questions, drop me a note and I will help.

Dave1
[e-mail]