A Couple Of Trophies I'm Making

I have had these 2 heads in the freezer for a few months now but not been able to find the time to process them, until now, these have been done in the last few days.
First up is a Roebuck head that has been transformed from this

To this



Then to follow was a Fallow Stag/Buck that came out of the freezer looking like this.



Then, after this mornings work, now looks like this.



I will now need to bleach them, to whiten them up slightly, & then once my wooden shields arrive I will mount them to hand on my wall with the others. I will add more pics of them once they are mounted for anybody that's interested in seeing them finished.
I am not at all a professional at this, & have learnt by trial & error the best ways that work for me, so by that these are not pretending to be done to a professional standard.

 

Everytime I see these I think of the film PREDATOR for some reason LOL!

 

Yeah, I can see that likeness as well.

 

TO THE CHOPPER!!

 

Niiiiice !...

 

Very nice bit of work mate.

 

Yeah its not everyones cup of tea.

 

Thanks mate.

 

Very nice work but I would rather have the rest of the deer lol
great what we can learn on this site
stay safe all in these strange times

 

Thanks, yep I have had the rest of the deer as as well, we still have quite a few joints & mince from them, & more in the freezer.

 

Great work mate looks brilliant very talented atb jay

 

Ive got a muntjac skull on the top of my shed still, been up there a year but still has skin and fur on it.

Someone said put it on an ants nest and theyll eat all the tissue off.

Does having them in the freezer first help the skinning process?

Do you use chemicals to clean yours?

Could you give some advice please?

CC

 

It is a very, very slow process if left to nature to do the work for you, Putting them in the freezer makes no difference to the skinning process, I have donr them fresh before, but these were just frozen to preserve them until I had time to do them.

This is the process I use, I am in no way an expert, but this system seems to work for me.

Place the head in a deep pan of water, making sure the antlers right down there full length are out of the water. Now add a healthy squirt of washing up liquid & put the pan on the hob, (I have used a camp stove in the shed for this to save the hassle from the good lady.)

Bring the pan to the boil, & leave it to boil for about 1.5 -2 hours depending on head size. Once finished allow to cool down & get a sharp knife & start cutting away the flesh, it is now cooked so comes away from the bone quite easily. Make sure you get the eye balls, brain, & all the sinus tissue out as well. Once you have got the skin off, I use a pressure washer to wash any stuck bits away from the bone, & also wash through the brain & nasal cavity as well.

I then put the skull in bleach (again making sure not to get any on the antlers) & soak in the solution for 24 hours to whiten the bone.

That's it, its then ready for mounting. Again, there may be better/easier ways to do this, but through trial & error, this is the way that seems to work best for me.
Hope that helps
ATB

 

Like that...

I did read you have to use all sorts of chemicals to do it that way.

This one ive had 3 years... done naturally
strange antler...

This one ive had a year.

Both road kill unfortunatly.

Ill give it a go with the next skull i come across.

CC

 

Apart from the bleach & the washing up liquid I use no chemicals.

Glad to help, give it a try next time you get one.

 

The Roe skull is now mounted & on the wall.

 

The fallow is now finished & on the wall.

 

They look great you have done them proud mate , I wish I had time to do such stuff but I find my time being spent buy and rebuilding guns .
Stay safe in these strange times

 

Can these be done but leaving the skin on?

 

Thanks mate, you stay safe to buddy.

That would involve full taxidermy, yes it can be done, but is way beyond my skill level.