I have a large box in my garage filled with deer racks. Some are small and some would consider them large but whenever I shoot a deer I cut the rack off and toss it in the box. Sometimes I will set aside the whole head for a european mount. I usually don’t have any plans for these racks but over the years I have amassed a pretty good pile.
Most people don’t have the time or patience to do a European skull mount and ship it off to the taxidermist. It’s not quick (can take up to a year) but it usually cost between $75.00 and $100.00 and you don’t have to worry about the mess or worst case scenario, losing your rack.
Let me explain that part. When I decide to keep the head for a possible European mount, I don’t start working on it right away. I can’t keep it in the garage, way too stinky; and I can’t afford freezer space. What I do is tie one end of a rope to the rack and the other end to a tree or fence post and let nature work on it until Im ready to play with it.
I know. Guys reading this will say that I’m crazy. What if it gets stolen or drug off by an animal? Well, it could happen and in fact did happen to me one time years ago. The truth is, I’m willing to take that risk because I don’t really care; I look at it as part of the whole hunting experience. I don’t suggest anyone else follow my lead, I’m just explaining how I got to this particular DIY project.
Currently, I have one of Marky’s racks tied to a fence post; and It’s been there since November. I’m planning on getting to it in a few weeks. But since I finished doing a Mountain Mikes skull project (Click HERE for Link), I decided to grab a skull out of the box and do a quick mount so I could use the extra Position-er bracket (Click link here) I have on hand.
Decided to use an 8 pointer I shot several years ago. I’m pretty sure it’s an Indiana deer. And I’m 80% sure its a bow kill, but I don’t recall. I had cleaned and boiled the skull several years ago but never took it any further than that. So, since I have been in the deer mount mode, I grabbed it and applied a couple of coats of white paint to brighten up the skull, and hung it on the wall. It looks OK and hanging next to the Mountain Mike Rack makes you appreciate how much work goes into a DIY european mount opposed to spending couple of bucks with a professional.
Freeze
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www.john1911.com
“Shooting Guns & Having Fun”
Freeze is our resident All-American hunter, shooter, gunsmith and military surplus collector. When he is not processing his own game or running the smoker, he focuses on Com-Bloc weapons and Black Powder Shooting.
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