Did you or would you inject the horns with the alcohol too? My buck it still pretty bloody. His horns have barely hardened. They were still pliable before I put him in the freezer. I figured denatured alcohol was good for bucks who have started to harden and the alcohol would just remove any moisture from the skin.
DIY Velvet Euro
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Bambistew
Well-known member
I had a caribou preserved by freeze drying. I cut the antlers off the skull, and the taxi freeze dried them and I put them back on. I think it cost me like $90, and took about 30 days to get them back. I think it would be really hard to keep the velvet intact on the skull and not mess it up no matter how you clean it up.
When I killed him I pricked the ends of the antlers and pushed the blood out and also pushed them out the base best I could. Kept it cool and dry like meat. The antlers were very hard underneath though. Spongy antler could be a problem though. I would think your best bet will be freeze drying. There is probably blood locked inside the antler that will just rot over time and I doubt you can preserve it with other methods. I really don't think putting it in a freezer for later will save you much time. Blood is much different than tissue. It might by you a little time, but being ready to preserve and have a plan for immediately after its killed, I think is key. I've heard of submerging in alcohol, acetone or borax, as well as the velvet preserve or velvet "tan" solutions and pickling. Freeze drying seems to preserve the best shape/color though.
I usually just strip it off now and don't worry about it. I think the window of preservation success is also very dependent upon the velvet timing and how close the animal is ready to rub.
The velvet on this bull was really tight and stayed on. I've shot some that you could peel it right off and was lose on the antler and others that were very tight, but were weeks out from stripping and the last 2-3 inches of the tips were really spongy.
There is also the spray on option. Its gotten a lot more realistic in the last 5-10 years.
When I killed him I pricked the ends of the antlers and pushed the blood out and also pushed them out the base best I could. Kept it cool and dry like meat. The antlers were very hard underneath though. Spongy antler could be a problem though. I would think your best bet will be freeze drying. There is probably blood locked inside the antler that will just rot over time and I doubt you can preserve it with other methods. I really don't think putting it in a freezer for later will save you much time. Blood is much different than tissue. It might by you a little time, but being ready to preserve and have a plan for immediately after its killed, I think is key. I've heard of submerging in alcohol, acetone or borax, as well as the velvet preserve or velvet "tan" solutions and pickling. Freeze drying seems to preserve the best shape/color though.
I usually just strip it off now and don't worry about it. I think the window of preservation success is also very dependent upon the velvet timing and how close the animal is ready to rub.
The velvet on this bull was really tight and stayed on. I've shot some that you could peel it right off and was lose on the antler and others that were very tight, but were weeks out from stripping and the last 2-3 inches of the tips were really spongy.
There is also the spray on option. Its gotten a lot more realistic in the last 5-10 years.
ashersdad
Well-known member
When I was at my taxidermist's place last month he had a couple caribou bulls that looked as good as @Bambistew 's bull. I asked him and he said he was freeze drying everything now. Not sure of the process but I know he had someone doing it for him. I was incredibly impressed with how well the velvet looked on those bulls.
WYWINCHESTER
Active member
Hanging upside down with the holes in the tips drains them. The alcohol dry's them. Keep them sprayed.
WYWINCHESTER
Active member
Soft horns could be a little different. Mine came from the coroners office. I was thinking of some other stuff and they suggested this. It worked. Don't know about soft horns.. Good luck
Bambistew
Well-known member
There is a thread on Rokslide I just saw with a bunch of good information on velvet preserving.
I used a product called stop rot once on a roadkill velvet deer. The key is what stage the velvet is in. If the blood vessels are still open you can inject it into the tips of the antlers and push it out until the liquid coming out of the bottom of the skull is clear.
Mountain Mule
Well-known member
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- Nov 18, 2021
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How did the velvet euro experience go? I shot a stag buck this season (hard antlers, but some play in the velvet so still some moisture). I am debating my next steps.
It wasn’t terrible. I ended up buying some velvet cure and injecting it inside the velvet. I had one blow out from what I imagine was a soft spot from me rubbing the velvet. It was on the backside so I wasn’t that mad. I also used a paint brush and brushed it on the outside a couple times. I figured I couldn’t over do it.
