Elk Meat 2019/Euro Mount Question

[TNTBurton]

Right at legal shooting light we found the herd feeding up above us on the same open ridge they had been feeding on a few weeks earlier only a hundred yards from us. Cow....cow...cow.....calf.....cow. No legal bulls, that we could see. However, we knew there were more elk just over the rise. We decided to edge up closer before they made it to the thick timber at the bottom of the open ridge. As soon as we made the decision to take another step, there happened to be three whitetail does standing in front of us at 50 yards that we didn't see and of course they busted right up the same ridge towards the elk!! Logically, the elk decide to bust as well as we heard the thundering of their feet. Instinctively, I sprinted up to the corner of the ridge they were feeding on and looked up to see 30 plus cows busting back up the hill only to catch a bull that broke off from the herd, broadside and parallel to me. At a 100 yards, I verified he was legal, settled my cross hairs, flicked the safety off, and the 160 grain Accubond found its mark, dropping him instantly! Thankfully there was an old logging road nearby. We broke the bull in two and were able to cart him out in two trips. It was a day filled with constant thankfulness to The good Lord for his added blessing on that day.

Also, I think my 15 month old son is going to be an elk hunter!

I am not a man concerned with antler size, however I have never seen a bull in the wild with an antler like this and am going to European mount the skull. If anyone has a tip on how to boil the skull without boiling the club I am in need of ideas/suggestions. I was thinking about wrapping the club in tin foil and electrical tape???

 

[ZMT588]

Nice work! Cool lookin elk!

 

[Khunter]

shrink wrap?

 

[Carl 9.3x62]

Cool bull! Might be a good one for beetles? Or sous vide? There are couple threads on here about that method. Not sure how you would submerge the skull without getting the antler wet. Wrapping may help, I'd try shrink or plastic wrap and some tape. I also think you could boil the antler too and it wouldn't affect it as long as you don't put any chemical in the water. Good luck.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

I’ve had good results tightly wrapping antler bases with electrical tape, and then a layer of duct tape. You have to really put the tape on tight but you can get a almost air tight seal.

You could also use plastic wrap and a hair dryer to get it nice and tight.

Given the size of the bull you might be able to order beetles online and buy a big tote with lid from Home Depot to do the cleaning in.

 

[Deleted member 16014]

Depending on what container you boil it in it looks like you could almost just hang it out the side. Maybe not. If not I would do as wllm suggests above. As noted it shouldn't be a big deal to boil it a bit as long as you're careful on chemical application. I see guys being pretty careful with boiling their antler bases, wrapping in tin foil and such; I've never done that and haven't had an issue, maybe I've just had good luck though. And admittedly I'm not the most picky euro skull cleaner.

 

[Oak]

Check out White Bone Creations on YouTube. He uses a combination of shrink wrap and electrical tape.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

Also the really issue for me has never been the cleaning of the skull but rather peroxide migrating up and whitening the bases.

This is my bull from this year as you can see the pictured left (his right) base got hit a bit with peroxide... I screwed up the taping.
The back of the antlers came out perfect... I would say 2-3 inches of the antlers were submerged the entire time I was cleaning.



I'm going to finish sealing the skull then maybe darken that little spot.

 

[2rocky]

If you have the $50-100 you would have the best result with Beetles. But if you were to boil it and discolored the club, you can recolor it a number of ways. I've used Minwax Golden oak and mud myself... There is a good thread here with other options.: https://forums.bowsite.com/tf/bgforums/thread.cfm?threadid=449769&forum=4

 

[MT_elk]

Congrats on a great bull!

 

[Setcams4u]

Congrats on your success. In my opinion, beetles are your best option (or anthill). Or cold water soak in a deep narrow container so the antlers prevent it from sinking.

 

[ashersdad]

Heck of a cool bull! Nice picture with your son too. Congratulations. That will make a neat mount.

 

[oldillini]

Congrats! That will make one interesting euro. I can see that you and your son will have many memorable years in your future.

 

[Kaitum]

I boiled my elk skull this past weekend. I use a big galvanized bin. The bottom of the skull rests on the bottom of the bin, then I fill with water to just below the antler bases. Over the day water will evaporate and you'll need to top off the water level. I've done this twice, never had an issue with water discoloring the antlers. Steam from the water seems to soften any tissue not completely submerged.

I use the 40 volume hair bleaching creme from any salon to whiten the skull. It is 'pasty' enough you can brush it on around the antler bases without it running onto the antlers. Let sit overnight and then rinse with water.

 

[HuntTalk Freak]

I wrap tight with a few layers of shrink wrap, even below the base of the antlers, then wrap some electrical tape around it to secure it down.
You shouldn’t have any problems that way.
Just don’t use plastic grocery bags, they seem to break down.
I did one buck without wrapping the antlers and it took a lot of color out. I used some minwax stain to fix it. It’s still not perfect in my eyes but no one else notices it.

 

[ZBB]

Not exactly the same, but I wrapped this whitetail with plastic wrap and went around it with electrical tape. I didn’t put anything in the water at first so I could get a lot of the “stuff” off the crown. After that it was water and baking soda and I kind of laddeled the water up on the crown. Also if you’re doing it outside and it’s cold, I put tin foil over the top to help keep the heat and steam in, uses way less gas and helps keeps things simmering. Bugs would be cool too. I thought you could only get them as larvae but I could be way off. Either way cool bull, there’s quite a few ways you could go.

 

[ismith]

Go with bugs.

 

[TNTBurton]

Thank you all for the help and suggestions!

 

[kiwi hunter]

i have a cut down 44 gallon drum set up on blocks and light a small fire,,doesnt need long boiling and then blast the rubbish off with pressure water hose,,i cut the back of the skull to enlarge entry to brain cavity

 

[Kaitum]

i have a cut down 44 gallon drum set up on blocks and light a small fire,,doesnt need long boiling and then blast the rubbish off with pressure water hose,,i cut the back of the skull to enlarge entry to brain cavity

A pressure washer does make the job easier. I'll own one before I do another European mount.