How to Euro Pronghorn?

[Baerman]

I'd like to try and DIY euro my pronghorn from this year. I quickly looked on youtube about doing pronghorn but nothing popped up. I've done elk and deer before but not sure about the prongs. Can they boil in water too? Do you want them to boil in the water if so? How do you clean inside the prongs? Where is a good place to buy the peroxide paste?

Thanks for your input.

 

[Hunting Wife]

I don't know how the pros do it, but here is the version that has worked well for us...

The horn sheaths need to come off before you do anything. There is a bony core inside, covered with soft tissue, covered by the horn sheath. Sometimes the sheaths are already loose when you kill the antelope, but if not just remove the hide and as much meat from the head as possible and let it sit in the garage until they get loose enough to pull off. You don't want to boil the horn sheaths. They are basically just really stiff hair, so you have to be a little gentle with them. Scrape out the horn sheaths as much as possible, and you can rinse them out but make sure you dry them well. Fill the horn sheaths with borax and let them sit for a couple of weeks. It will help dry out the inside and keep them from smelling.

Once the sheaths come off, you can boil the rest of the head and get it completely clean and bleached, just like you would a deer. When you are ready to reassemble, brush borax out of the horn sheaths, mix up some plaster of paris, put some plaster in the sheaths, and place them back on the cores. They would not naturally rest right up against the skull, so pay attention to how far you set them. Wipe up any plaster that squished out and even out the bottoms and let it dry.

You can get the peroxide at any beauty supply store. It always makes me laugh that no matter what store we go to, if my husband is the one buying they always ask if he's cleaning skulls. . If you like your skull nicely whitened, there is an additive called Quick Blu (also available at the beauty supply) that you can add to the peroxide gel. It makes the mixture slightly more foamy, but really gives a nice result.

Good luck!

 

[Mudranger1]

http://onyourownadventures.com/hunttalk/showthread.php?t=244793&highlight=antelope+euro

all you need to know I think

 

[jimss]

The above post is good but I would add a couple more suggestions. If the skull/horn sheaths dry out it can be nearly impossible to pop the horns off. I always put mine inside a couple garbage bags and put them where it is warm for a few days..possibly under a garbage can with a heavy rock/brick on top of it so critters don't wander off with your skull/horns! One word of caution...It will likely smell up your neighborhood and if you don't get the bag tight with 0 holes it will likely have maggots crawling all over in a few days. If it is warm (60+ degrees) and the skull hasn't already dried out the horns should pop off the sheaths in 3 days to a week.

I use the same beauty supply stuff plus borax but use bondo inside each horn to secure the horns to the skull. I would also suggest pulling out all the nasel tissue inside the skull or you may have bugs that get started in your skull and screw up other mounts you may have in your house? I also make a small cut on the back side of the skull with a zaws-all so I can get all the gross brains out.....it also saves a lot of time cleaning off the meat and gristle on the back side of the skull..where bugs may end up if it isn't cleaned completely. The cut hole is hidden on a plaque..so no worries.

 

[tarheel]

You can boil the head in a 50 cal ammo can set on a camp stove. The horns will keep the head from going too deep in the can but you need to be mindful of water depth to keep the horns out of the hot water. You can also use the can for the bleaching job. Bore a hole in the back of the skull, bend a short end (3/4") on an 8" piece of coat hanger, chuck the straight end in a drill and Mixmaster the brains and they will flush out easier with a hose or air hose if you want to make a real mess.

 

[onpoint]

I've done quite a few Euro antelope mounts.
Some things that have helped me get some nice results:

Trim as much tissue as possible from skull and remove brain with a clothes hanger or similar tool.
Use 20 mule team borax in the boil-on a low boil, cleaning tissue from skull and checking suture integrity often - antelope skulls come apart really quick if you over do it.
I have gotten decent results from beauty supply "bleach" as well.
After removing the sheaths,I fill with first salt to dry and disinfect, then borax for a few days.
Make simple stands from cheap home depot pieces of oak.

Good luck.

 

[Toadslayer]

Drill a small hole though each horn on the back for a small nail. Boil/simmer the whole head with the horns submerged to right below prongs for about 30 minutes. Using gloves or oven mits hold up head by horns a twist/pull. Horns should pop right off. Throw whole head back in pot to finish. Using needle nose pliers, pull any meat out of horns. Fill with borax...tie and hang for a couple weeks and keep dry. The holes you drilled help you when you glue the horns back on for position.

 

[Foxtrot1]

I've had good luck with cold water maceration. I have one going right now. With antelope, you just slip the horn off the core after a few days. Then let the skull continue to macerate.

In my opinion beetle cleaned or maceration creates a better finished product. Finer details and fragile bones are preserved. I don't clean enough to maintain a beetle colony, so I use maceration. It doesn't require any special tools or supplies. It is stinky until the first water change, but I also hate the smell of skull boiling.


http://www.hidetanning.net/SkullCleaning.html

 

[shoeghazer]

Actually I would like to know how to cape out/quarter an animal for mounting. There's plenty on quartering/gutless , but I have yet to find a decent tutorial on taking from the back country to the taxidermist.

 

[Chucknduck]

Big fins gutless video show how to cape out the animal. Show what part to save and how to deal with the front legs. I've seen a few you tube videos on skinning the head

 

[Irrelevant]

So I'm bringing this back to life. I didn't read any of this prior to going antelope hunting... shooting an buck, putting the head in a tree for a couple days, then driving back to WA, and leaving it sitting out by the shed for another couple days, then putting it in cold water for a couple days. The sheaths definitely are not coming off and the back of the horns are starting to swell and split. Is there any saving this or am I just sol. I tried boiling last night with a damp towel over it without any positive results. At this point I'm about ready to just hang it in a tree and see what it looks like next fall.

 

[Fitzwho]

With it dried up, you’ll need to boil it a bit longer. Assuming the head is skinned and trimmed as much as possible already... Get a pot big enough that you can lay the skull on its side. Concentrate on one horn at a time. I’d keep it in a solid low boil for 15 minutes. The sheath should pop off. Then repeat on the other side. Peel the cartilage from the horn core and use a pressure washer to blow all the rest of the flesh off. Oxy clean will help after the sheaths are off. Search YouTube for Whitebone Creations.

 

[madtom]

I basically follow this guy’s technique and have had good success on the three I’ve done. I boiled with the horns on like he does and haven’t had problems with the horns being damaged. Like he says, the twist is critical in getting the horns to pop off instead of just pulling straight. Good luck!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nY4jA0ff878

 

[madtom]

Search YouTube for Whitebone Creations.

Haha, he beat me to it while I was getting the link.

 

[jimss]

Hanging in a tree will just dry out the pedicle layer inside the horn and make it impossible to get the horn off. You will likely have bug and smell problems since there is dried out flesh material left inside the horn.

As you've found out a skull/horns dry it is super tough to get horns off! I always place my horns/skull inside a couple garbage bags as soon as I get them off my animal. That way the skull/horns remain moist. 99% of the time I can pull the horns off this way without having to boil them....especially if the weather is relatively warm.

With that said, now that your horns/skull is pretty much dried out I would suggest submerging the entire horns/skull in a /trash can of water. You may be able to re-hydrate them so the horns possibly can be popped off. I had this happen once with a bighorn...and boy was it ever a tough job getting the horns to break from the inner bone! Good luck!

 

[Zach]

I basically follow this guy’s technique and have had good success on the three I’ve done. I boiled with the horns on like he does and haven’t had problems with the horns being damaged. Like he says, the twist is critical in getting the horns to pop off instead of just pulling straight. Good luck!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nY4jA0ff878

Ditto

 

[Irrelevant]

Thanks guys. I just gave it a watch and will get it it.

 

[HiMtnHntr]

Step 1: boil for a few hours with the bottom of the horn slightly submerged
Step 2: take the skull out and put it on the concrete, place a 2x4 on the skull from behind, step on it, wear a leather glove and twist off the horns. Twisting is the key
Step 3: pressure wash the skull. Get out in the yard a ways and put skull on a piece of plywood. Spray all the stuff off. I use a 25 deg head. Don't wear your Sunday's best and spray at angles away from your face, unless you want a snack
Step 4: paint with high volume peroxide
Step 5: let it sit in the sun

Don't let antelope heads sit around, you need to get to them right away for best results. This method you'll be done in a day of on and off work. I did 3 in one day a while back.

 

[mrklean]

Step 1: boil for a few hours with the bottom of the horn slightly submerged
Step 2: take the skull out and put it on the concrete, place a 2x4 on the skull from behind, step on it, wear a leather glove and twist off the horns. Twisting is the key
Step 3: pressure wash the skull. Get out in the yard a ways and put skull on a piece of plywood. Spray all the stuff off. I use a 25 deg head. Don't wear your Sunday's best and spray at angles away from your face, unless you want a snack
Step 4: paint with high volume peroxide
Step 5: let it sit in the sun

Don't let antelope heads sit around, you need to get to them right away for best results. This method you'll be done in a day of on and off work. I did 3 in one day a while back.

No need to boil for a few hours 30-45 min will due, if you boil them to long it can actually cause the skulls to get brittle then you might blast holes in them with a power washer, i have also seen them stain from boiling to long.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

No need to boil for a few hours 30-45 min will due, if you boil them to long it can actually cause the skulls to get brittle then you might blast holes in them with a power washer, i have also seen them stain from boiling to long.

Absolutely do not boil, your skulls are turning out brittle because you are going way to hot. From personal experience the max temp you should use preserve bone integrity is 155.

I started using my sous vide machine to do heads, 145 degrees for 24-36 hours(depends on how well you trimmed the meat off) with a couple scoops of oxiclean mixed in the bath (horns removed). I would argue that this is hands down the best method for cleaning a skull. I have a skull that was done with beetles by a profession taxidermist and I think the sous vide head turned out better. (Also had an elk done using the maceration method)

https://onyourownadventures.com/hun...h-CWD-(Possible-Solution)&highlight=sous+vide