Tricks to prevent horn shrinkage

[wytex]

Great point JM77. There is a window a few days after harvest to slip those sheaths right off. Make sure to get that lining out.

 

[kiwi hunter]

Here is the best way to minimize shrinking of antelope horns: asap after skinning, wrap skull plate or cleaned off skull in plastic up 3 or 4 inches on horn. I use masking tape on plastic to get tight seal especially around horns. Leave in warm area for two or three days and horns will slip off cores. Immediately clean skull plate or skull and reset horns with slow set mix of bondo. If you want them measured, this is where the 60 day drying period begins. I wipe the horns down Neet's Foot Oil to help preserve them and make them look good. I don't know, or care, if B&C allows that, as record books are meaningless to me. If you are having it scored, just eliminate the Neet's until after they are measured.

Boiling off horns is the worse thing you can do to them if you are concerned about shrinkage.

always wondered why my tahr horns shrunk
took a young fella out on his first tahr hunt n he shot a 12 1/2 inch bull,,he buried it in the garden where his dogs found it and had a wee chew,,now that really shrunt them

 

[Carl 9.3x62]

Here is the best way to minimize shrinking of antelope horns: asap after skinning, wrap skull plate or cleaned off skull in plastic up 3 or 4 inches on horn. I use masking tape on plastic to get tight seal especially around horns. Leave in warm area for two or three days and horns will slip off cores. Immediately clean skull plate or skull and reset horns with slow set mix of bondo. If you want them measured, this is where the 60 day drying period begins. I wipe the horns down Neet's Foot Oil to help preserve them and make them look good. I don't know, or care, if B&C allows that, as record books are meaningless to me. If you are having it scored, just eliminate the Neet's until after they are measured.

Boiling off horns is the worse thing you can do to them if you are concerned about shrinkage.

Do you use plastic wrap or a bag?

 

[JM77]

Do you use plastic wrap or a bag?

I use two or three small grocery type bags, but any plastic works as long as it's wrapped tight.

 

[JM77]

Great point JM77. There is a window a few days after harvest to slip those sheaths right off. Make sure to get that lining out.

I've never had the core sheath slip off with the horn. It does happen sometimes when boiling.

 

[Firedude]

Not to totally resurrect this thread from the dead but, I have some data that might be useful. The first 2 antelope killed around me were my wife's and daughters. Both did well green score and both shrank a surprising amount by scoring day... which is why this thread has always kind of been in the back of my mind. Now I'm sharing some data I collected purely out of curiosity.

Long story short, if you don't care and toss them in a boil pot including horn plan on 2 to 3 inches on little stuff. Baby anything big, simmer low after wraping and masking horns. Isolate them from moisture. No water above the eyes. Let the bone heat the horns off, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 is kind of where my results are.


3 Biggish. All boiled (cringe but I have a wife who is very particular about smells.... all low simmered, very protective of horn. Green scored left to right. 67 6/8. 79 7/8. 68 2/8. All shrunk 1 1/4 to 1 1/2. One on the right just made Pope and Young with 1 1/4 of shrinkage total.



2 of the many little ones I happily shot and loved every second of that hunt. 3 not pictured. All just tossed in hot boil to get done fast. Yank horns off and toss in freezer. But I measured out of curiosity... one on the left 2 1/4 inches. One on the right 3. The few little ones I've shot and just done quick had similar results. On small goats.... 2 to 3 inches. I've never whole flash boiled a big one so I have no data there. But I probably wouldn't try it.

Be gentle if it's close and you care.