Conference vmsnet::hunting$note:hunting

Mark, 

I haven't done the rack mount myself, so take everything said 
with a grain of salt.  The way I've seen it done was to cut the 
skull-cap away so that it includes the antlers.  As for getting the 
meat and fat off, I've taken antlers that I sawed off at the 
base (and a tail or two) and stirred up a red ant nest, then left 
the tail or the antlers in/on the nest.  The ants eat the meat/
fat, but leave the bone, skin, and hair, which is what I assume 
you want.

As for the store-bought kits, I'd imagine you get what you pay 
for, i.e. if you pay for a good piece of wood with mounting 
hardware it should come with instructions and should work ok.  If 
you like wood-working and have the tools, though, making the 
plaque yourself might be fun.

FWIW,

Scott

    I've done a bunch, but it all depends on how fancy you want it to look.
    
    to remove the hair/meat/fat/extra clingon materials... just drop the 
    skull portion into a pot of boiling water... (if you have a stove fan
    turn it on... best to do this when the wifes out, as it tends to stink)
    boil for 1/2 hour to an hour and remove with knife and fork...
    
    this will get you down to a clean skull.
    
    drill holes into the skull for screws, I've had pretty good success 
    with 1 1/2" drywall screws.
    
    plaque size and shape is a matter of personal taste, if you have a jig
    saw/band saw your homefree.  If you want your plaque symetrical simply
    fold a piece of good construction paper in half and draw half a shape 
    along the fold, fold it up and cut along the lines, unfold and you have 
    a perfect design to be traced onto your choice of hardwood.
    
    To cover the skull, you could use velvet/leather etc... and some
    upholstery tacks, or you could just leave it uncovered... depends where
    you plan on hanging it i guess.
     
    
    Thats pretty much it in a nutshell...
    
    good luck,   Fra

    Thanks for the replies.
    
    The skull cap has already been removed from the deer (last fall)
    and has been drying out in my garage since November.  I'll likely
    boil the "meat" side as Fra said in .2. 
    
    My only other question is whether or not it is okay to leave the
    patch of fur that's sitting on between the antlers on the top of
    the scalp.  If I do leave the fur, will the meat underneath rot?
    
    Thanks again.
    
    Mark.

    mark, 
    
    we have a couple of racks hanging at camp with the hair still on, but
    the hair eventually falls out and the flesh tends to dry out and
    seperate from the skull, and it starts to look like shit, not to
    mention what kind of wildlife it attracts... 8^)
    
    scrape it off and cover it with some material and tacks. you'll be glad
    you did... 
    
    Fra

    I mounted my Elk antlers, here's what I did.
    
    I cut the antlers off, removed all the skin. Then boiled the skull to
    remove all the meat and such. Then mounted the skull on the plaque and
    then put the hair on it, ( a little hot glue here and there).
    
    I tanned the hair using the method given in another note.
    
    The only thing I wished I'd done different was to cut alittle more skin
    off than what covered the skull, or cut more everything and trim the
    skull later. The skin  shrunk a little and I had to remove more of the 
    shull to make it fit. But it came out good and still has some of the
    musk smell, I take a whiff every now and then just to remind me (wife
    thinks I'm crazy, but she always has).
    
    Mark

    re: .5
     
    > (wife thinks I'm crazy but then she always has)
    
    Congratulations!  You've tested positive to the sanity test again this
    year!
    
    :-) :-) :-)
    
    /brett

    .6 Thanks. I know I'm not crazy, it's the rest of the world.
    
    A little more than a month until BOW season begins. OH BOY !!!
    Time to start making those mating calls again, god I love that part.  :-)
    
    Signed,
    Who am I ? oh yea, it's me

    
     RE: .0  question #3 "Is a laquer finish desirable?"
    
         I debated over this one for awhile when I was mounting some
     antlers as well.  I'd seen some other animal parts (such as hooves)
     that had been laquered and after a bit some of it started peeling off.
     Now, this could have been either cheap laquer or a poorly done job,
     I don't know.  But, I didn't want to take the risk.
    
         So, I tried a little Armour All on my horns and it looked great!
     It has to be re-applied every now and then, but my mount is in a place
     where I walk by it everyday, so it really isn't more effort than
     dusting them once a month.
    
         Let us know what you decided to do.
    
                                                                Dave
    
    

    Well I just picked up my VT buck from the taxidermist, got it mounted
    over the fireplace, looks great!  Problem is now all i'm thinking bout
    is hunting, and I have almost 3 months to wait.
    
    Fra
     

    Re. Almost 3 months to wait..
    
    	Fra,
    
    		You must be a bow hunter. I hunt Vermont with a rifle
    	and I have " 108 " days to wait. 
    
    	Red

    
     I know this is off the subject, but...
    
    I only have 28 more days. Until opening day of deer season. 8^)
    
                                                       Mark