how to clean a deer skull cap

Easiest Way to Clean a Deer Skull: Part 1

The European Mounts are gaining popularity. They take up less space hanging on the wall than a shoulder mount, and they save you money.

A taxidermist will charge several hundred dollars to a thousand dollars for a shoulder mount! And he will charge an average of $100 for a European Mount. Let's explore some "Do-It-Yourself" options.

You can boil and/or pressure wash the flesh and brains off of the skull. You can bury the skull. Or you soak the skull in warm water for about a month (Maceration).

Boil & Pressure Wash the Skull

This process involves boiling the deer head.

Pros: Quick.

If your'e pressed for time, and want to spend an entire day cleaning your skull then boiling the skull and pressure washing the skull is an option.

Cons: It's very aggressive and this can result in broken bones. Can also cause discoloration. Very Labor Intensive.

The nose bones especially are very fragile, and you will need to be very careful that you don't blast through all the bones with the pressure washer. Also the fat is more difficult to remove when the skull is boiled. If you leave fat on the skull then this can cause your skull to turn yellow or pink. This discoloration is sometimes called "corpse wax".

Bury the Skull

Pros: Easy.

Cons: Smelly, the neighbors dog may steal the skull, and takes several months.

Burying the skull can be anything from simply burying the skull in your backyard, or placing the skull on top of an ant mound. If you go with this method then it's advisable to place a bucket or basket on the ground above the burial site. The bucket or basket will keep animals from stealing your skull.

Maceration

Pros: Easy. Gentle on the skull and bones. Results in a very professional Euro Mount.

Cons: It can get smelly if you don't change the water out every 2-3 days. Process takes about 3 weeks (That's not much of a con).

Maceration is the process of placing the skull into a bucket of warm water and allowing the bacteria to decompose or digest the flesh off the skull.

This is the easiest and most gentle process to clean a deer skull. And the results are amazing!

I highly recommend using the Maceration Process if you're thinking about cleaning the deer skull yourself.

I will give instructions on how to clean a deer skull using the Maceration Process in Part 2.