Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game How to hang a european mount?

OK, I am getting real good at doing European mounts, but the problem I have is getting them on the wall, or to stay there. Any suggestions, pics maybe?

More details: I have flat; stud and drywall walls. I have tried running wire, spectra, etc. Through the ear canal, eye sockets, and around the horns (G1 and G2 for deer, and G2 and G3 for elk seem to work as good balance points) but the mount always seems to want to flop over somehow.

Thanks.

Put them on a plaque with a base and mount it to the wall.

GW put up a good suggestion. I also use just a straight plaque without a base and carefully screw them in from the backside, countersinking the pilot holes. This has worked well so far.

A picture is worth a 10,000 words (especially from Utah)

Not a fan of plaques myself... cable through the skull.

yep.

Thanks! I am kinda of the "no plaques" tribe myself. So if those that have had good luck with the "cable through the skull" method wouldn't mind adding a few details like where you are drilling the holes, or what orifices you are using to run the cable through; that would be great. Pics? I thought I tried running spectra through every hole I could find on that head - but I still couldn't get it anchored to the wall. Geez, its only a 250 bull, what am I going to do if I ever shoot a big one?

You can mount them buy using the brain opening as the mount point. You can take an L-bracket and bend it to fit nicely in the the brain stem opening..........

A picture does it best... locate the two prominent, natural holes that lead into the skull cavity just behind the eye socket (optic nerve pathway?)... 1/16" wire looped through both and clamped.

Been a while since I looked at a deer skull, but if you can't use a natural hole, drill one. Antelope have the same optic nerve channel in the skull however.

The hanging point on the wall needs to be fairly high in order for the mount to hang flat, especially on a lighter deer-sized skull...



Finished mount hangs nice and flat like this:

You can bend a piece of stiff wire... such that both legs go into the brain cavity, then put the wires in there with bends on them to hold... via bondo.. the part that comes out of the brain cavity ends up going hard left, then back to a point like an inverted V and then back hard right back to the cavity.. the parts that run outside like a triangle help stabilize it left and right on the wall....

Brad's pic gives a good idea, here's a deer skull for reference.
I just use picture hanging wire and a 30lb rated picture hook.

Those [bleep] are nice!

Jumped a nice one about this time yesterday laying down in the pheasant patch.

PM'd a memeber here about going euro on the pronghorn. I'm not boiling another one!

Yep...

Sammo, those whitetail Euros ARE nice!

Very Andrew Wyeth......

Ingwe

I'm just glad the boss allows them in the house......(grin)

Got this one all cleaned up the other day and hung it proudly right over the bed.
She made me take it down, what the hell?




Seriously though, I'm not sure about the plaques either. I needed a donor skull and found this one in a pawn shop. Pulled the little horns off and replaced them with a set from a buck I shot back in high school.

Veddy cool....

Oh, and BTW..if you are gonna boil a lope skull, do it on the Coleman stove outside...it preserves domestic tranquility..


Ingwe

My goat is in the freeze.

I'm waiting to stick that monster WT I saw, and kill a monster bull this season before I send them in. I'm looking for a package deal!

Thanks! Brad/Sam that was exactly the kind of pics I was looking for. I think I can take it from here.

Just a couple of ideas for those that are "boiling there own". I gave up on the Coleman stove years ago. I like my turkey fryer much better. Better pot stability, and heat especially for an elk sized head. I had to jury rig the timer to keep it on overnight.

My big time saver now is to use the pressure washer to clean it up. It beats the heck out of scraping with a knife, wire brush and coat hangers. Just skin and scrape the raw head; simmer overnight, pressure wash, simmer again overnight, and pressure wash again and you are done. Just soak in bleaching peroxide for 48 hours and dry.

BTW anyone tried the 40% bleaching peroxide paste? I have always used the liquid, but the more I think about it, the paste might be perfect. Just spread on and rinse in 48 hours. Might try that next.

Boiling is a NO NO... I hate to see that word... It liquifies the grease, allows it into the bone pores etc.... it'll often leave yellow areas that smell rancid later on...

Rotting the meat off is stinkier and slower... but the correct way.

If you must "boil" don't allow anything other than fairly warm/hot water. Look up calcium carbonate... I think thats the right wording... I've never used it, but added to hot water it speeds things up, but can also eat the skull up if left in too long...

Rolling boil definitely not.

The paste peroxide typically requires heat to peform the best. IE its like hair bleach that needs scalp temp to activate it. I've used it a lot. Found out later that regular wally world peroxide and a fish tank etc... works just fine... keep the antlers out though... takes like you said, 1-3 days depending... but if you can find the strong peroxide... 37% IIRC, liquid.. its supposed to do it really quick... someone gave me a small bottle, not enough to do anything with, and I got a bit on a finger.... turned the finger white pretty quick.

Also recall that while diluted bleach can eat away any remaining cartilage... that it will eat bone vs time.... I opt out on bleach any more.

Good luck.