|
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 4,216
Campfire Tracker
|
OP
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 4,216 |
I am doing a skull mount, and need to get the brain matter out of a mule deer skull. Any tips?
Regards,
Tom
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 20,379
Campfire Ranger
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 20,379 |
Ask it to read one of VarmintGuy's posts..
I replace valve cover gaskets every 50K, if they don't need them sooner...
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 124
Campfire Member
|
Campfire Member
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 124 |
After boiling the skull I use a hot water pressure washer with a 0 degree tip. Most of the matter blasts out (wear safety glasses!) What is left is some rubbery stuff that can be pulled out with a pair of needle nose pliers and piece of bar stock bent into a hook on the end.
Fair Chase Hunter NRA Lifer
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 20,294 Likes: 24
Campfire Ranger
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 20,294 Likes: 24 |
I always take a 6-8 inch piece of hangar wire with a hook bent in the end. Put it in a drill chuck and scramble the brains that way. An airhose is then inserted through the nose opening and it is blown out. It will usually all come out but you may have to use the wire hook a little by hand too. Wear your grungies when doing this and don't let the wife anywhere near.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 752
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 752 |
Had a BJ expert in Bankock that could do it baCK IN THE LATE 60,S ON MY WAY HOMe FROM nAHM
Thanks, Bob Too many calibers and not enough time for the working man to hunt with them all.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 10,443
Campfire Outfitter
|
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 10,443 |
i used a .357 this year. it worked well... most of the brain went out of the three inch exit wound where the eye used to be...
30-06 till i die, the greatest round ever! I carry a gun because a cop is too heavy! CEO of a Turdlike People: Turds & Tats Division... (per Ingwe )
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 3,225
Campfire Tracker
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 3,225 |
Scrambling the brains with a wire is helpful,,,,but not really nessisary. Just stake the skull down on a fire ant bed, stir the bed a bit, and wait for a week or so.
I hate change, it's never for the better.... Grumpy Old Men The more I learn, the more I realize how little I know
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 2,337
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 2,337 |
Yup but just a hint atleast a rain coat.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 2,034
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 2,034 |
I dig it out with a screwdriver after boiing for 10 or 15 minutes.
Im convinced there is not an easy way short of doing some cutting.
Joseph
Joseph
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 17,527
Campfire Ranger
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 17,527 |
I always cut the back of the skull flat anyway, so it rides the panel better. This also makes the hole larger at the back of the skull. After boiling for awhile, you can usually bang the back of the skull on the edge of a trashcan, and the brains will plop out for the most part.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,028
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,028 |
After freezing / thaw, and before boiling / simmer, I take an old hack saw blade, break it in half... makes a pretty good scoup, through the spinal hole...the rest is easy pickens after boiling...
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 4,216
Campfire Tracker
|
OP
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 4,216 |
How long do you guys boil for, and do you add anything to the water? Like baking soda or salt?
Regards,
Tom
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 4,580
Campfire Tracker
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 4,580 |
Boil 30 minutes in Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda and then remove. Set the skull on the ground and power wash all of the now rubbery/gelatinous meat and other materials right off. You can blow all of the brains right out of it from the nasal cavity and the spinal hole. It is a mess, however, wear a rubber apron or something similar.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 675
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 675 |
Watch the Discovery Channel. Egyptians perfected it 5000 years ago.
Survivor of the 13th Original Colony, I escaped on December 17, 1968.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 35,293
Campfire 'Bwana
|
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 35,293 |
Something clever here.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 57,494
Campfire Kahuna
|
Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 57,494 |
boiling can create a disaster. Simmering not so much. But i'd never boil a skull. Either rot it off by sitting in water and trust me after a week in the heat or a few weeks in non heat, the brain pours out.... Or send it to a beetle man.
We can keep Larry Root and all his idiotic blabber and user names on here, but we can't get Ralph back..... Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, over....
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 24,851
Campfire Ranger
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 24,851 |
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 17,527
Campfire Ranger
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 17,527 |
Simmer in washing soda. It takes hours though, and I hate doing it. Beetles are the way to go, but the skull stinks afterwards, so you have to simmer it anyway to remove the smell.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 69,547 Likes: 25
Campfire Kahuna
|
Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 69,547 Likes: 25 |
Watch the Discovery Channel. Egyptians perfected it 5000 years ago. I wouldn't call their technique perfect. Look at some mummies. They're nothing you'd want on the wall. Well, MOST of us wouldn't, anyway.
“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” ― George Orwell
It's not over when you lose. It's over when you quit.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 4,580
Campfire Tracker
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 4,580 |
What are the problems you refer to with boiling? I boil 30-45 min and blast them off. No problems - I do try to remove a lot of the big chunks of meat and the eyes before starting and occasionally I'll put one back in to boil for a while if it's being stubborn. I can see where boiling too long might soften bones or scorch the skull, but if the time is kept to a minimum I have no issues. I will agree that beetle cleaned skulls produce a nicer finished product, I just don't want to deal with the bugs.
|
|
|
|
545 members (12344mag, 1Longbow, 17CalFan, 222Sako, 1234, 10gaugemag, 61 invisible),
3,161
guests, and
1,226
robots. |
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
Forums81
Topics1,194,710
Posts18,534,869
Members74,041
|
Most Online11,491 Jul 7th, 2023
|
|
|
|