Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Skull maceration

Thanks, brown trucks bring lots of stuff here.

My dad knew a guy who caught a very large snapping turtle and wanted to save the shell, he buried it in his garden and figured in a few months it would be nothing but bones. He didnt bury very deep and his dog dug it up and drug it to the house. Told my dad the stench would knock you flat.

Here's a pick of the above skull, after about 7 months of soaking in warm Dawn water, and then 24 hours in 40 volume peroxide. There is no coating what so ever on this skull. What you see is raw bone.

I will put maceration, warm dawn water, and time (time soaking in Dawn water is the key) against any other method. There can be no better results.

Beautiful job.

What do the turbinate processes look like? If they are gone there are better ways of accomplishing the cleaning...

The bottom pic is a hint. Perfectly intact, same as the skull posted earlier in this thread. There is no more delicate cleaning process.

Does the 40 volume have any side affects other than whitening after submerging for 24 hrs?
I have always just sprayed the skull and set out in the sun!

I've not had any issues with 40 volume.

Very nicely done!

I'll give it a try I have an antelope skull that will be ready for peroxide in a month or so!

I like the results I get from simply soaking the head in water a few months. I didn't like the time involved so started thinking of ways to speed up the process. What I came up with was to add Rid-x septic tank treatment. The bacteria really go after the meat and fat while having no effect on the bone. Skulls come out white require very little clean up and soak time is at least twice as quick maybe more depending on temperature. No need for heat or boiling which is never good on the bone. I shared this with a friend who cleans about 30 skulls a year for extra play money and he was shocked at how well it worked.

Thinking about doing a deer next. So no issues with the antlers discoloring while in the water?

Thanks for all the info. I bought a 50W aquarium heater tonight. Dropped a small whitetail that I hadn't finished in it. We'll see how it goes.

One question, do you worry about the antlers being submerged? Your pedicules looks really clean and crisp, I don't know how I'd get that without submitting part of the antler.

Looks.like 30338 had same question.

Antlers were partially submerged. Never been a problem for me.

Great. Thanks.

There will be a lot of stuff floating in the surface but it will wipe off with no discoloration.

Started a whitetail in what I thought was a well sealed container in the garage. After 36 hours, it reeked so bad it had to go out to the barn. Hoping the tank heater can keep up with the colder temps out there. Wrapped the 5 gallon bucket in an old blanket. The stench is not to be underestimated lol.

I forgot to mention the process will release gases , so a sealed could be messy.

If you throw a horse turd in the water, and keep it warm enough, the bacteria will eat all the flesh right off, including the brain. I did my cougar skull this way, and once I had the temp of the water warm enough, it only took 3 or 4 days.