Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Bear Skull, almost finished

This is the bear my son shot back in November with my .358 Win Mannlicher Schoenauer. The bear weighed 321 pounds.

We took it out of the water bath last week and soaked it in acetone for another week. We just applied 40 volume hydrogen peroxide with a lightening powder to form a paste and wrapped it in Saran Wrap and put it in a ziplock.

Will hose it off in a few days to see if it needs another coat. This is about the 10th bear skull we have done. I cant bring myself to throw them away.

Nice bear, badass rifle. Skull is coming along good.👍

Very cool. Looks like the .358 did a smack down on the bear.

Congrats to your son! Looks like you slit the neck?

That was a leaking exit from the 225 gr Woodleigh.

Great bear and skull work. Looks really good.

Great exit hole for a short or non tracking job!!!

Can you give us a quick rundown on how you cleaned the skull? Was it a water soak only, then the acetone and hydrogen peroxide??

Thanks

Looks good.

Get as much of the meat off of the skull as you can. Get the eyes out.

I use a 5 gallon bucket and cover the head with water. I snap a lid on because of the smell.

Masceration works the best (fastest) when it's warm out but you can do it any time. I have used an aquarium heater in the past but that is not necessary.

I like to rinse out the water every 3 or 4 weeks. Eventually there will not be any blood.

I will start putting a little dish detergent in the water each time I rinse after the blood is gone.

I hit the skull with a hose to loosen the meat and get the brains out every so often. Seperate the bottom jaw when you can.

Be careful and don't lose any teeth. Pull the loose teeth out and put them in a baggie with a little borax. Borax is not necessary.

You can get a small screwdriver to poke in some small holes to loosen tissue.

When the water quits stinking somewhat, you are getting there. Dish detergent helps with some of the grease and fat.

Take it out of the bucket when it is tissue free and clean. Let it dry in the sun. Don't glue teeth in yet.

Cover the skull in acetone. I reuse my acetone for many skulls. Cover the bucket again to keep the acetone from evaporating. It is very flamable. Keep that in mind. Acetone really dissolves fat. Wear gloves!

Leave it in the acetone for at least a week or more then remove. Save the acetone for other uses.

Leave the skull in the sun to dry it. The acetone evaporates quickly.

Glue the teeth back. If you glue the teeth before acetone bath, the acetone will dissolve the glue. Use any brand of super glue.

I use 40 volume hydrogen peroxide with a lightening powder. Mix the powder and peroxide to a creamy paste that sticks onto the skull. I got mine from Amazon but beauty supply places carry it. Wear gloves! This is not the peroxide you get in the pharmacy dept. It will burn. A cheap paint brush works good to slather the mix on.

Wrap in Saran Wrap and put the skull into a zip lock to seal.

After a day or 2, unwrap and give it another dose if you want.

Hose off and let it dry in the sun.

This one took 6 months in an unheated shop.

Some folks may do it differently, it's all good.


I will post the finished skull in a day or 2. The teeth will be nice and bright.

That’s a nice exit!

Finished skull

Great job all the way around!

The skull looks awesome.

Try this....I’ve done with skulls to make a nicer finished look. Elmers glue watered down slightly to make it flow easily. Brush it all over the skull. Repeat 2-3 times. It fills in the cracks and voids. Adds a little rigidity to everything. Gives the skull a slight shine and protects the skull from discoloration When you clean it. Great job on the bear hunt and the finished product.

A high shine lacquer also works great for protecting from dust and discoloration.

Yes it also prevents fungus and bacteria from growing inside the porous bone. Good work!!!!

Very cool