European mounts are quickly gaining popularity, and for good reason.
While there will always be a place for a full shoulder mount of a prized game animal, alternatives—primarily European mounts—have become just as popular of a trend in recent years.
Despite the appeal of being able to remember exactly what your animal looked like with traditional taxidermy, many hunters find a different intrigue in the simplicity and cost efficiency of a bleached skull mount.
Here's how to do one at home in four easy steps.
Step 1
Skin the deer skull and remove as much meat as possible. After peeling the face and removing the ears, I try to cut off large chunks of meat and remove the eyes and brain if possible.
Step 2
Boil the skull. A propane turkey fryer works well for this. Bring the water to a boil before adding the skull, but try and keep the antlers out of the water. Check on the skull every hour or so and gently scrape off meat as it loosens from the bone.
Step 3
The skull should be boiled and as clean as you can get it with brushes, picks and scraping tools. Now, gently power wash the skull. This will get to the crevices and nooks that tools can't reach without destroying the bone or cartilage.
Step 4
If you want an ultra-white european mount like you would get from a taxidermist, use hydrogen peroxide bleach on the skull.
The time of this process will vary based off how fresh the skull is. You can mount the skull to a board or plaque, or you can leave it as is and hang it with a mounting device. This method of doing a European mount is relatively cheap, easy to do at home and a fun DIY project.
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