Doing my own antelope euro mount

[bwcweld]

Got an antelope buck the other day and was wondering if there’s a trick to boiling their skull so the shell of the horn doesn’t get loose

[boah]

Best thing to do is remove the horns. Boil the head and glue the horns back on.

[Bushmaster]

You need to remove the horns and clean out the inside tissue....or it will rot. Google it....

[bwcweld]

Perfect. Thanks guys

[3blade]

I think you actually need to seal the cleaned out horns as they will break down over time. They are just hair, not calcified bone. Not sure what is used for sealing though.

[wildwoods]

Yup pop them things off first for sure. There's meat up there you need to clean out first...

[stirfry1]

There is definitely material to be removed below the horns. I tried boiling them and it worked very well.

I was wondering what people had used to glue the horns back on to keep them from being loose.

I read somewhere that some guys were using wd40 to coat the horns

Just wondering if anybody had any experience with this

[elkhunter1234]

Yes you need to pop each horn off, best way is to dip them in you hot/boiling water one side at a time for 10 minutes or until you can pop them off, when both are off boil/simmer as any other skull till clean, let the horns dry for a few days before glueing them back onto the skull, I use auto bondo to glue them on with, make sure you mark or make a mental note how high off the skull the bottom of the horn is from the skull as they don’t sit tight to the skull, usually up an inch or so.. I’ve used boiled linseed oil on the horns before but find them to glossy after so prefer to just leave them natural now.. make sure not to over boil while your trying to get the seath off or they will start to crack just above the prongs..

Jim...

[calgarychef]

You can also get the horns off by heating in the microwave, DONT do it while the wife is home. It's a horrendous smell but goes away fast

[fingershooter]

The horns will go soft and stretch when you boil them. I kept most of the horns out of the hot/boiling water and popped them off. Before anything, I drilled 3 small holes into the skull at the horn base to relocate the horns later and then measured the horn base circumferences to get them right. I put borax/salt mixture in horns after removing them and kept them moist till I put them back on. I used Vol 40 peroxide mixture from hair salon to bleach skull. When skull was cleaned (pressure washer) and dry, I wrapped tape around the bases to build up to original base diameter, filled horns with bondo or an other type of epoxy, and placed horns on. Insert finishing nails in drilled holes to locate horns in proper places. This way the horn shrinkage is minimized. It's a bit of work but I liked the results. Good luck.

[Stufferdog]

Go for it! good luck! lots of work! That you don't even know about, so you ask for advise on social media. Sure save a few bucks and do it yourself! Unfortunately it's an Antelope, so you wont be drawn for another close to 10 year. Regardless, consider it your Trophy, and hire a professional! Pretty much you will call a taxidermist for your next European mount.

[Springer]

Put the head in a plastic bag and seal for 3 - 4 days . The horns will come loose on their own. Then deal with boiling or beetles for your euro.

[Team Anzac]

Originally Posted by 3blade

I think you actually need to seal the cleaned out horns as they will break down over time. They are just hair, not calcified bone. Not sure what is used for sealing though.

Bondo, is great for this application

[bwcweld]

Originally Posted by Stufferdog

Go for it! good luck! lots of work! That you don't even know about, so you ask for advise on social media. Sure save a few bucks and do it yourself! Unfortunately it's an Antelope, so you wont be drawn for another close to 10 year. Regardless, consider it your Trophy, and hire a professional! Pretty much you will call a taxidermist for your next European mount.

I've done tons of deer myself. Just was Unsure how to handle the horns

[dshot]

Here is a video for an antelope skull cleaning right on youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nY4jA0ff878

[fingershooter]

Originally Posted by bwcweld

I've done tons of deer myself. Just was Unsure how to handle the horns

it's not that bad. just depends on how finicky you are on having it accurate. I would do it again, no problem.