Euro Help

[fourty12]

Hey all. I have done a euro with my first archery elk. This head sat for a while and was very gross and infested with maggots when I got around to it. Simmered with dawn and oxi-clean and pressure washed. Scraped all flesh, etc off. Did a simmer in a solution of 40%/vol liquid peroxide but had to dilute with water to fill container. Still had a bit of yellow on the "forehead" area. Brushed a coat of 40%/vol cream peroxide mixed with a bit of Clariol whitening powder. Wrapped in plastic for a few days. Rinsed off. Still has some yellow spots on the forehead and side. Also still stinks pretty bad. I cannot see any flesh at all that would be causing the smell so I think it is just residual from the maggots and how gross it got. I am not sure whether to do another round of the peroxide cream to try and get rid of those yellow spots or not. Also, the smell... any ideas? Lastly... was going to finish with mop & glo but can't find it anywhere it seems. Is there a good alternative? Thanks for any help with the yellowing, the smell or the mop & glo.

[SageValleyOutdoors]

I’d say it needs more degreasing, and there may be some flesh left deep inside. Soak it in hot water with dawn dish soap for at least a day. As long as it stinks, keep changing the water.
I’d really suggest next time finding someone with beetles to clean it up. They get into every tiny little crevice, and none of the tiny little bones are damaged.

[Kurt505]

What I do is wrap the skull with paper towel, stuff it in the brain cavity, the nasal passage, the eye sockets, wrap it around under the base of the antlers then soak the paper towel down in hydrogen peroxide and let it sit over night. This way it stays moist and the entire skull is soaking. Then I unwrap it the next morning and set it out in the sun for the day. I had one that was a little ripe that turned out great using this method.

[jdog0]

I had that a couple of times and to my experience, theres no way around it. Once the bone gets "rotten" you will have that yellowish thing there. If you get rid of the organic material asap you dont have that. What i did was super cleaned it, bleached it as good as possible and put some tipe of lacquer for the finish and despite the "weird" colour, still looks good... (to me) i actually prefer that over the extreme white some taxidermists do. To me, it gives it a fake look... thats me... hope that "helped"

Enviado desde mi SM-G973F mediante Tapatalk

[marky_mark]

If it stinks you still have flesh or brains somewhere

Need to use a coat hanger or drill bit to clean all that out of there

[burnme]

Agree, smell is from live matter somewhere

[Kurt505]

Originally Posted by marky_mark

If it stinks you still have flesh or brains somewhere

Need to use a coat hanger or drill bit to clean all that out of there

Car wash pressure washer with soap

[Pioneer2]

just be sneaky bringing it into the car wash

[marky_mark]

Originally Posted by Pioneer2

just be sneaky bringing it into the car wash

And don’t wear your Sunday best lol

[CNP]

A blunt assessment...

You didn't take care of business when you should have by dealing with it as soon as the hide came off the animal. Do not wait more than a few days to start your task or it will become exponentially more difficult as time passes.

You don't simmer a skull in peroxide.

The "smell" indicates that you still have not found all the rotten flesh (brain cavity is suspect).

Before you do anything else be absolutely certain than all tissue is removed by closely inspecting it. If there is any flesh simmer it in Dawn.

Dental picks are good tools to remove stubborn cartilage, flesh, brain matter. You have to get it all. You can buy dental picks from Princess Auto.

Be careful with a car wash sprayer as it can break thin/delicate bone. A car wash sprayer is not a necessary tool.

Cover it in 40 volume peroxide and wrap it up in saran wrap and leave covered for two days.

If all the prep work was done properly, the skull will come out clean and white. If it doesn't, the prep work was not adequate.

[Curly Bill]

I find that as soon as that hide comes off the face it changes something and the bone starts absorbing oils. That's what that yellow is. The smell is flesh. Just gotta keep de-greasing for the yellow and washing for the smell.

Rotten head with hide on will come out whiter then a rotten head with hide off.

[fourty12]

Hey all. Thanks for the feedback.

I am aware that you don't need to apply heat with the peroxide, however at the time, a fairly reputable tutorial I was following did this so I followed along.

I agree that I didn't get to it quick enough AFTER taking the hide off. That was definitely my error and the cause of the yellowing. Just wondering how to defeat it but I will try another soak in dawn. Just wasn't sure this would help since the peroxide has been already done. Next time I guess I should leave the hide on until euro prep day.

Would have loved to try beetles but doesn't seem worth the money TO ME. I am sure that they do a superior job but I could hang this on my wall now and be just as proud of it. So for me, beetles aren't the option for now.

As for the smell, it's not a really rotting flesh smell but more of a just a gross "this thing sat with maggots in it too long" smell. I don't know how else to explain it. Brain cavity is clear. Ear buds popped out and are all clear. Nose cavity carefully all cleared out.

Thanks for all of your feedback.

[1bowhunter12]

Sounds like you have it all figured out

[Gretz5582]

Where are you located. I do upwards of 20 moose and elk a year from fresh to stored under a deck for a year. I'll give you a hand. It can be salvaged.