Good morning all. Last July I shot a murder buck (write up here). I wanted to keep the head, and boiling it out was not an option I opted to bury it in a large planter (we do not have a garden). It has been eight months and I am starting to wonder if it would be clear of flesh already. Does anyone have an idea? I would hate to dig it up and find out it is still 'meaty'. Also, I was planning on powerwashing it. Anything else i should be considering? Hydrogen peroxide perhaps? Any advice welcomed. Many thanks!
How long underground? (well, in a big planter)
- Thread starter Londoner
- Start date
Why oh why do people bury heads it's a bad idea! ,even if the flesh has all gone which it should have
after eight months don't expect it to be white nor will power washing get it white.
Boiling is still the best way.
If you really can't boil it for whatever reason better to get someone to do it for you, there is a member on here who will
prepare heads for you for a fee.
Sorry but I think you will be disappointed with your attempt at cleaning.
I wouldn't be too confident lifting that out of the planter if all that it is buried in was just multi purpose compost. It would be cleaned a lot quicker if there was plenty of insects and bugs in the soil. In a small enclosed container it wouldn't really be able to attract them either like it would in open ground. There's one sure way to find out though.
Even if a lot of it has been cleaned you will probably still need to simmer it in water for a good while before power washing it. Best to change the water a few times when simmering it and if you add some washing up powder for the last simmer it should whiten it fairly good. It's a messy business.
I tried this once with a roe head and a stone planter over the top of it ie left the antlers poking out the ground ... someone moved the planter and the dog swiftly dug it up and i never saw it again 
CarlW
Well-Known Member
I have tried this a couple of times in muck heaps. The skulls always came out stained a deep shade of brown. Getting them white again was a nightmare. Well, more than that, I gave up and binned the skulls.
Much better to boil 'em carefully, as Boggy says.
As an aside, we bury elephant skulls with the tusks protruding from the ground just long enough for the insects to loosen up the tusk cavities. You can then pull the tusks. Only takes a few days so long as you water the ground daily (and it's 50-degree heat, of course)...
Much better to boil 'em carefully, as Boggy says.
As an aside, we bury elephant skulls with the tusks protruding from the ground just long enough for the insects to loosen up the tusk cavities. You can then pull the tusks. Only takes a few days so long as you water the ground daily (and it's 50-degree heat, of course)...
Woodsmoke
Well-Known Member
As above, burying a skull isn't really ideal, but I appreciate sometimes options are limited so you just have to do your best with what you have (a barbed compliment my wife pityingly bestows on me on the odd occasion, generally birthdays and Christmas) Anyway, I digress! Your best option now is probably to cut the skull above the eye sockets and make a skull cap mount from it. I've done this on occasion when I've accidentally damaged a skull, and the results really are quite acceptable. Your biggest challenge will probably be to whiten it to an acceptable standard, but if it's a skull cap you won't run the risk of it falling into sections. Soaking in bleach is probably your first port of call, then at least overnight in 12% peroxide should give you a finish you're happy with.
Here's an example? This is my 7-pointer that fell off the wall and broke the nose. I was pretty upset at the time, but it worked out OK thankfully!
Here's an example? This is my 7-pointer that fell off the wall and broke the nose. I was pretty upset at the time, but it worked out OK thankfully!
Last edited:
Dunwaters
Well-Known Member
There’s a more than fair chance you’re going to end up with a mummified head especially if you left the skin on.
I wouldn’t touch it for anything short of a credible death threat, and if I did touch it the death threats would be both very credible and very close to home.
I wouldn’t touch it for anything short of a credible death threat, and if I did touch it the death threats would be both very credible and very close to home.
StephenToast
Well-Known Member
Cool.
lochty
Well-Known Member
Tried it with s red skull and an ant heap. After 6 months, dug it up and gave it a quick wash, then passed it on to the estate manager who wanted it "au naturale". His wife refused to let it into the house because of the smell. Even after a liberal dosing of peroxide, it was still a bit "high" even on the shed outside. Boil them in future....
Thank you for your replies. I am not interested in ever mounting the scull. It was just an experiment to see how it turns out. At this stage I just want to get rid of the meat etch. I am in no hurry to dig it up either. I probably will leave it for another six months and see what happens in September.
If you could top up the planter with some fruit and vegetable waste/peelings it would probably attract more insects and help the process. I've had a successful experiment of letting nature take it's course but the skull was buried on open ground with just the antlers protruding and left there (forgotten) for about 12 months. It came out clean as a whistle after a hose down but was very much an off white.
Another skull I was keener to get right I cleaned as much off as I could stomach with a knife and then boiled and simmered it for three days out on an open fire in a beer keg changing the water a few times. Then I scraped it clean as I could, powerhosed it and still ended up having to put it in the compost bin for a couple of weeks before giving it a final simmer with some washing powder added. It turned out perfect with no need for bleach or peroxide but the whole process was fairly time consuming and very grim.
Dunwaters
Well-Known Member
Its still going to take a bit of work, dont let it dry out or it’ll mummify.
For future use go and buy a big aluminium pot, when you shoot the next deer cut off and skin the head ASAP, if you can manage to cut off the bottom jaw so much the better, put the head in the pot and fill it up to the level of the coronets and boil it, it doesn’t smell too bad. Washing machine detergent will help it to degrease. Scrape off the meat and power wash it after an hour or so boiling, then put it up on the shed roof to dry.
Sweet and clean in a few days with no fallout from your cohabitants.
).
Hayduke
Well-Known Member
I do the burying method with stag skulls which are ok, nothing special, leave them half buried in the woods with a rock on top for a year. They come out alright, a bit grey and weathered. Perfectly fine to go outside on a shed. I’ve never been that fussed about trophies and stags are too big for inside.
Also had a really nice buck which I boiled and picked clean. I had it on a shelf in direct sunlight and it sun stained/‘bleached’ an off white shade! Disappointed. Not sure if I can get it back?
Also had a really nice buck which I boiled and picked clean. I had it on a shelf in direct sunlight and it sun stained/‘bleached’ an off white shade! Disappointed. Not sure if I can get it back?
Similar threads
