Cut antlers mating to a wooden base

[dannymurphy]

Afternoon all,

So I dispatched a buck the other day and unfortunately the bullet wiped out most of the skull.

I've cut behind the damage and have some skull and my intention was to make it stand up on a wooden base. I thought that perhaps making the base small enough to use a nice epoxy to infill the base and hold it just below the base of the antlers and keep it upright.

Does anyone have any advice on this or has tried similar with success/failures?

Thanks in advance

 

[Mike1979]

Oops .... How much skull have you got left?

I've mounted partial skulls to a wooden base by drilling through the wooden base into the antler with a small drill bit as a pilot and then used woodscrews. However, if you get the angle wrong you may have another hole in the skull that you didnt want

 

[dannymurphy]

Oops .... How much skull have you got left?

I've mounted partial skulls to a wooden base by drilling through the wooden base into the antler with a small drill bit as a pilot and then used woodscrews. However, if you get the angle wrong you may have another hole in the skull that you didnt want

It's essentially a small plate below the antlers and no concave to it. It has a nice shape and kind of don't want to waste it, the epoxy idea was all I could think to give it enough support without risking splitting it, the joys of stalking

 

[Mike1979]

It's essentially a small plate below the antlers and no concave to it. It has a nice shape and kind of don't want to waste it, the epoxy idea was all I could think to give it enough support without risking splitting it, the joys of stalking

Dont worry mate ...it happens but at least the deer was dead. You could do as I suggested with a wooden plaque but its very easy to bugger it up. Maybe the epoxy idea is the best ...sure some have done it.

Just remember...always shoot the nice ones in the chest

 

[VSS]

Just remember...always shoot the nice ones in the chest

It's a sad state of affairs when the inedible antlers are valued higher than the edible meat, don't you think?

 

[Dunwaters]

Maybe if you use one of the epoxy wood fillers to fill out the skull until you have the contours you want, sand it down and then cover it with opaque paint or cloth?

 

[Dunwaters]

It's a sad state of affairs when the inedible antlers are valued higher than the edible meat, don't you think?

Frankly no.
The meat is a consumable, it vanishes without a trace, the reason stags are more expensive than hinds is that you get to keep the antlers as a souvenir. You get to look at them whenever you want for decades and reminisce on a day well spent.
An empty freezer bag tacked on the door just doesn’t have the same cachet.

 

[Klenchblaize]

JHT Supplies | Reproduction Skulls

K

 

[VSS]

Frankly no.
The meat is a consumable, it vanishes without a trace, the reason stags are more expensive than hinds is that you get to keep the antlers as a souvenir. You get to look at them whenever you want for decades and reminisce on a day well spent.
An empty freezer bag tacked on the door just doesn’t have the same cachet.

You can do all that with a photo, but it won't feed you.

 

[Dunwaters]

You can do all that with a photo, but it won't feed you.

Once the food is eaten only the memories and some soiled toilet papers remains.
Preferably I’ll take both food and photos, but the antlers are special, especially the good ones, they’re particular to the day and the animal .They can also be the raw material for sticks, whistles and knife handles, woggles and buttons.
A mounted set of antlers on the wall, or in your inglenook, is a Time Machine that can transport you decades back to the times when your back and hips didn’t hurt, the days when cotton was king and gore tex a mad mans dream.
They can make a quiet evening before the fire something to be treasured, on your own or with friends.
You put them there for that reason.

 

[slider]

I shoot for the meat, not the trophies but keep a few of the better sets of antlers as decorations.
I don't use the whole head but saw through the skull cap ( just below the ears) and mount these to a board with gorilla glue and a single screw through the top of the skull.

 

[Mike1979]

It's a sad state of affairs when the inedible antlers are valued higher than the edible meat, don't you think?

To be fair I would always opt for a chest shot as a preference and as such Im not really approaching things any differently. As Ive said before I like a nice set of antlers as a memento however I have no issues with differing approaches. Horses for courses

 

[HonestJohn]

Make handles of them, bottle openers for caps and corks

Or on a walking stick

Or letter opener

Or keychain

Or whistle

Or roe call

 

[VSS]

To be fair I would always opt for a chest shot as a preference and as such Im not really approaching things any differently. As Ive said before I like a nice set of antlers as a memento however I have no issues with differing approaches. Horses for courses

Oh, absolutely.
I was merely responding to your (presumably tongue-in-cheek?) remark to "shoot the nice ones in the chest", with its obvious implication that preservation of the antlers is taking priority over other considerations when choosing a shot placement.

 

[willie_gunn]

Get some of this company's polyurethane casting resin:

Polycraft SG2000 Paintable Fast Cast Polyurethane Liquid Plastic Casting Resin

MB Fibreglass of Northern Ireland (Mcconnell Bro's)- Supplying throughout the UK & Ireland

www.mbfg.co.uk

Find a plastic container of the size you want the finished stand to be. Perhaps something like this, which would result in a circular stand:

Mono Cup 385ml Clear Plastic Mixing Cup (Calibrated to 300ml)

MB Fibreglass of Northern Ireland (Mcconnell Bro's)- Supplying throughout the UK & Ireland

www.mbfg.co.uk

Follow the instructions to mix a sufficient quantity of the resin to the depth that you want the stand to be, and pour into the container. Have a clamp pre-prepared so that you can suspend the antlers such that the skull base is set into the mixture, and that the mixture just covers the skull. Once cured (about 5 minutes) remove from the container and put to one side to allow to fully harden. Alternatively just leave the antlers in the resin - once it has hardened it will easily pull out of the container. The resin dries to the colour of unbleached bone. It sets very quickly, so you need to have everything prepared beforehand.

Alternatively you could get some the same company's silicone mould resin, and use this to cast up a stand into which the skull base would fit, using the skull base itself to ensure an exact fit, but this would be a more complex job.

Polycraft GP3481-F General Purpose RTV Condensation Cure Mould Making Silicone Rubber

Discover GP3481-F silicone mould making rubber at MBFG, easy mixing, outstanding release properties, high tear resistance, and complex part replication.

www.mbfg.co.uk

I've just used the above to cast a pair of resin warthog tusks that a neighbour asked me to make. I set an M5 bolt into the base of the tusks immediately as the resin was poured in, as they are to be mounted. The finished tusks looked great - I will try to get a photo.

 

[Mike1979]

Oh, absolutely.
I was merely responding to your (presumably tongue-in-cheek?) remark to "shoot the nice ones in the chest", with its obvious implication that preservation of the antlers is taking priority over other considerations when choosing a shot placement.

If it was a case of preserving the carcass and the head as well I would high neck shoot the animal but to be fair I do head and neck shoot as well as chest shoot dependent upon range and where the deer is going.

One game dealer that I will be taking deer too wants them shot with non toxic and doesnt pay a premium for head or neck shot (good or bad depending on your view) so they will be shot in the chest. If they are for my own consumption and at sensible ranges then I much prefer the clean carcass that head and neck shotting gives....not that I want to reignite the discussion of right or wrong as there has been plenty said about that

 

[willie_gunn]

This is how the cast warthog tusks came out - I know it's only the end of the tusks, but that's what the neighbour asked for: