LAST EDITED ON Oct-27-08 AT 07:38PM (MST)[p]Guy?s, I'm not claiming to be an expert. Here?s what I have found works best for me.
If you have a fresh skull, clean it up as best you can. Put it in a plastic bag for a few days. Tape it up tight & let it ?cure? ?rot? ?age? or whatever. (Trust me, it is stinky but makes the next step easier)
Get a container big enough to submerse the skull without getting the antlers in the water. (You won't ruin the antler if it is a little wet or the boiling water laps up a bit.) I go to the local IFA and buy an empty sweet licks barrel. It's about a ? 50 gallon drum.
Fill the tub up with water just enough to cover the skull but not the antler. Heat the water scalding hot. (I use a single burner camp chef deal) Add some Dawn dish detergent. (Cuts the grease)
Boil or simmer the skull for about an hour or so the 1st time. The membrane around the skull will shrink up and come off fairly easily. Lips, gums, and lots of other nasty stuff come off easy as well.
Take a screw driver and break the bone around the ear canal. You don't need to be gentle. You?ll see the ear canal. That gives you a lot more access to the brain cavity. I use a piece of welding rod with a bent hook on the end to stir up the brains and start fishing them out. (Ready to puke yet?) It gets worse.
I have some forceps I use to start dragging the membrane from the sinus. You have to work from the front and back of the sinus cavity to get all the nasty stuff out. Be very careful here. The bones in the sinus are really delicate. Of course you can always say screw it and just stir up that whole area...
Now that you're totally sick of this whole operation you get to keep doing it until you have removed EVERY bit of tissue. I mean EVERY bit.
Usually you can keep the water hot and just keep dipping the skull occasionally to soften the tissue. Scrape, Scrape, Scrape and then scrape again until you can't scrape no more.
Once you are satisfied the skull is clean. (I guarantee it's not but whatever) It's time to bleach the thing. I use a Tupperware tub just big enough to hold the skull. Get some flour sack material (cotton) you can get it from the craft store. Or get your ole? lady to do it if you're too embarrassed. Cut strips of the material and loosely tie them around the base of the antler. (You got to be real careful here) don't let the material touch anything you don't want white.
Cut up strips of material and stuff it in the eye sockets and the brain cavity. Wrap the rest of the skull in flour sack material.
Now here is the hard part. Get the strongest Peroxide solution you can find. The stuff you get at Cabalas is only 8%. Don?t let them sh*t you. The stronger the better. Maybe 40%. I think you can get the good stuff from the tanneries.
Anyway, I usually mix the strong stuff about 50-50 with water. Fill the tub well below the antler level with the peroxide and soak the skull for 8 hours or so. I use a turkey baster to soak up the area right around the antler and other areas not submerged.
Hope that is enough bullsh*t for one post!
Good luck.
P.S. Everything I have learned about this process I got from a taxidermist friend that is in my opinion the best in the business.
RUS
