Removing flesh/meat from a deer skull.

[Robby]

A friend of mine boils them in peroxide, they come out clean as a whistle and the antler patina is unaffected.
Robby

 

[wvbuckbuster]

I read about using Biz here on this site and can say that it works! Put my pot on a Coleman propane camping cook stove. Used 2 bottles and I added I/4 cup more of Biz when changing out the propane. Does a nice job. Dan.

 

[Griz44Mag]

Boraxo. Worked for me.
As said above, boil...
If you decide to use compressed air to blow the brains out of the skull, wear a face shield.
(I learned the hard way)

 

[SDSmlf]

I bury them as cut off from body, covering tops of antlers with a plastic box to keep critters away and also to keep track of where they are. Come spring, just have a few stains to contend with.

 

[IL Rifle]

A couple of years ago we found a 6pt buck on our property that had been hit by a car and made it as far as our trees. The skull still had some fur etc on it. I contacted the local natural history museum. The taxidermist there said to just put the skull only in a 5 gal pail and cover with water. No chemicals. Let everything sit outside in the sun for several weeks, adding water as necessary. And to change the water once or twice. She said it will get smelly so put away from the house. After several weeks the skull will be clean. We tried it- it works. Just last year I did a road kill doe skull the same way.

 

[Casem4]

Slow boil has always worked for me.

 

[David Veale]

I've tried most of the above solutions and found them to be quite slow and still involve a lot of hand work afterwards... but Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (not Baking Soda), upon boiling, turns into a compound that will literally dissolve collagen. You can buy it at most grocery stores. Using this stuff, you don't have to pick the skin and/or cartilage off at all. There is of course a downside... It will also bleach the antlers if it splashes up on them. It's also capable of dissolving the connective tissues that hold the forward parts of the skull together, such that those will fall apart (though I suppose you could super glue them back together.

 

[Seamus]

I remove as much tissue as possible then hang the skull in a protected area (like a garage or shed) and let the remaining tissue dry. I then soak it in peroxide and scrub away anything that remains. Less smelly than boiling. If the weather is warm, I use wire to tie the skull to a tree and let the bugs clean it.
Hydrogen peroxide will whiten the bone without softening it the way household bleach will.

 

[Travler]

Last one we did, I tied it to a small maple higher than the dogs could reach and came back in the spring and the bugs, birds a such had picked it clean over the winter. Bone white and perfect.

 

[Grimord]

I tried that once, but the squirrels chewed on the skull and antlers and ruined what would have been a nice European mount. Now I use the peroxide treatment, and let the squirrels eat lead.

 

[FiremanBrad]

We use beetles! We have 3 colonies!!!

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I keep telling you guys to use Biz.

CORRECT!

Folks, BIZ brand detergent is formulated to attack protein stains, aka meat juice, from food so it will attack protein such as the collagen in the meat on a skull you want to preserve it. Works on getting gunk and meat off of bones for you folks using those for powder measures. (It's also used by folks restoring fine china, on rare pieces that were used when first bought, for actual meals. Those unsightly dark cracks are dark due to protein...so folks who restore china for collectors use BIZ a lot.)

OH and for you guys that can't get the poop stains out of your underwear, you should be using BIZ for that too...,



LD