bear head

[wild willie]

any of you guys ever cleaned out a bear head ,just got it back from taxidermists it measured 21/78th ,is there a easy way to get the flesh offtks wild willie

[Bucko]

The local guys here bury their deer heads in the ground to the where the antler joins the skull.It's done in the late fall and early winter and approx. late spring the bugs and whatever have eaten the flesh,brains,etc. and only a slight bleaching is done and a european skull is the result.I suppose it would work for a bear

[chris4570]

The taxidermist who did mine uses antibacterial dishsoap and water. Put the soap in a bucket of water. Put the skull in the bucket. Top up with water every once in a while. But don't pour the water out, the longer it sits the more of the "flesh eating" bacteria there will be.

When done you will need to use an air compressor to blow out the hollow lower jaw bones and any other cavities. Otherwise over time you will have fat and other material seep/ drip out of your skull.

Epoxy will be needed to keep the teeth in place and probably to set the two halves of the lower jaw back together.

Baking soda and hydrogen peroxide can be used to whiten the bones.

[Grizzly Adam]

My brother made a European mount once by the boiling and scraping method.

When it was clean and dry, and the teeth glued in and the jaw wired, he spray-painted the skull (not antlers) with an off-white flat paint ... and it looked absolutely GREAT ... makes me wonder if taxidermists don't paint theirs.

I think European heads look neat.

Grizz

[wild willie]

thanks for the info wild willie

[deerman]

Boiling and picking work best. I use my old pot and a propane turkey cooker. Cabela's has a kit that is well worth the $. You also use peroxide on it. I think the kit cost is $20.00.