How do I finish My Bison euro???

[NBFK]

So with alot of help from my B.I.L I have my bison skull this far. From my understanding I need to take the sheaths off??? How do I get them off? We have been using a pressure washer with boiling hot water around the bases. Then leaving it overnight in a heated shop to try and loosen them up. We beat on them a bit but I'm scared to break something. Do I need to take these off??? Or will I answer my own question in a few days if I bring it in the house. I'm going to give it another round of peroxide as well.

[Coulee]

I've done lots of Euro mounts with deer. Looking at your buffalo, I'd say your pretty much done. You can bleach the skull with a 50/50 solution of bleach and water. Or you can have a taxidermist do it. They use a peroxide solution. Either way, the result looks the same. I know how much work it took to get it to that point. You did a really nice job.

[Andrew_Arsenault]

With antelope I just put a little water in my skull pot, put the skull in, and let it steam for ten mins or so covered with foil. The horns then kind of twist off. Bison is a little bigger scale than an antelope, but if you can make it work, that will get them off

[ishootbambi]

with a sheep, i just waited a couple weeks and the tissues underneath softened enough to tap them with a slab of wood. with an antelope, i simmered it when cleaning the skull, then pulled them off. gotta think either method would work. you know not to use chlorine bleach to whiten right? it attacks the joints where the individual bones are fused and will ruin the skull.

[walking buffalo]

Looks good!

I like the color now vs another peroxide treatment.


The horns may not have to come off. I have several skulls where I just left the horns on. They dried in place with no smell. Consider letting it dry out thoroughly in the garage or shed where any short term odor won't become a dog house issue for you and your skull.

However, if they do start to stink significantly, then bacteria has gotten under the horn sheath. This will actually help loosen the horns. You can try using a knife to cut the connective tissue from between the horn sheath and core to remove them now while it may still be soft. Once it is dry, forget about it.

Keep an eye on the gaps between the nasal and pallete bones. If they start to open up significantly, use some clear epoxy to glue them together. This will prevent warpage that can occur from the boiling process.

Enjoy the memories.

[Frans]

Put it in a plastic bag for a while, they will loosen up eventually. Get the horns off and probably cut off the tips off the bone underneath. All of this you would normaly do before the boiling of the skull.

[elkamaholic]

Originally Posted by Frans

Put it in a plastic bag for a while, they will loosen up eventually. Get the horns off and probably cut off the tips off the bone underneath. All of this you would normaly do before the boiling of the skull.

X2, except I'd suggest soaking in plain water instead of the plastic bag

[NBFK]

Originally Posted by Frans

Put it in a plastic bag for a while, they will loosen up eventually. Get the horns off and probably cut off the tips off the bone underneath. All of this you would normaly do before the boiling of the skull.

I never boiled the skull I just pressure washed all the gunk off of it.........

[Andrew_Arsenault]

...............wow, that's alot of pressure washing!

[Fishhunter]

On antelope I cut the tissue around the base of the horn(between the sheath and horn) and then let them soak. Keep checking (twisting)them occasionally(it took a week+) and they eventually slip off. Beware the stink!!This should work well for your buffallo. Also the soaking will probably stain your skull so you'll have to rebleach it.

[Houndogn]

Just boiled my skull and then covered the horn in the hot water for a few min and twisted right off!

[Grizzly Adams]

I just put mine outside in the sun to do the bleaching. After a couple of weeks the horns come off by themselves. Trust me, you don't want to leave them on.

Grizz

[3Dshooter]

I've had guys bring sheep in that were dead for 2 years, the horns don't always just slip off. Soak the skull overnight in a tub with horn bases submerged. Pull them out and wrap the bases with "cello wrap", the cling wrap used for packing. Leave the bases sealed until the horns loosen. Once off, I would then bring the skull to the boiling point, you don't have to do this for very long, just enough to heat it through. This will help keep it from smelling. I would then degrease it a bit by soaking it in warm water with a bit of dish washing liquid. Believe me, you can't over do this step. I use a de- icing heating element to keep the water luke warm. You can just change the water for a few days.

For the horns themselves,... once you get them off, wash the insides with hot water. Fill the inside of each horn with a 50/50 water/ household bleach solution. You need to prop the horns "up" to keep the solution in but BE CAREFUL TO NOT LET BLEACH TOUCH THE OUTSIDE OF THE HORN!!! A 30 minute soak is good, then rinse and dry the inside with borax powder, say half a day. If you keep the horns off the skull for any length of time, stuff each horn with paper and drop them in the freezer, they may change shape a bit, but not a big worry with bison.

Peroxide paste on the skull if you wish, then put the horns back on. A bit of bondo will keep them in place. Now, how are you going to display them?....

Great job so far!

[Donny Bear]

I was to impatent so like antelope I just slid a thin blade in between the horn and the core took a couple hours but got them off. Hot water causes the boss to swell and weakens the horn so I would not do that but let them sit in the bag as suggested Stinky or help them on there way! A paste of Magnesium cloride and 40% proxide whitens nice but sun bleaching looks great