First Time Taxidermy

[BobbyJoe]

So, long story short... a buddy of mine shot a great buck (MLD) this past Sunday and asked me to do a euro mount for him. When I picked it up he asked me to fix a broken tine while I was at it. I assured him I was no artist and have never attempted anything even close but said I’d give it a shot.

Couple YouTube videos and a few articles later, here is the result. I think it turned out decent for my first go at it, but, does anyone have any advice or tips/tricks they’d be willing to share? The color matching it the biggest booger but to me one of the most important parts. I had the folks at Ace Hardware chuckling when I’d walk in since i made about 5 back to back trips yesterday trying to find the right stuff.

Anyways, any feedback would be appreciated... hopefully make things a little easier in the future whenever I have the need to fix an antler. Thanks.

[kurt68]

Great job!

[Pineywoods]

Looks like you did a good job!

[BobbyJoe]

Thanks guys. Once it’s on the wall I think most people won’t even be able to tell

[MAP]

Matching the color is the hardest part, looks like you did great. Plus you just saved yourself some money and a trip to the taxidermist.

[Mertzon Man]

Well done!

[twdjr]

Good job!

[rdorsett]

Solid. If not for the follow up pics, I would’ve been guessing

[JakeM]

Awesome job. i wouldnt be able to tell just looking at it.

[Bowtech Lefty]

Looks great, nice work!

[Smart]

**** nice work on that antler. You care to describe the process and material you used on the build up?

[Hogmauler]

Very professionally done!

[brokeno]

Did you use a plus b ?

[3ChordTruth]

You did a real nice job on that Euro mount. That repair/color match looks outstanding.

[Extreme-TX]

Looks like it grew there

Good job

[Base14]

Nice job

[jkranchrstexas]

Well done!!

[BobbyJoe]

Originally Posted by Smart

**** nice work on that antler. You care to describe the process and material you used on the build up?

Gracias. Long winded but... here’s how I did it.

Started by sanding down the broken area using a Dremel and removing most of the dirt/debris in the general area. Drilled a hole about 1/2” deep, filled it with superglue and then sunk a piece of coat hanger into it to form the skeleton. Used JB Weld Kwikwood and molded the tine, letting it cure for about an hour or two. Then grabbed some 220 grit sandpaper to shape it the best I could and make the transition from antler to mold look a bit more seamless. This is where it got tricky. I used Miniwax stain (natural oak) to try and match the color, however, you could still see a definitive line where the epoxy started and the colors were still off. In addition to that, the tine itself looked unnaturally smooth so it was back to the drawing board. I worked it a little more with some sandpaper to try and break up the solid look in hopes that it’d give it some different hues of brown but again it still wasn’t where I wanted it to be. At that point I was unsure what to do next so I went back to Ace and was milling around when I found what I thought might actually work ... a miniwax blend-fil #8 pencil. Got home and started drawing on the new tine like it was a coloring book, beginning from the main beam and working it up through the tine, applying less pressure the closer I got to the tip. This instantly gave it a more textured look and some true definition as it started to cake on. Once I got it to where I was happy with it I put a few light top coats of polycrylic clear matte finish and called it a day.

All trial and error (and I’m sure there may be an easier or more efficient way) but I hope this helps if anyone ever wants to give it a shot.

[salth2o]

Well, I had to look at the additional photos to see which one was repaired.

Heck of a job!

[Aggiebush]

Looks dang good to me, I’d be very happy if it was my deer. Great work.

[Farmdog]

Nice work

[Cooper]

Excellent work!!!

[Texas8point]

very nice

[Buck_jane]

Jam up job. Even knowing where the seem is you can't see it

[highspeed]

Looks as natural as can be. I’m curious though. If it was for a buddy, why didn’t you shape it into a fist flipping him off???

[TRF455]

Looks great!

[flywise]

Waydago, very nice

[jmoore]

Impressive

[AntlerCollector]

Looks good.

[gfulton]

Great job.

[Txfshrmn]

Great job! Ready to start charging!

[kruppa24]

Nice work

[Paycheck]

Nice

[Smart]

Originally Posted by BobbyJoe

Gracias. Long winded but... here’s how I did it.

Started by sanding down the broken area using a Dremel and removing most of the dirt/debris in the general area. Drilled a hole about 1/2” deep, filled it with superglue and then sunk a piece of coat hanger into it to form the skeleton. Used JB Weld Kwikwood and molded the tine, letting it cure for about an hour or two. Then grabbed some 220 grit sandpaper to shape it the best I could and make the transition from antler to mold look a bit more seamless. This is where it got tricky. I used Miniwax stain (natural oak) to try and match the color, however, you could still see a definitive line where the epoxy started and the colors were still off. In addition to that, the tine itself looked unnaturally smooth so it was back to the drawing board. I worked it a little more with some sandpaper to try and break up the solid look in hopes that it’d give it some different hues of brown but again it still wasn’t where I wanted it to be. At that point I was unsure what to do next so I went back to Ace and was milling around when I found what I thought might actually work ... a miniwax blend-fil #8 pencil. Got home and started drawing on the new tine like it was a coloring book, beginning from the main beam and working it up through the tine, applying less pressure the closer I got to the tip. This instantly gave it a more textured look and some true definition as it started to cake on. Once I got it to where I was happy with it I put a few light top coats of polycrylic clear matte finish and called it a day.

All trial and error (and I’m sure there may be an easier or more efficient way) but I hope this helps if anyone ever wants to give it a shot.

Thanks man! I have a small tip I need to repair on a euro and this is great info! Thanks for taking the time to write that up!

[Smart]

I guess Natural Oak on the stain is listed as just Natural?

[W-O]

Good job all around.

[BobbyJoe]

Originally Posted by Smart

I guess Natural Oak on the stain is listed as just Natural?

Nope, my bad... I looked at so many variants of stain that my wires got crossed. Golden Oak is what I used.

[Smart]

Originally Posted by BobbyJoe

Nope, my bad... I looked at so many variants of stain that my wires got crossed. Golden Oak is what I used.

Phew....glad I didn't order that. Thanks man!

[BobbyJoe]

Thanks for the kind words fellas... wasn't sure where it ranked in quality of work but I did give the rack back to my friend yesterday and he was stoked. Traded him the euro and the repair for a hog/doe hunt so it’s a win win.

I’d make a similar trade if anyone is interested... just throwing that out there.

[BobbyJoe]

Here’s a few more that I’ve done this year for friends and family

[RibcageX]

Man, those look great!!

[EZ-10RANCH]

Great work!!

[west3045]

great work!

[Corncob Rob]

Very good work and written explanation!!!

[OldRiverRat]

Originally Posted by BobbyJoe

Here’s a few more that I’ve done this year for friends and family

nice job. Not sure how you are mounting your finished product but here is a tip i can give you. if you are looking for an easy way to mount the head to a board or any other material after you are finished you can use this product

https://www.bare-metal.com/mold-maki...arter-kit.html

I started using it years ago because it just makes mounting easier. You take some modeling clay to fill any holes in the brain cavity and then mix the resin and pour. takes about 12 hours for the resin to harden and it's drillable so it allows you to run a simple wood screw into the back of the skull. Simplifies the whole process of connecting the skull to whatever medium you choose.

Here is a pick of one I did this year for my daughter






Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[buck_wild]

good job but I'd recommend maybe using a wood screw and cutting off head with dremel as your armature. Coat hanger isn't going to provide much support in event it gets bumped.

And as a purist :0 nothing taxidermy about this project. Taxi "to move" Dermy "skin". No skin was moved unless you count removing the hide off the skull LOL . Just my own pet peeve .