Help-African European Skull Mount

[Huntforever]

I I just got back my I African animals from the last two trips to South Africa. I had everything dipped and packed and sent back to the states. Upon opening the packages in crates and plastic wrappings I noticed some concerns and was wondering if I could get some help I was preparing to do my own European, but I noticed here’s a few items that I noticed off the bat.

1. A number of the horns have drilled holes in them with some of the holes are even facing towards if you’re looking at the map. Very disappointing. How do I fix this?
2. it appears they didn’t remove the horns on my wildebeest, Impala’s and hartebeast. I noticed they had an odour and it appears to have had some bugs but appear dead now. How do I remove the horns from the skull so I can clean the horns inside and skull better to prevent the smell and future bugs??
3. On a few of the horns, they boil the skulls to a point they are discolored and clear. How do I get that color back on my horns?
4. The animals that already have the horns removed should I use some sort of chemical to clean inside the horns to make sure there’s no flesh or anything that could create a bug problem?


I really would appreciate any help.

 

[Huntforever]

 

[Sarg]

That’s a bugger, I suspect they had tags attached with wire in those holes but not right to do so ?

The Wildebeest - Hartebeest & Impala horns are very difficult to impossible (without damaging) to remove so some outfits drill holes in the back & inject formaldehyde.

I think you could repair the holes no problem & apply colour or black wax to them to blend in ?

Oh just saw the Steenbok ? Horn that is a big hole in a small horn, the Reed Buck should be Ok ?

 

[Ontario Hunter]

You didn't name the taxidermist but I'm pretty sure I know who did this. Holes drilled through the tips of horns were to attach identification tags with wire. Trophies from my first two safaris were handled by an Eastern Cape RSA taxidermist who drilled holes for tags. Black shoe polish could be used to color base of the impala horns. Those skulls could certainly stand whitening. I also had issues with stinking rotten flesh and dead bugs. The skulls of first shipment were also painted white. At least your impala appears to have most of its teeth. Some of mine looked like jack-o-lanterns.

I had to strip the paint off my skulls with chemicals. Then simmered skulls for an hour so in a pot of water with Dawn soap and half a cup of soda ash. Then cleaned and painted the skulls with a paste of 40 volume peroxide and Clairol whitening powder (from beauty supply outlets). Fortunately, my daughter and I have a taxidermy business and could clean up most of the mess. I have no idea how that crap got through Canadian customs inspection. I let them know what happened after the second shipment. I'm lucky my stuff wasn't sent to the incinerator.

 

[DieJager]

Sad to hear. Luckily it seems it can be fixed.

If possible let us know who did this poor job so other members can avoid this butcher in the future.

 

[Sabre]

I I just got back my I African animals from the last two trips to South Africa. I had everything dipped and packed and sent back to the states. Upon opening the packages in crates and plastic wrappings I noticed some concerns and was wondering if I could get some help I was preparing to do my own European, but I noticed here’s a few items that I noticed off the bat.

1. A number of the horns have drilled holes in them Southern the holes are even facing towards if you’re looking at the map. Very disappointing. How do I fix this?
2. it appears they didn’t remove the horns on my wildebeest, Impala’s and hartebeast. I noticed they had an older and it appears to have had some bugs but appear dead now. How do I remove the horns from the skull so I can clean the horns inside and skull better to prevent the smell and future bugs??
3. On a few of the horns, they boil the skulls to a point they are discolored and clear. How do I get that color back on my horns?
4. The animals that already have the horns removed should I use some sort of chemical to clean inside the horns to make sure there’s no flesh or anything that could create a bug problem?


I really would appreciate any help.

I am going to reply to each number

1) It is not uncommon for them to drill holes in horns and put tags with your information on them to keep them straight when doing large batches of skulls. I am not saying this is the best thing in the world, but more people have holes drilled in their horns then they realize. It is often repaired with two part epoxy in a color to match the horns, and many people don't even realize it was done. You can do this to repair the holes in yours as well.

2. The animals you mentioned, more often than not, the horns will not be removed from them because the shape of the horns. As someone else mentioned, it is fairly common for them to drill holes in one, or even a few spots along the horns and inject it with insecticide and or formaldehyde. Those holes are often then filled in with a two part epoxy. If you don't know that this has been done, and you want to try and prevent future bugs, this is likely to be the most logical way to prevent that.

These animals are sometimes cited as the start of future bug problems in mounts because it is difficult to treat the inside of these horns. Although, many people have had their mounts for decades and never had an issue with it. Mount Medix also makes a product that can be injected into the horn area to treat as well. Process would be the same as stated above with other insecticides.

3. You can use a variety of things to try and dye and match the horns where they have been bleached out. Many liquid staining type dyes would work. Stains, leather dyes, shoe polish (as someone mentioned). Also, some people airbrush paint them in those areas to match. You could do a combination of both to get a dark base and then airbrush to try and get a closer color match.

4. You could put some type of insecticide with a residual property to it inside the horn, swish it around to get full coverage, and then dry it out. This would likely work for quite a while. I have seen some people say that they put a moth ball or a piece of mothball inside the horn before gluing it in place. I don't know that I would do that, but you can see why that would have a lasting protective effect. I imagine you could also get some of the mount medix horn treatment I had mentioned and swish it around inside the horn area as well and get the same effect as on the wildebeests. Another thing to do to try to avoid future bugs would be to try and attach them to the horn cores in a way that they are completely sealed 360 all the way around the horn, as that would make it a bit more difficult to access any material left inside.


An extra note about bugs:

According to my taxidermist that does probably 80% of his business as African mounts; he claims that almost every dip and pack crate he receives has dead bugs in them. He says he has not received any with living bugs. I am not a taxidermist, so I can't speak to that specifically.

Maybe some US based taxidermists that specialize in African mounts could chime in and say if that is accurate.

 

[DieJager]

@Sabre interesting. Never knew it was common practice. Learning everyday on this forum. I hope I have my taxidermy home at the end of this year. I think they are treated with them Medix solution you are referring.

You have any experience with it? In other words does it work properly?

 

[Ontario Hunter]

My third safari I used Hunters & Collectors Taxidermy in Port Elizabeth, RSA. Very good results on my skulls. No holes drilled for tags. They have a technique for labeling them with some kind of shrink wrap tape. Also ALL horns were removed from skulls, even impala and springbuck ... and black wildebeest. I'd like to know how they managed to get the horns off that one without cutting them! A couple of nyala's teeth in front were missing but he was a very old bull. Only had two front teeth left on his jaw and one of them was about to fall out. The skulls were all clean and nicely bleached. They charge a bit more but worth it. Still waiting for three skulls from my fourth safari after 18 months but I told them I was in no rush. They were ready to start a couple months ago but I said I was fine waiting till spring so I could drive safely to Toronto to pick them up. With horns removed they were able to send the stuff from third safari in a much more compact crate which saved me money on shipping.

 

[buck wild]

@Sabre did a wonderful job answering. I'll add to a few of his answers.

Filing holes but don't want to buy a two-part taxidermy epoxy? Use wax. Any kind of wax. Find a candle that closely resembles the color you want, and use the semi-soft wax that forms after you blow out the flame, resting for a few minutes. Apply to hole(s) and rub it to blend.

Wood stains of varying colors can be applied to the bases of the horns. Be careful, it will penetrate the horn, so go lightly with application at first . Mask off the skull with tape or shrink wrap bc the stain will soak into your bone and discolor it if it drips over. Hint, Apply the stain while horns are upside down.

#4- I use Ortho's Bug B Gone on the inner cores. Let dry and reapply horns over. I do wonder what the average guy does to "seal off" the horns from the cores? I personally am more concerned with bugs getting in between my horns and cores later down the road. Completely sealing them off would prevent that as an issue. I use bondo, but it gets more complicated than the average guy might want to work with. I'll have to think about this some more. If you did buy the taxidermy epoxy though, here is a great chance to use up the rest of it

Every African crate I've opened also had dead bugs- none alive. I think Customs would deny a crate that had live bugs.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

@Sabre did a wonderful job answering. I'll add to a few of his answers.

Filing holes but don't want to buy a two-part taxidermy epoxy? Use wax. Any kind of wax. Find a candle that closely resembles the color you want, and use the semi-soft wax that forms after you blow out the flame, resting for a few minutes. Apply to hole(s) and rub it to blend.

Wood stains of varying colors can be applied to the bases of the horns. Be careful, it will penetrate the horn, so go lightly with application at first . Mask off the skull with tape or shrink wrap bc the stain will soak into your bone and discolor it if it drips over. Hint, Apply the stain while horns are upside down.

#4- I use Ortho's Bug B Gone on the inner cores. Let dry and reapply horns over. I do wonder what the average guy does to "seal off" the horns from the cores? I personally am more concerned with bugs getting in between my horns and cores later down the road. Completely sealing them off would prevent that as an issue. I use bondo, but it gets more complicated than the average guy might want to work with. I'll have to think about this some more. If you did buy the taxidermy epoxy though, here is a great chance to use up the rest of it

Every African crate I've opened also had dead bugs- none alive. I think Customs would deny a crate that had live bugs.

Dead bugs = possibly eggs somewhere. I would not put it past some overly exuberant Canada inspector to flag a taxidermy shipment with bugs and send it off for decontamination = $3K to $5K!! You don't pay it and the stuff is incinerated. I can understand why. Look at the devastation now being caused by emerald ash borer. All because a contaminated Chinese wooden pallet was unloaded in one American midwest city.

The shitbag taxidermist who handled my first two safari shipments used window glazing putty to patch the holes for first shipment. They simply left the holes open in second shipment. Actually, the glazing putty would probably have been okay if they hadn't done such a messy job applying it. I used taxidermy Epoxi-Sculpt product to fill the holes. As the name implies it's kind of a modeling clay that hardens. It can be colored using epoxy pigments purchased on line. Only need a tiny bit of pigment to dye the epoxy.

I use Minwax "Provincial" oil base stain to restore color to antlers and horns. It can be darkened by adding just a bit of their "ebony" stain. Varathane brand stain does not work well. Water based I think.

Here's a bleached white deadhead whitetail rack we restored with Minwax stain. My daughter rebuilt four of the points that had rotted off.

Speaking of deadhead, look at this set of sheds I put on a fake skull. That was a pain in the arse! It fell off the wall and client brought it back for repair. Bondo cracked so used JB Weld this time. I finished it last week.

 

[Huntforever]

That’s a bugger, I suspect they had tags attached with wire in those holes but not right to do so ?

The Wildebeest - Hartebeest & Impala horns are very difficult to impossible (without damaging) to remove so some outfits drill holes in the back & inject formaldehyde.

I think you could repair the holes no problem & apply colour or black wax to them to blend in ?

Oh just saw the Steenbok ? Horn that is a big hole in a small horn, the Reed Buck should be Ok ?

They actually had the tags attached to the skull so not sure why they drilled the holes in the horns. It’s very depressing. They want our money but don’t seem to take care of them. That’s why i brought everything home to do the taxidermy work.

There’s no holes in the back of the hartebeest or wildebeest. The wildebeest still has some hair and stuff on the base as well.

 

[Huntforever]

You didn't name the taxidermist but I'm pretty sure I know who did this. Holes drilled through the tips of horns were to attach identification tags with wire. Trophies from my first two safaris were handled by an Eastern Cape RSA taxidermist who drilled holes for tags. Black shoe polish could be used to color base of the impala horns. Those skulls could certainly stand whitening. I also had issues with stinking rotten flesh and dead bugs. The skulls of first shipment were also painted white. At least your impala appears to have most of its teeth. Some of mine looked like jack-o-lanterns.

I had to strip the paint off my skulls with chemicals. Then simmered skulls for an hour so in a pot of water with Dawn soap and half a cup of soda ash. Then cleaned and painted the skulls with a paste of 40 volume peroxide and Clairol whitening powder (from beauty supply outlets). Fortunately, my daughter and I have a taxidermy business and could clean up most of the mess. I have no idea how that crap got through Canadian customs inspection. I let them know what happened after the second shipment. I'm lucky my stuff wasn't sent to the incinerator.

Yep that’s the other thing my biggest skulls like my Eland had their teeth missing along with other animals!!

 

[Huntforever]

I am going to reply to each number

1) It is not uncommon for them to drill holes in horns and put tags with your information on them to keep them straight when doing large batches of skulls. I am not saying this is the best thing in the world, but more people have holes drilled in their horns then they realize. It is often repaired with two part epoxy in a color to match the horns, and many people don't even realize it was done. You can do this to repair the holes in yours as well.

2. The animals you mentioned, more often than not, the horns will not be removed from them because the shape of the horns. As someone else mentioned, it is fairly common for them to drill holes in one, or even a few spots along the horns and inject it with insecticide and or formaldehyde. Those holes are often then filled in with a two part epoxy. If you don't know that this has been done, and you want to try and prevent future bugs, this is likely to be the most logical way to prevent that.

These animals are sometimes cited as the start of future bug problems in mounts because it is difficult to treat the inside of these horns. Although, many people have had their mounts for decades and never had an issue with it. Mount Medix also makes a product that can be injected into the horn area to treat as well. Process would be the same as stated above with other insecticides.

3. You can use a variety of things to try and dye and match the horns where they have been bleached out. Many liquid staining type dyes would work. Stains, leather dyes, shoe polish (as someone mentioned). Also, some people airbrush paint them in those areas to match. You could do a combination of both to get a dark base and then airbrush to try and get a closer color match.

4. You could put some type of insecticide with a residual property to it inside the horn, swish it around to get full coverage, and then dry it out. This would likely work for quite a while. I have seen some people say that they put a moth ball or a piece of mothball inside the horn before gluing it in place. I don't know that I would do that, but you can see why that would have a lasting protective effect. I imagine you could also get some of the mount medix horn treatment I had mentioned and swish it around inside the horn area as well and get the same effect as on the wildebeests. Another thing to do to try to avoid future bugs would be to try and attach them to the horn cores in a way that they are completely sealed 360 all the way around the horn, as that would make it a bit more difficult to access any material left inside.


An extra note about bugs:

According to my taxidermist that does probably 80% of his business as African mounts; he claims that almost every dip and pack crate he receives has dead bugs in them. He says he has not received any with living bugs. I am not a taxidermist, so I can't speak to that specifically.

Maybe some US based taxidermists that specialize in African mounts could chime in and say if that is accurate.

Thanks so much!!! That really helps!!

I wonder what would be better and safer the insecticide, formaldehyde or Mount Medix?

 

[Huntforever]

@Sabre did a wonderful job answering. I'll add to a few of his answers.

Filing holes but don't want to buy a two-part taxidermy epoxy? Use wax. Any kind of wax. Find a candle that closely resembles the color you want, and use the semi-soft wax that forms after you blow out the flame, resting for a few minutes. Apply to hole(s) and rub it to blend.

Wood stains of varying colors can be applied to the bases of the horns. Be careful, it will penetrate the horn, so go lightly with application at first . Mask off the skull with tape or shrink wrap bc the stain will soak into your bone and discolor it if it drips over. Hint, Apply the stain while horns are upside down.

#4- I use Ortho's Bug B Gone on the inner cores. Let dry and reapply horns over. I do wonder what the average guy does to "seal off" the horns from the cores? I personally am more concerned with bugs getting in between my horns and cores later down the road. Completely sealing them off would prevent that as an issue. I use bondo, but it gets more complicated than the average guy might want to work with. I'll have to think about this some more. If you did buy the taxidermy epoxy though, here is a great chance to use up the rest of it

Every African crate I've opened also had dead bugs- none alive. I think Customs would deny a crate that had live bugs.

Thanks for the help as well. Question-Why the wax instead of the epoxy? I’ve had multiple people recommend an export.

 

[Huntforever]

Dead bugs = possibly eggs somewhere. I would not put it past some overly exuberant Canada inspector to flag a taxidermy shipment with bugs and send it off for decontamination = $3K to $5K!! You don't pay it and the stuff is incinerated. I can understand why. Look at the devastation now being caused by emerald ash borer. All because a contaminated Chinese wooden pallet was unloaded in one American midwest city.

The shitbag taxidermist who handled my first two safari shipments used window glazing putty to patch the holes for first shipment. They simply left the holes open in second shipment. Actually, the glazing putty would probably have been okay if they hadn't done such a messy job applying it. I used taxidermy Epoxi-Sculpt product to fill the holes. As the name implies it's kind of a modeling clay that hardens. It can be colored using epoxy pigments purchased on line. Only need a tiny bit of pigment to dye the epoxy.

I use Minwax "Provincial" oil base stain to restore color to antlers and horns. It can be darkened by adding just a bit of their "ebony" stain. Varathane brand stain does not work well. Water based I think.

Here's a bleached white deadhead whitetail rack we restored with Minwax stain. My daughter rebuilt four of the points that had rotted off.
View attachment 668892
Speaking of deadhead, look at this set of sheds I put on a fake skull. That was a pain in the arse! It fell off the wall and client brought it back for repair. Bondo cracked so used JB Weld this time. I finished it last week.
View attachment 668893

Great looking working!! I’ve heard people using Linseed oil to treat and darken the horns. As anyone used that before?

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Yep that’s the other thing my biggest skulls like my Eland had their teeth missing along with other animals!!

Could be worse. Second shipment from Bozo-the-Clown Taxidermy had the teeth that fell out during boiling replaced ... with teeth from other animals ... and species! Saw off the roots and stick them on willy nilly with globs of epoxy. Took me a couple of months to clean up the mess. Damn epoxy is almost bullet proof!

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Great looking working!! I’ve heard people using Linseed oil to treat and darken the horns. As anyone used that before?

Thanks. This is the 20" smallmouth my daughter finished today. Full skin mount.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Great looking working!! I’ve heard people using Linseed oil to treat and darken the horns. As anyone used that before?

Linseed oil may make the horns look "richer" like it does for wood but doesn't darken a whole lot. To "treat" horns we use paste wax.

 

[buck wild]

Thanks for the help as well. Question-Why the wax instead of the epoxy? I’ve had multiple people recommend an export.

The wax is easier to source than epoxy, but by all means if you are serious get the epoxy. It's what I use but I also use a half gallon of the epoxy per year.

 

[buck wild]

They actually had the tags attached to the skull so not sure why they drilled the holes in the horns. It’s very depressing. They want our money but don’t seem to take care of them. That’s why i brought everything home to do the taxidermy work.

There’s no holes in the back of the hartebeest or wildebeest. The wildebeest still has some hair and stuff on the base as well.

The small holes in each horn also get tags that match the tag on the skull that way once horns are slipped from skull, if one gets separated it can be paired with the skull. Frustrating, but it does ensure things stay together. Remember these dip and pack places might have 1,000’s of animals in their possession at any given time.