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GreyGhost85

Beetle/skull cleaning east valley

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I've done plenty of them myself. Not my bull, or i would do it. Thanks for all the suggestions though

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get a large pot and boil it. go to sally's and get concentrated peroxide (its like 5 bucks) and bush it on....turns the skull really white.

 

 

I dump the pot "leftovers" in the sewer access in my yards.

 

I dump the pot in the chicken yard.

Boiling can crack or cause teeth to fall out. Why not get a price from Jim at SW Wildlife Taxidermy in Scottsdale? I believe he sends them out, does not boil them. His prices are very down to Earth.

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get a large pot and boil it. go to sally's and get concentrated peroxide (its like 5 bucks) and bush it on....turns the skull really white.

 

 

I dump the pot "leftovers" in the sewer access in my yards.

I dump the pot in the chicken yard.

Boiling can crack or cause teeth to fall out. Why not get a price from Jim at SW Wildlife Taxidermy in Scottsdale? I believe he sends them out, does not boil them. His prices are very down to Earth.

 

They quoted me $500 for my bull last yr.

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That sounds way high for a Euro mount. I got a lion rug quote last summer and thought the quote was more than reasonable.

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$500? Did you tell them you just want it cleaned and bleached, not gold plated?

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I have done about 25 skulls... (between my kids and mine...deer and javi)...Its so simple. I recently began to hydo dip with the help of youtube...

 

Start by trying to get as meat off as possible when skinning it. Do this ASAP after then kill.... its easier when fresh.... It not, freeze it....magits appear faster than you think.

I use an old menudo pot. Fill it up with water and add some Dawn dish soap (a good squirt). Place the head in the pot and let it boil (my barbecue grill has a side burner). I check it every couple hours to add more water. I have learned to let boil for about 4 hours, then I use a long screw driver and "scramble the brains" , remove the eye balls with needle nose and any large chunks of meat....then boil for another hour..... Around the 5 hour mark remove and use the water hose with a high pressure nozzle and spray off the remaining meat. Some scraping will be required, I have taken the heads to a manual car wash and the high pressure water sprayer takes off all meat in a jiffy.

The antlers stay on and lose no color during the boiling process, I have never cracked a skull but I have had a few teeth fall out. I just super glue them back in.

Be careful the nose bones can break... But also glue them back if they do

I go to Sally's Beauty Supply and buy the concentrated peroxide (its about 5 bucks) and brush it on, DO NOT to get any on the antlers....peroxide will bleach the antlers , early on I used to fill a bowl up with 2% peroxide and soak the head, but the base of the antlers usually got bleached. Those days are gone forever with the peroxide paste.

It's really simple, the worst part is the clean up, but I learned to dump the remaining water and meat down the sewer access (unless the garbage is being picked up soon then I dump into a bag and throw it all away).

 

 

 

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Anyone know of a good beetle/skull cleaner preferably in the east valley? I know CMC in Tucson does a great job, but don't want to drive to Tucson. It's for a big bull elk, if that matters.

Cole at CMC Skulls makes regular trips to the valley. It's also possible to ship the heads FedEx, although I don't know how the rack might affect that.

I bought a scabbard off Cole over the summer and he brought it down on a family visit.

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Anyone know of a good beetle/skull cleaner preferably in the east valley? I know CMC in Tucson does a great job, but don't want to drive to Tucson. It's for a big bull elk, if that matters.

Cole at CMC Skulls makes regular trips to the valley. It's also possible to ship the heads FedEx, although I don't know how the rack might affect that.

I bought a scabbard off Cole over the summer and he brought it down on a family visit.

 

 

Cole at CMC has always done great work for me and like stated him or his family comes to town often and can usually pick up and deliver. My first time using him he met me half way on short notice to pick up a deer head. His brother delivered it to me when it was finished. Used him several times since and always have had great service for pick up and delivery.

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Cole does a great job. I have boiled out many skills that turned out great, but the couple Cole did with beatles are a cut above the best boiled skulls. He is a great guy and very accommodating to meet you at different places around Southern AZ. You won't be disappointed with his work.

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what does Cole charge for a deer skull?

Pretty sure it's around $90.

I'll be going down to Bail in a couple weeks and taking Cole a skull. Anybody wanting a head transported, pm me. Sorry, cannot transfer anyone's mother in-laws head at this time.

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get a large pot and boil it. go to sally's and get concentrated peroxide (its like 5 bucks) and bush it on....turns the skull really white.

 

 

I dump the pot "leftovers" in the sewer access in my yards.

I dump the pot in the chicken yard.

Boiling can crack or cause teeth to fall out. Why not get a price from Jim at SW Wildlife Taxidermy in Scottsdale? I believe he sends them out, does not boil them. His prices are very down to Earth.

 

I've done plenty and like Redman said get your peroxide at Sally's. It's satisfying known you did it yourself. Like Edge said be careful of boiling it to long as the teeth can crack.

 

TJ

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