mounting velvet antlers

[aussiepighunting]

I am wondering if any has experience mounting antlers that are in hard velvet. I have the opportunity to take a couple of red deer if I want before the antlers harden properly. I would only do this if I could preserve the antlers properly with the velvet still on. Also on a full body red stag mount, is it easiest and best to dorsal skin. I am planning on shooting 6 or 8 this year to get some good practice for clients.

[Eric E.]

What I do when I take in velvet antlers is carefully skin and cap the antlers careful not to touch the velvet is at all possible as I skin.  I then placed them into the freezer until I can build a wood frame to slide into a proper sized box for my set of antlers  and then screw the antlers down onto that frame I will place into the box and ship them out to be freezed dried.  They come back perfect and looked great mounted and will last.  I use Kulis in Ohio for mine.

[Old Fart]

If the antlers are soft, under the velvet, they will definitely need to be freeze dried. That may be difficult for you, given where you are located. However it sounds like you are speaking of hard antler with dried velvet, that's not a big deal. Treatment to prevent bug damage should be all you need. Here is a C&P from one of my previous posts.....


"Alcohol "soak" will kill bacteria, but adds NO preservation value other than dessication(drying). Freeze drying is useful with velvet that has soft antler underneath(summer antler) to keep shrinkage to a minimum, but freeze drying has no bug proofing properties in itself. I recommend that you first soak the velvet in alcohol to kill bacteria, then a short soak(4 hours or so) in a fairly strong Borax solution(this will rehydrate the velvet a bit), then back into the alcohol to remove the water from the Borax soak. Let it dry and you should be good to go. I'm not saying that other methods of treating, such as spraying with Raid won't work, I'm just  saying that I know this method works for me."


There are a lot of answers to this question in the archives, but it will take some searching using different "terms" to find all of them. 

[aussiepighunting]

Thanks for the info guys. we don't have this (taxidermy.net) in Australia so it is good to be able to talk to other taxidermists and not feel as though you are trying to undercut or take trade secrets from anyone. Thanks, I appreciate it.

[Gameovertaxidermy]

I freeze dry mine, but I also remove the blood first. Try starting at the tips of the antlers and feeling for the veins and inject them with methanol or at least 90% rubbing alcohol. You may miss the veins at first til you get the hang of it but when it works blood will come out under the base of the antlers and you inject until clean methanol runs out. I did many caribou that way when I worked at another shop and it works great, now I do the same thing but also freeze dry the antlers after to ensure there fully dry before I mount them. Also it is very important to be careful with the methanol, wear gloves, safety glasses or goggles and do it outside!!!!!!!!