I have done over a hundred Euro mounts before, but never one on a velvet antlered buck. I have also done shoulder mounts on velvet antlered game and know how to "tan" the velvet. What are the procedures for doing a Euro mount with velvet antlers? My concerns are: When do you tan the velvet? Before or after boiling skull? And will the steam from the boiling pot affect the velvet? Thanks for all your input!
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Tom,
I probably do it different since no one has ever mentioned this way, but I cut the velvet antlers off. I tan the antlers separately and boil and clean the skull separately. When the skull has been bleached and the antlers dry, I drill 1/2 inch holes in the skull and antler, fill them with epoxy paste and then insert a length of thread stock to act as a dowel.
Before I cut the antlers, I measure spreads and make a jig that I can tie the antlers to during the reattachment. I set them in the epoxy and then tape and rubber band wooden slats so the antlers can be back in the same configuration as they were when I sawed them off.