I have been asked to mount a blacktail deer,but the skullcap
was shattered when it was shot.What can I do to repair them?
This will be my first solo mount,and I really need help.
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I mounted a whitetail buck with the same problem. You will have to saw off the antlers at the base of the skull and attach them to a replacement skull cap, like the one sold at Van Dykes. Or, buy a shed connector and do the same. You will have to drill holes in the bottom of the antlers and use a strong 5 minute epoxy.
Sherry, I have made this repair many times using a little wire to connect the broken skull plate back to it's orriginal position and then using bondo to set the antlers on the form. I mix some fishing line into the bondo for more strength. Usually there is enough bone left to give you something to drill through for a few screws to hold it solidly on the form. If the skull plate is really a mess you might want to drop some short wire pieces into the bondo for added support. Enjoy, Aaron H.
Take your antlers and hold them back together then cut a real thin slice of wood about an 1/8" thick, then test it inside the skull plate to see if it fits. Then mix up some Bondo( I usually throw some stuff in for strength like scalpel blades, littles screws, thread etc.) and put just a little bondo on the inside skull plate. Next place your block of wood inside the skull plate, then fill in the entire skull plate with the bondo and sit down and hold the antlers in place till the bondo hardens enough to hold it in place then let it completely cure. I forgot to say mix more of the cream hardener in the bondo than normal so it hardens faster and you wont have to hold it as long. I have repaired many skull plates this way and have never had a problem.
Thanks for all the help! I copied each answer on a file card,
so I can refer to it later. My biggest problem now is deciding
which one to use---they're all good! Thank you,Nina,Aaron,and
Whitey.