Just a question
I am trying to remove the horns off of this rams skull cap and I am haveing a He** of a time getting the horns to come off I have let them
Rot and stuff cant remove the horns and I am know Boiling them on the stove Just How long is the core to a ram skull cap man Ill never do it again its a lot of work John
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a lot of this depends on how mature the ram was. Young rams release their horns within a couple of weeks soaking in a tub. Old mature rams take a heck of a lot longer (up to and beyond a year soaking). Some may never release. You can still mount the animal up even if the horns don't release. But you will need to treat the horns prior to mounting to prevent infestation by insects.
Take a razor blade and work a small hole up through tissue under the horn caps. Pick a flat side, it is easier. Once you have a hole worked up through the tissue, then place entire skull in a bucket of water. The tissue I'm talking about is between the bone and horn caps. Do not cut the exterior horns. This little hole will give the water a place to wick up into the horns a little quicker. After about 4-5 days the caps will come off. They may take a litle force to get them off. If they still seem tight give them a little more time. Be patience and they will come off without a lot of trouble. The bone will run most of the way out the horn. Remember in the rams life these things take an extreme beating. Good luck.
thanks for all your input
John
If this is a wild ram such as a dall or bughorn get it out of that water now! The horns will darken and be ruined! This does not seem to matter on domestic types that are goats but RAMS yes.
I'm with Jim, mascerating (rotting) them off is for lazy people. The correct way I learned was to take a hacksaw blade and sharpen one end so you can slip it up into the horn from the base and go around the horn to free the connective tissue. Once this is done boil them for one hour in a pot that will allow you to submerge the bases but not the outer horn tips. After boiling take a RUBBER mallet and give them a good whack, the horns will pop right off. They will be a little darkened but after drying a BRASS bristled brush scrubbing will restore them to natural color. Don't know what kind of ram you have but this works great on Dall sheep. Good Luck.
I should have said what kind of ram horns I am working on it is a corsican ram skull cap and hornd
I also have a Mouflon Ram ( Sheep) of my own I will be doing a life size mount and I hope I dont have this much trouble with them Ill try the saw Blade trick
John
John I just took the caps off a mature rocky mt. ram. I had to simmer and change water and do it over again 4 days in a row. Finally after the 4th day, I put my foot on one side on the rubber floor mat and pulled w/ a twist on the other side and it came up off- flipped it & pulled off the other side. After day 2 I thought them suckers would never come off.