i picked up a nice buck that should have been a 10pt but one side was broken off about an inch above the base but i could never find the rest of the antler. has anyone ever tried to repair something like this and make a "new" antler? should i try traditional repair methods on a bigger scale or some other method? any help would be great
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Dave, I had a guy walk into my shop with one sawed off whitetail antler and ask me to mount the deer. I figured the price for a close match construction, new cape and mount and he said yes-it was not cheap. I made a new antler from parts of 3 similar antlers and after mounting I asked several customers to pick the "fake" from several feet away, over half chose the original antler as the fake. Now, every single one of them would have figured it out on close examination but you can get convincing results if you have a sizable pile of sheds in similar size to work from. You can build a matching antler easier from Apoxie or similar material but getting a color match is more difficult I think. Enjoy, Aaron H.
did an article by Erich Carter called "the Mirror Image" where he shows how to make the opposite side. I used his article to make a large 5 point side to make a 171" rack. I took it to the state show and nobody pointed out the antler, until I told them. It is a very good article and will give you all the information you need. I remember the cover had a mounted "maned wolf", but I don't remember the issue number. I think I posted it in the archives though.
The antler is made with threaded rod, wire and apoxie sculpt. But there are some tips and techniques in the article that are very helpful, if not critical to make it work.