Euro mount goat advice

Gopher · Post by **Gopher** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 9:02 pm

I'm pretty sure that next years my year for my goat tag in Utah.
But my question is who has done a euro on one of these and Im a little nervous about removing the horns.
Do you really have to?
I have done numerous deer but speed goats seem to be a whole other ball game.
Any advice would be great.

Heads or Tails · Post by **Heads or Tails** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 9:55 pm

I have done a couple without removing them but it is best if you do.

wilecoyote76 · Post by **wilecoyote76** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 6:56 am

Gopher, I did a euro mount on a small Idaho antelope I shot a few years ago and it wasn't too bad at all. I removed the horns and prepped the skull then used bondo to reattach the horns. It's not rocket science, really! I will post some pictures when I get the chance. I did everything myself and it didn't cost much, only time and patience!

StickFlicker · Post by **StickFlicker** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 2:20 pm

I would really recommend removing the horns, cleaning out the sheaths, and boiling the entire skull. Otherwise, it will smell pretty nasty!

An antelope skull is actually easier, because you don't have to worry about submerging and bleaching out the antler bases. My taxidermist normally cuts an inch or two off the tip of the boney protrusions (once the sheath is removed). Then he sticks a moth ball in the sheath before filling it with bondo and re-attaching it. Helps keep bugs away from drilling into the horns I understand.

I recently heard a tip about getting the horn sheaths off, that I hadn't heard before. If they are on really tight and hard to get off, try micro-waving them in short spurts until they loosen and come off. I've not tried this, but anxious to do so. Good luck.

Marvin

wilecoyote76 · Post by **wilecoyote76** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 7:00 pm

Here are some pics of my european on the antelope I shot last year. There are things I would have done differently but as my first euro mount, I am happy. As far as the sheaths are concerned, I just let them rot off. Yes, it stunk but after a few days, they popped right off. I put borax in the horns for a while to absorb the extra moisture and then used bondo to reattach to the skull. I have heard of the microwave method to get the sheaths off but would been beaten severely if I stunk the house doing that.

Post by **MuleyMadness** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 7:05 pm

Looks great!

Gopher · Post by **Gopher** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 7:25 pm

Did you paint those horns up a bit?
If so what did you use.
Man I love that black and white contrast!
These are my deer I've done but like I say I'm stoked to do a antelope maybe next year.

wilecoyote76 · Post by **wilecoyote76** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 8:28 pm

Gopher wrote:Did you paint those horns up a bit?
If so what did you use.

No, I didn't paint the horns. Sorry if it appears that way. My camera takes terrible close up pics.

I read somewhere or heard from someone to spray WD-40 on a rag then wipe on the horns. I did and it it give it a nice look. I debated between a wall mount or pedestal type base and went pedestal. Gopher, your euro's look real good. I like the look of european mounts, that's for sure.

Gopher · Post by **Gopher** » Sat Nov 17, 2007 11:11 am

I never thought about them getting smelly inside, That moth ball trick I heard sounds like a good one thank you.