Guys am trying to get the heads back from Kazakhstan and need to cut them to get the package size down to save on freight "so I don't have to sell the house" they have a couple of options, what have people done before photo 1&2 are one option

You could detach the antlers; that is more difficult on a full skull. Essentially, you want to drill from the bottom of the skull up through the antlers, far enough to put a stud in them. Then cut off the antlers.

I had a taxidermist do this for an elk skull, but was a skull cap, not at full skull. He said full skulls were much more expensive.

How are you going to mount it when you get it home?

If you are doing a shoulder mount, option three would probably be stronger glued together after it's covered.

If they are going to be a full shoulder mount, then number two as thats where the taxidermist will cut them to put them on the form.

If you are doing a skull mount then number three as I think a seam straight down would look more natural once glued back together.

skull mount at this stage another option is a zig zag cut might fit back together better then doesn't touch the nose area

going with cut one antler off after advice from a taxidermist

Exactly cut off one antler. Have done it with many red stags. It's fairly easy to fix it later. You can measure the spread and make sure later it's the same, but I will be more or less the same anyway.

Dennis

I have split caribou antlers down the middle and then had a full shoulder mount done with no problem. In fact years ago, Quebec outfitters insisted you do. This or pay a large extra fee to fly. Them out. You nest one side into the other. Worked quite well.

You can cut the horns off together with a frontal cut down and a back cut to the front cut to hold the horns together, they can be fitted back on where you made the cut. It works well on a shoulder mount or for tacking them to the barn..