I believe some of you here on AR have probably accumulated quite a few whitetail trophies, and after a number of shoulder mounts, started keeping euro
But, how to display them?
I have 30+++, and growing, and haven't come arcoss a stylish way to put them forward.
Any ideas?!?
Orvar

I have a pile of antlers in the garage.

I look at them every time I enter and ask my self what should I do with them.

I guess the kids can auction them off with the rest of the things.

I'm not sure this will be that helpful, but here is one solution for Euro mount roe deer skulls:



(A Swedish hunter's trophy room - not mine!)

I've had a couple American-style European whitetail skull mounts done. For some reason, my wife finds the "true European skull mount" more acceptable than the "American-style European skull mount."

I mean:

• "true European skull mount" = the skull has been sawn in such a way that there is only half an eye socket, no teeth, and only the bridge of the nose.
  
• "American-style European skull mount" - the entire skull is preserved, with the lower jaw bone removed, so that the upper jaw, teeth, and nose bones are present
  

She is not so enthusiastic about me acquiring more American-style European whitetail skull mounts. And the ones I have are displayed somewhat informally:



Like p dog shooter, I have more antlers in the garage and shed, and have never resolved what to do with them.

Jeff

I usually stack them up then sell anything that doesn't make trophy status.
around here that is a 25+" mule deer [160+]
we have a guy come through town every fall that buys antlers, I'll take him down 40-50 lbs. of this and that every few years.

I had this done a couple of years ago. I just took it to my taxidermist to have a third one added to the bottom.

You could always bronze some of them for a different look. I am also looking into ways to artificially age some of mine, so they look like they they're really old. Will try soaking some oak leaves in a drywall bucket until the water turns really dark, and soaking the skulls in that until they absorb the color.

I started getting picky on bucks
That way I shoot less but better, older and I don’t overdo the walls

One concept I have mentioned on here before that to me is somewhat odd but shows how peoples attitudes change about certain things, but a antlered deer skull hanging on the wall or lying on a shelf, does not ellicit the same reactions/responses from people as a shoulder mount does.

They know both animals were hunted and killed, but a skull is sort of a non-entity whereas with the hide and eyes a shoulder mount bring things into clearer focus for some people.

Deer skulls, elk skulls, pronghorn antelope skulls...hanging on the trusses in the garage.

quote:

Originally posted by Crazyhorseconsulting:
One concept I have mentioned on here before that to me is somewhat odd but shows how peoples attitudes change about certain things, but a antlered deer skull hanging on the wall or lying on a shelf, does not ellicit the same reactions/responses from people as a shoulder mount does.

They know both animals were hunted and killed, but a skull is sort of a non-entity whereas with the hide and eyes a shoulder mount bring things into clearer focus for some people.

Exactly Randall

Years ago, I began tossing horns/antlers into cardboard containers as there was no more room for them. It became much like saving cottontail trophies - what is the point? You eat them and then go shoot some more.
Even my first 300+ bull elk rack was sentenced to watch over our courtyard as I refused to build a separate trophy room.

I have a lot of elk, deer, Pronghorn bleached skulls hanging in my shop, some on the outside wall, some inside..some in my office, some in different rooms..I have a 383 elk in the living room, skull mount..A big mounted cape buffalo, a big waterbuck, and a Kudu mounted, everything else is skulls and stacked up in the corners of the shop, barn, outsheds...I skin out the skull, and very carefully boil them in Draino..then bleach them, sometimes I just saw the skull plate off and nail them to the barn..Make stuff out of the smaller ones on ocassisons, like a quirt handle, knife handle, whatever.

I put a lot of deer horns in the trees around my back yard for the squirrels to chew on to get their calcium. I long ago used all the space for deer horns on my walls. The African stuff takes priority for wall space.
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Adding up both whitetail an mulie racks a good fair guess would be: 4 shoulder mounts, 4 skulls sitting around the den and another 200 racks lying about or hanging in the barn could be more out there on the piles. I keep my brown bear skulls on the mantel. I only have one cape buffalo skull in the den the rest hanging in the barn. My lion mount and brown bear mounts are in our entrance way. Now when in Africa I just take pictures of all my trophies.

This is a work in progress, but you can get the general idea. Anything that doesn't get shoulder mounted gets a Euro mount.

Hang em on the barn. No one gets to see them inside.

The right sized ones, I use as rattling horns. Others, door handles, drawer pulls, knife handles, etc. I only hunt deer for meat anymore.

Come on Lavaca, you just ain’t seen one bigger than yer biggest yet!

When I lived in El Paso I used to mount the sculls and horns on the inside of the outside wall of my garage over my welding table. When I transferred to Dallas I sold my house.
I had already emptied the house except for the steel welding table and the horn racks on that wall when the people who were buying the house, came over. I had the garage door open, and I told the new owner I would remove the table and the horns off the wall, which he stated that he did a little welding himself, and would buy the table if I would leave the rack on the wall.
I told him I couldn't take the table with me to Dallas/Fort worth anyway because I would be living in apartments till I could build a new home, so he could have it, and the racks if he wanted. A great smile came on his face, like a kid at Christmas. That wall had over twenty nice racks, all mule deer. So evidently I'm not the only one who likes scull racks on the wall.

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