I am having a hell of a time hanging some of my heavier african mounts on sheetrock walls!

The plastic anchors are pulling out of the sheetrock, and toggle-bolts are not rigid enough when in place,,,the heads move around too much.

What do you do if you cannot find a stud?

Driving me crazy!

The toggle bolts are meant to be used only if the screwhead will be tight against some sort of backing.

I would definitely use a light 2.5-3" lag bolt (DRILL first!) in a stud for the heavy stuff. Get a stud finder; the studs should be either 16" or 24" on center.

In lieu of that, though, Monkey Hook Hangers will support up to 50 lbs. or more. They also make similar ones that supposedly hold up to 150 lbs.

The other option is the sleeve-type expanding type anchor bolts that spread out behind the sheetrock. Tighten the screw all the way, then back out enough to hang the mount. The screws for use with these are normally a fairly small diameter but still should hold up to 50 lbs. or so.

Lastly, there are screw-in types available that will hold up to 90 lbs.

This site shows most of sheetrock anchor types.

The large white screw-in plastic dry wall anchors work pretty good but if you are talking about BIG heavy mounts, they may not be enough either. They also make a huge hole in your wall. Somethink like a cape buff needs to be on a lag bolt in a stud.

You can buy special two part hangers from a taxidermy supply company that may help you. These consist of a bracket that attaches to the wall (in the stud, or 2-4 individual dry wall anchors depending on the style of the hanger) and a bracket that attaches to the back of the mount that slides into the one on the wall. Having 2-4 dry wall anchors or toggle bolts will be much better than one. Van Dykes, Mckenzie and other suppliers carry these type of hangers and they work well. They also allow you to offset the hanger on the backboard a few inches if you have a stud that is close. These hangers also allow you to hang mounts that are off balance, like wall pedestals.

The other idea is to find a way to hang them in the studs. The spacing of mounts on studs 16" apart actually works out pretty good most of the time. Good luck.

Here is the one from Van Dykes:

http://www.vandykestaxidermy.c...oduct/42000100/43450

Wolfgar, you're not going to like my answer, but this is what I did in my own home when I bought it. I decided which room would be my "Trophy Room". I went in and tore all the sheetrock down and removed all the base moldings. Then I sheathed the wall with 5/8 inch plywood four feet down from the ceiling. I wainscoated the bottom half of the wall and then covered the plywood with sheetrock. The wainscoating gives it a nice soft contrast while the ultra white upper walls and ceilings reflect the light exceptionally well. Now I hang a mount where it "fits" and not worry about where the studs might be.

I did the same thing when my office was being build. I had the contractor put plywood sheeting between the metal studs from about 4' to 7' off the floor. It may locating heads very easy....anywhere! I knew on of them would be a water buffalo, too.

The expanding metal screws are what I use, but I would not hang anything bigger than a deer on it. Definitelyt nothing bigger than a Gemsbuck, Hartebeest, Wildebeest.

Stud finders are cheap. Buy one It worked for my wife

Wendell,
I am sorry to hear of your wife's leaving

Michael J

Wendell,
Sorry it was just to easy.

Michael J

I guess there wasn't enough Studliness going on at home

quote:

Originally posted by michaelj:
Wendell,
I am sorry to hear of your wife's leaving

Michael J

LOL

The toggle bolts will work for reasonably heavy stuff. What I do is thread a nut on the bolt then a large fender washer then the toggle. When you push the toggle into the wall cavity you tighten the nut to the fender washer leaving the bolt head out long enough to hang the mount from.

Depending on the backing of the mount, I used 1/2" dow rod. Just found the stud, drilled the hole to specific depth, inserted dow rod, hung mount. Just make sure you get the dow rod at about a 45 degree angle.

Thank you all for the imput