When hunting abroad (Europe), what should you expect when you request that the local taxidermist does a euro mount?

I just got mine back (4 animals) and I'm a little underwhelmed. Maybe I didn't have a good understanding of what a euro mount should be and I want to make sure I'm calibrated properly. Maybe I should have had a more in depth discussion with the taxidermist of what a "euro mount" entailed.

I would have assumed the mounts would be "hang ready". Mine arrived looking like they came straight from the boiling kettle. (Fortunately, they are dry, white, non-greasy and odor free). They're not mounted to a shield or plaque, the jaw bones weren't cut so they'd mount flat to a plaque. The teeth that are there are all loose and ready to fall out, the muzzles on a few have had the small bones broken because they weren't protected properly during shipping and on at least one of them, the horn won't slide back on the root, without some sanding of the root. Not to mention, there's no way to hang them without some hardware installed.

So I pose the question. What would you expect for the bare minimum euro mount? What things would be additional charges?

g-s,

Covers alot of territory there ..... but first, sorry to hear you're not exactly 100% pleased.

These three Options are what we discuss for our Euro Mount criteria.

1. Short Cut - flat, straight cut (of course) from the back of the skull thru the eye socket to the nose. Made to mount on a shield (plaque); skull held to the shield with an internal fixture so no screws, glue (not good), etc. are visible.

2. Long Cut - flat cut from under the nose through the back of the skull, directly under the eye socket and may include portion, part or the entire joint between the skull (occipital bone) and first vertebrae (atlas) is the Condyloid Joint. How much of this joint remains from the cut depends upon the angle. The cut may or may not be used in conjuction with a shield (plaque).

3. Upper Skull - lower jaw is removed. Made for displaying without shield (plaque). I use appropriate sized plastic cable ties through the back of the skull to hang on the wall w/nail. Simple & low cost vs. shoulder mount. I use this option when the trophy (horn/antler) size is large.

The "Rule-of-Thumb" and of course, a matter of Taste is that usually the larger the mass of the Trophy; the larger (or lack of) cut meaning there is more of the skull to compliment the horn/antlers. A small nose cut for a Trophy as large as an Elk or Kudu does not really compliment the Trophy IMO. The smaller Roe Deer, Springbok, Steenbok, ect. is a personal decision depending on the size of the Trophy.

The Skin should be removed from the skull as soon as possible, brain removed and the skull placed in water.

The key is to boil the meat for easy removal from the skull, not the boil the skull resulting in the cartlidge/membrane disolving and therefore the parts of the skull (primarily the nose area) to split or separate.

It used to be we scrapped the meat off the skull after boiling; today we use a high pressure water hose. Naturally, depending on how small or delicate the Trophy is, there's alot of dexterity/judgement required as to how much & where pressure is applied but this method will clean a skull of all meat, sinew, debris & associated matter in a coupla minutes including the sinuses which if not entirely removed are a real Show-Stopper.

As for the Teeth; yes, the gums are now removed from the jaw and the teeth have nothing to hold them firmly but a judicious application of clear Silicone or Hot Glue on the inside of the teeth/jaw will result in them staying firmly in place. Depending on the size of the Trophy I may use the correct amount of Cotton Wool as a filler, then the Silicone/Hot Glue.

The Coronettes (Rosen=base of the antler) should be free of Pine sap & needles, tree tar, gunk, bark, leaves and whatever else the animal may have used to Rub (another vote for the High Pressure Water Method). After that they're worked over with a complete set of Dental Picks that I obtain as "used" Tools from my Dentist.

Sounds to me like due to the lack of specification; the Taxidermist decided to include the entire skull. Yes, it could be cut again (with a very fine, high speed blade as you wish for use with a shield but difficult to obtain an exact cut without a jig. Additionally, I use a pair of side cutters to remove everything inside the skull leaving only the outer skull as a sorta "Shell". If this isn't done, there's always gonna be alot of Bits & Pieces working loose and you get the "snowflake" Syndrome.

We use 30% Hydrogen Peroxide to bleach and Brother, that is some powerfull stuff but the skull should be snow white without any fat residue and the Coronettes & Antlers clean but not bleached.

I do my own (and most of my hunting Buddy's as well) so probably 25-30 Trophies annually and am pretty picky (as you may gleen from this discourse) about the results. IMO there's no such thing as "additional costs" as it's either done according to Hoyle or a sub-standard Job but it's all a matter of personal taste & cleanliness. I've seen Guys get them back with a Bare-Bones (pun?) job and they're pleased, but not on my wall, Thank You.

Take 'em to a real taxidermist -- those are not "finished" at all. Should be on a shield/plaque ready to hang, if that's what you paid for already.