# Bear Skull



## Staygold (Sep 13, 2018)

I killed a 325# sow opening morning of 2016. I put in a call to DNR to find out some info on her as far as age and what not. Hope to hear back tomorrow. She had the shortest legs on a bear that I've ever seen, bet her belly drug the ground. Beautiful coat! Got the rug back a while ago. I still have the skull in the freezer. Reading the Bear Forums last few days has got me thinking. Any suggestions on what to do? Anyone tried to DIY euro a bear skull?


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## goshenmountainman (Sep 13, 2018)

I have done a bunch of deer and a couple bear, if you watch how on youtube it is real easy. Just go to sally beauty supply and buy some 40 volume liquid bleach and after you have boiled it in water and dawn dishwashing liquid, take it out and pressure wash the meat of the bone being careful not to blow out teeth. If you loose teeth super glue them back in. After you have all the meat off, fill up a boiler with 3/4 hair bleach and 1/4 water and simmer for about 30-45 minutes, turn off and leave skull sitting in the mixture till it is room temperature. Take out and let air dry, then take a paint brush and brush entire skull inside and out with mop and glo... will look beautiful. Make sure to cover the skull completely with water when boiling and with bleach when you simmer it, the bleach is activated when it gets hot just simmer and when it starts to boil turn down a little so it just barely moves the water.


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## jp94 (Sep 14, 2018)

I have several euro bear skulls.  I have had them done by boiling, beetles, and maceration.  Between the three methods beetles and maceration I think give the best results and are the safest, but they are a lot slower.  I have seen some that were boiled to long an became very soft and separated at the growth plates. I think a lot DIYers go the boiling route and get great results when doing it, I would just be cautious.  Good luck.


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## twincedargap (Sep 14, 2018)

personally, its such a hard earned trophy, why not drop $100 and let a pro do it! besides, mine was ready a days later.  I'd have spent a whole day tending a pot.


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## goshenmountainman (Sep 14, 2018)

First bear skull I had done was 100, I had a deer done two years ago by the same taxi and it cost me 175, thats why I do them all myself. And the ones I done are better than the ones I had did by the taxi. Snow white on the ones I did and more of a yellow white for the beetle cleaned skulls.


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## Tio Hey Seuss (Sep 14, 2018)

I have done a couple by boiling with dish soap and sodium bicarbonate and I'm happy with them but the beatles are definitely better because boiling will damage delicate structures like the nasal cavity. You're gonna pay at least $100 for a colony of them though so you might be better off paying someone else unless you plan to do multiple skulls. Plus, you have to keep the bugs in a climate controlled environment because they will grow wings and fly off if it's much warmer than 70ish. Still can't talk my wife into letting me keep a tub of flesh eating beatles in the house


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## Tio Hey Seuss (Sep 14, 2018)

Almost forgot, I've been told that whitening with peroxide is better than bleach


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## Staygold (Sep 14, 2018)

I've been reading/watching videos about ways to do it. I'm still on the fence about whether to DIY or pay my taxi to do it. He's done a couple of deer for me over the years and did my rug from this bear.


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## goshenmountainman (Sep 14, 2018)

Tio Hey Seuss said:


> Almost forgot, I've been told that whitening with peroxide is better than bleach


I called it bleach but its 40 volume peroxide, my wife is a beautician and I am used to hearing it called bleach.


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## Bruin (Sep 14, 2018)

The ones that I have boiled have issue with tooth enamel cracking over time. I made a crate that sits outside so they can decompose over time naturally. It keeps big critters out, but lets the bugs in. I would recommend trimming all the meat off first if you go that route.


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## C.Killmaster (Sep 16, 2018)

The trick is not to overcook them, just simmer them for 20 minutes then pressure wash.  Put back in the simmering water for 5 minutes at a time and pressure wash each time until it's clean.  I've done gator skulls like this and the bone sutures all hold together and none of the teeth fall out.

You don't need to boil in peroxide, just brush it on and rinse off after 45 minutes (if you're using the 40% hair developer).  A day or two if submerged in the regular brown bottle peroxide, then leave it in the sun for a couple of days.


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## goshenmountainman (Sep 16, 2018)

I don't boil in developer just simmer for about twenty minutes then I leave it sitting till cooled off. I have left them over night, heat activates developer and causes it to work faster. I rinse it off, let it air dry for about a day, then coat with mop and glo. No need to sit in sun, it is completely done after the mop and glo.


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## Staygold (Sep 17, 2018)

I appreciate all the advice! Will simmering the skull in my large pot ruin the pot?


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## twincedargap (Sep 17, 2018)

Depends on if wifey finds out!


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## Staygold (Sep 17, 2018)

I do all the cooking at my house, so she won't care either way. I use the pot for large batches of tomato basil soup and boiled peanuts. Just thinking if I dive into this adventure, I may want a dedicated pot for skulls.


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## twincedargap (Sep 17, 2018)

The pot I used for boiling / simmering had a really nasty boil line on it that didn’t want to wash off. I decided then it was dedicated to skulls only.


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## Staygold (Sep 17, 2018)

10-4, Thanks! 

I just talked to DNR and this bear was 6 years old. He couldn't find any information about how many litters she had. I felt like she was mature. Her ears were spread wide on her head as you can and her legs seemed oddly short. Definitely need to do something with the skull.


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## Dana Young (Sep 28, 2018)

just skin it out and trim all the meat you can off then boil lightly and scrape the rest off you can either bleach it in the sun or paint it white it will make a great conversation piece.


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## Staygold (Oct 24, 2018)

Final product, aside from the bullet hole and broken pieces from the shot, it turned out pretty nice. Great learning experience!


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## cohuttahunter (Oct 24, 2018)

Looks good!


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## Joe Brandon (Oct 24, 2018)

Still can't talk my wife into letting me keep a tub of flesh eating beatles in the house [/QUOTE
Hahaha! I now know what you mean!!! The piper has to be paid daily lol!


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## Rabun (Oct 25, 2018)

Man that looks good...Nice job!  She sure enough had a set of teeth on her.


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## j_seph (Oct 26, 2018)

That gal sure does have some short legs


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## Killer Kyle (Nov 11, 2018)

You did a great job Staygold! Doing a skull is so easy that I could never justify dropping $100.00 on one when I can do it for about $10.00 myself. All it requires is a little work. I'd rather get a fine Euro mount for a little work at $10.00 personal cost than with no work at a $100.00 taxidermist cost. I don't have $90.00 to burn like that.
Not sure what method you used, but to educate yourself further, you should go to Youtube and search for a channel called "Whitebone Creations".

This man is the pro of all pros. He does skull mounts and only skull mounts. He will forget more about making skull mounts than 100 taxidermists will learn in a career.
He will make you a pro in a day or two.
His videos are some of the most educational and enjoyable videos I have ever seen on YouTube because he is so laid back, and explains everything he does in the most simple way. Everybody reading this should go now and look him up!
The simplified process is like such:
Remove everything that you can before hand. Fat, skin, sinew, cartilage, and meat. Also, scramble the brains. Boil a half hour in Oxiclean which is a good degreaser, wash or scrape away everything you can. Continue to boil in short increments (like C. Killmaster said) and proceed in washing or scraping away. You can use long fishing forceps or extra long needle nose pliars to remove ALL of the cartilage in the nasal cavity. Repeat until skull is clean. Every cavity, nook, and cranny must be clean (including the brain cavity).
Once the skull is clean, let it dry for a while. Make sure to collect teeth that might have been lost in the boiling process. You can glue them in at the end.
You can boil the skull in a solution of LIQUID peroxide (40%) for about 10 mins. The solution should be 1 part liquid peroxide (40%) and one part water. You can store this solution and re-use it 20-40 times. A one gallon jug costs about $23.00. Buy two jugs at about $46.00, and this should make you about 30-40 skulls that end up brighter and whiter than computer paper. You can re-use it about 30-40 times.
The total peroxide cost per euro skull mount comes out to be about $1.75 per skull. I'd call that dirt freaking cheap!
After the one or two whitening boils, just glue back in teeth that fell out with super glue and brush with mop-n-glo to seal the pores against settling dust.

I am a blue collar man and just don't have a $100.00 bill that I can just throw at a taxidermist. I don't have that kind of money. $100.00 to me means one week of gas and groceries, so that's why I spend the $10.00 to do it myself.
Once you learn the process and have the equipment, you can make the finest euro mount for less than $10.00.
Youtube is your best friend and it will save you hundreds if not thousands on euro mounts in your lifetime.


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## Staygold (Nov 14, 2018)

Good advice there! I actually watched his youtube video several times before I started and followed his steps. It wasn't too bad. The jaw bone and teeth falling out scared me for a minute, but after it was all cleaned up and elmer glued it back together it turned out great!


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