European Deer Mount Cost

Depending on the plaque you want to use, a European deer mount can cost between $100 and $250. This involves whitening and cleaning the skull. There are different cost details given depending on the specific item you want: a standard shoulder, a half body, or an antler mount.

Keep reading until the end so that you get the fine points on the price details in and around the mounts. Apart from the costs, you will also get to know how to do a European deer mount at home. On top of that, you will get a couple of ideas on how to display the skull in attractive ways. See your way through and to the end. Great reading!

More On Deer Mount Costs

If you’re getting yourself a (standard) shoulder deer mount, you should be ready to spend anything between $350 to $600. The cost changes depending on where you live, the size of the deer skull you want, and the taxidermist you choose to get it from. Note that the range can go higher than $600. If you’re looking for a half body mount, the cost will be anywhere around $650 and $1100. On the flip side, a full-body mount will cost you at least $1300, with the price going up to $2300 depending on the deer’s size. A head-only mount will be in the $250 – $450 range, while an antlers-only mount will cost you anywhere between $30 and $100. For example, the taxidermists of RN Taxidermy in Davison, Michigan, will charge you $1400 for a full-body, $705 for a half-body item, and $350 for a shoulder-only mount.

In some online forums (such as the Field and Stream one), most of the members there claimed to have paid something between $200 and $450 for a deer mount that came with the antlers and the hide.

If you would be interested in getting a deer mount that’s already been done and is not from one of your hunting expeditions, be prepared to spend anything between $350 and $1000. The spending is dependent on the size and type of deer. If you want to get a deer cape, the purchase could be worth at least $85 to as much as $225, all depending on the cape’s size. After making contact and viewing the website of a few taxidermists throughout the U. S., here are the findings presented to you in the form of a table:

The Specific State	Prices
	Head Mount	Head Mount (With The Date Detail On An Engraved Plate)	Shoulder-Only Mount	A Life-Size Deer Mount
Alabama	–		Between $300 and $400
Georgia	–	$425
Maine	$425
Minnesota	$465
New Jersey	–		$575	$2800
Pennsylvania	$450

When mounting the skull or the antlers, some of the common choices include oak, cedar, cypress, camo, walnut, mesquite, and weathered woods. The antler mounts can get done in various ways. To exemplify, the antlers can take the form of a light to be hung, and the lights will cost between $150 and $200, that is, for the (lighting) kit alone.

If you want your deer to get tanned, you will need to pay some extra cost of between $100 and $200. Tanning is the process of getting the skin darkened.

If you go for high-end plaques – the kinds that are made of walnut and solid oak and have customized nameplates – be prepared to dig deeper into your pockets. The wood quality tweaks the plaque’s prize. Due to advanced technology, some taxidermists can give you a simulation of a three-dimensional background showing a mounted head. Depending on the design’s complexity, you can get the illusion (or simulation) from a $100 going up. If the head mount is supposed to have a mouth pose, the price goes past $150.

You should be wary of cheap taxidermists. When you go shopping, do not fix your eyes and mind on the various price details. Instead, ask about the work they have done in the past. Ask them to provide samples and, if you can, have short mount-y conversations with previous customers. The best and most reliable way to get excellent reviews is by going online. If the taxidermists provide you with samples, pay close attention to the alignment of the eyelids and the hair together with the nostril details. You should ask yourself if everything looks natural.

If you want to win by saving yourself some money, you can consider doing the European deer mounting at your home. You can buy instruction kits online for as little as $15. What you should get done is to follow the instructions given on how to do the mounting. If you are purchasing a deer mount from a hunter who took the deer down, highly consider sites such as the local Craigslist ads or eBay.

To make this read good for what ails you, the next section will guide you on the DIY deer mounting steps.

Doing A European Deer Mounting At Your Home

As you have seen from the previous portion, there is so much to pay for, evento have antlers mounted. If you’re a hunter, you probably have a buck you took down lying behind the shed. This read will guide you on how to mount it instead of leaving the deer mount out with the other smaller racks you are not very proud of. Here is a tabulation of all the items that you may need:

Items For Doing The European Deer Mounting As A DIY
(Finished) wooden plaque	A saw (for cutting bones)	Two pairs of protective gloves
12 % Hydrogen peroxide cream	Board	Wire
A cardboard piece	One grabber screw (4-inch)	Skinning knife
A drill	Paintbrush	Some old clothes
A drill bit	Plastic wrap	Tape
A power washer	Pliers	Plastic wrap

Here are the steps you should take. They have been prepared in sections.

Section #1: Remove And Prepare The Head

1. Get the bone saw and use it to cut the neck of the deer. Ensure that you do the cut at the skull’s base so that you remove the head.

2. Get the sharp knife and skin the head.

3. Get the fleshy tissues (which are on the head) removed entirely. These include the brain, eyes, meat, and connective tissue.

Section #2: Getting The Skull Cleaned

1. Get the board and wire the skull onto it.

2. Since some tissue will be remaining on the skull, use the power washer to ensure it is removed. When you begin, set the power to low pressure. Then, increase the pressure gradually, making sure that the skull is not damaged, which is something you wouldn’t want.

3. Stop the pressuring intermittently and loosen up the stubborn tissue pieces using a wire brush. Then, continue cleaning the skull until the only thing that remains is a big and clean bone.

4. To remove excess grease and fat, take the skull and wash it with mild detergent.

Section #3: Getting The Skull Bleached

1. Get the antlers taped off so as to prevent them from getting charred by the bleach or bleaching agent.

2. Wear the old clothes and don the protective gloves.

3. Place the deer skull on a cardboard piece. Then, take up a brush and use it to paint the 12% hydrogen peroxide cream liberally all over the deer’s head.

4. Get the skull wrapped in plastic so that you improve the absorption.

5. Let the European deer mount skull sit for between 24 and 48 hours. You should follow that up by removing the wrapping you had used in the previous step. Follow that up by spraying the skull to wash away any residual hydrogen peroxide.

 6. Repeat all the steps from 8 to 12 as required until the deer’s skull achieves your desired whiteness level.

Section #4: Getting The Skull Mounted

1. Use the drill and the drill bit to create a hole in the deer’s skull’s underside. Ensure that the drilling happens on the solid bone piece that is surrounding the brain cavity.

2. Take your mounting plaque and drill a sizeable hole in it and through the location you desire. Ensure that the hole is at the center of the plaque since that’s where the skull will be mounted.

3. Line the skull’s hole with the one made on the plaque. Holding the skull firmly, get a crew drilled through the plaque’s back in the hole you created in the deer’s skull. You should have done a great job.

Word Of Caution:  Since hydrogen peroxide is potent, you should take the necessary precautionary measures to ensure that you don’t ingest it.

European Deer Mount 101: Ideas For Display

If you’re on the lookout for some mounting ideas for your European deer mount, this is the read for you. This article will describe and take you through a few creative ideas you can use to display your dear mount. This will be the source of great inspiration, and at the end of the day, you will be spoilt for choice.

But before we make any forward-moving steps, we need to get all the basics out of the way. Typically, any European deer mount should be hung on the wall using a screw or nail. If it’s a nail, it will go through the occipital foramen, which is usually at the head’s back. If you don’t want to go the typical way, you can display the mount on a counter or desk. Depending on the antlers’ size and configuration, the skull will either sit upright or not. If the balance is not achieved, you may want to attach it to a plaque or add weight to its bottom.

Let’s focus on plaques since they are the simplest way of getting your skull mount dressed up for display. You can purchase them in a ton of sizes, shapes, and types of wood. Together with skull hangers, they will give you the freedom to display your skull mount in varied positions. Apart from that, your mount will be kept safely and securely.

If you need to step things up a level higher, the display can get more interesting if you have angle freedom; that is, you can adjust the angle the skull is sitting at. It would be best to buy the adjustable skull hangers to make it easy for you to turn the mount side by side and left and right.

Now, let us go through the specific ideas of displaying the European deer mount that should make the items look beautiful, powerful, impressive, and awfully irresistible.

1. Hydro Dipping Or Film Dipping

If you want to be smart and creative about displaying your robust European deer mount, hydro film dipping is something you should consider. While it may seem complicated to execute, the dipping can effectively be taken up as a DIY. This is because they are available kits online, and YouTube indeed has good tutorials on doing it. If you don’t want to do the dipping business, you can buy a skull kit that has already been hydro dipped. When you do, ensure that the pattern is the one you like. This film (hydro) dipping idea is brilliant as it makes your skull look powerful. To get the job done well, you can pay a professional.

2. Creating A Natural Scene For The Mount

If you didn’t buy the mount at a taxidermist, there is an excellent chance that you found the item in its natural environment, that is, out in the wild. So, is there any better way to show the mount off than recreating the place in which the deer lived? To get this done well, you may want to talk to your local taxidermist. If you go by this option, you will see that it is a cool thing to take up.

3. Painting The Mount

Get everything you need – spray can, airbrushes, bottles, and tubes of paint and paint the skull. Taking up this display idea assumes that the deer skull is a blank canvas that you can use to express all your creativity. If the deer skull is to be mounted onto a wall in one of your rooms, it would be a super nice thing if you matched the color schemes that you already have. If you choose a picture for painting, you can use the inspiration from the buck itself. As you go about your painting business, you need to ensure that the skull has been dried, degreased, and properly cleaned. Before you start with the paint job, ensure that it is sealed. When you’re done painting, use lacquers or acrylics and also make a sealer application.

4. Get The Deer Skull Mount Lighted Up

Try and picture this – your deer skull mount having lights inside or under it. Indeed, it will be a super cool look. As you get the LED light kit, ensure that the setup includes a wireless, battery-powered design. This is ideal because you won’t be having a hanging cord to deal with.

5. Get The Skull Mount Decorated With Colored Beads

This very-cool mount display idea will need you to get colored beads on your skull in patterns. This option is a great one since glue and beads are cheap, and the possibilities of designing are endless.

6. Carving The Deer Skulls

If there is one thing that is a unique form of art, then it is skull carving. It will let you express yourself to the fullest. It goes without saying that getting the deer skulls carved is a brilliant idea, and the skulls will turn out amazingly.

So, whether you hang your skull on the wall (like most skull owners do) or go all-in and start painting or carving your skull, there are a ton of excellent mount ideas you can consider for the next mounting. I hope all the ideas captured here will create a magnificent look for your European deer mount.