10/1 Buck

Wildlifer

Old Mossy Horns
Starting a separate thread to add a few better pics and share some findings. This buck has been on camera for 2 weeks now and I used that information to decide how to hunt him. In the thread that asked about what time to go in, I answered with I let the deer decide that. He didn't have an exact schedule but occasional mornings, early afternoons/ evenings were pretty common. That info means an all day sit in order not to risk bumping him. I also used the camera to figure out what direction he was coming from and what wind to hunt. Thursday was the only day with a south wind for awhile which is what I needed. I believe that in order to have productive spots you need to pick the times you are in there carefully or the deer quickly figure you out and change their pattern. This took me awhile to actually follow. I was the forever optimist that they could show up at any time and I at least have a chance if I'm in the stand.
There's been some discussion about peeing from the stand. In 10 hours I had to pee several time and did so off the front of the stand. The buck walked almost right under me and didn't seem to notice at all. Its anecdotal evidence but I have yet to see one spook at a pee site.
Arrow flight and obstacles in your flight path is something everyone should understand. This buck gave me an excellent hard quartering away shot however there was a small tree between me and him with the tip of a branch and some leaves covering the exact spot I was aiming. Since the tree was pretty close to me 10ish yards and the buck was around 20 the arrow flight path was actually going to go over the small limb. It was only just going to clear it but that's all I needed. The same holds true in longer shots. If you have a buck at 40 and you put your pin on him but there is a branch in the way 20 yards away all you need to do is make sure your 20yds pin is not on that branch and you'll clear it to make the shot.
Lastly this buck was in great body condition, the best I have seen in some time especially for this early in the season. In the wildlife management world body condition is measured by kidney fat and he had ample. The pic below shows a completely encased kidney with more to spare.
Some of this info may not be new to some but we have had a lot of new guys recently so I hope it helps someone out.
 

Wildlifer

Old Mossy Horns
Awesome. What do you do for the Euro Mount?
I messed it up a little bit by letting it boil and not simmer so some of the delicate parts broke a little and I had to glue the nose back together.
Step by Step
-Skin and clean the skull to the best of your ability
-In a turkey frying pot bring water to a simmer with some dawn detergent added to just cover the skull. I leave the bottom jaw attached and simmer until it falls off.
-Remove the skull and clean it again, a brush and a jet nozzle on a hose works pretty well.
-Change out the water and repeat the simmer and clean, maybe an hour more just depends how things look. At this point I use and air compressor to blow out the brain, nasal, and nerve cavities.
-Once everything is clean and degreased its time for the bleaching. A side note is that a lot of people with say you need to do more to degrease it like soak it in solvent or detergent for a week. I've found that multiple simmers with dawn plus how I bleach takes care of it.
-Bring the water back to a simmer with dawn and I add 32oz of 32% peroxide and simmer for an hour or 2. 32% peroxide is industrial strength that I get from work. At that percentage any residual organic matter including oil is broken down. For reference the 40 volume developer that people bleach with is only 12% peroxide. The one downside is that since its in the pot simmering any part of the antlers that are in the solution with be bleached out. I just restain this area with coffee.
-I give it a good rinse and soak in water to neutralize any residual peroxide.
-On this particular skull I went a little overboard on the peroxide and it just started to work on the bone so I let it dry for a week and hit it with Polyacrylic to seal it all up.

Im happy to help if you ever want to do one and use some real peroxide.
 

oldest school

Old Mossy Horns
Like I said the day you killed, all day sits early in the season are a remarkable disciplined approach.
Very glad it worked for you.
IMO you earned/deserved that one.
 
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