B2 Outdoors Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, October 17, 2018 S HOOTING THE B REEZE European memories By Rod Carpenter For the Blue Mountain Eagle H opefully, as you read these lines, you will be reliving the mem- ories of a successful hunting season this fall. Now you are looking at those hard earned antlers and wondering what to do with them. Don’t have the wall space or the pennies for a mount? With a little time and elbow grease you can create a European mount to display your trophy. To Rod Carpenter clarify, a European mount is the antlers attached to the The brain has lots of fat and bleached skull and, to my grease that can mess up the eye, looks very good. final product. Begin by skinning out the Once the brain has been skull. You don’t need to be removed, put the skull in a very careful about getting all pot and pour in enough wa- the meat off of the skull at ter to just cover the skull and this point. Then using a bent boil it for about an hour. I wire you need to remove the recommend you do this out- brain through the big hole side as it has a certain odor. at the base of the skull. It Don’t leave it in there for is very important that you hours on end; the bones of do this before moving on. the skull will begin to sepa- rate. Some folks like to add a half cup or so of OxyClean or a squirt of dish soap to the water while it boils to brighten the skull. Try not to have the water over the base of the antlers as it will bleach out the color. If that does happen, it isn’t the end of the world. After you are finished with the mount a light coat of stain can restore the color. Then comes the tedious part: Using a thin-bladed knife, scrape all of the meat off of the skull. This can take a while as you need to get in all the nooks and crannies. A wire with a hook in the end helps. Inside the nose are some very fragile bones. Some guys just ram a screwdriver up there and scrape them all out; others carefully clean the nose to preserve them — depends on how OCD you are, I guess. High-pressure spray from a hose can help blast out tissue in hard to reach places. Once you are satisfied, the last step is to whiten the skull. You will need some 40 percent by volume hydrogen peroxide. It is inexpensive, but I can’t find any around here and order mine online. Wearing rubber gloves, carefully coat the skull in the peroxide, making sure not to get any on the antlers. Let it sit for 24-48 hours, rinse and repeat until you achieve your desired level of brightness. The finished product is an inexpensive, classy way to preserve the memories of a great hunt. Please drop us a line at shootingthebreezebme@ gmail.com with your ques- tions, comments, or sugges- tions for future articles. Rod Carpenter is an avid sportsman, certified regis- tered nurse anesthetist and president of the Bear Creek Shooting Range. Contributed photo A European mount. week 6 of 13 • IT’S EASY • IT’S FREE ® 15. Texans vs Jaguars Broasted Chicken, Pizza & Burgers Congratulations to this weeks winner Jason Dole with 12 correct picks! With Jay and Leif hot on your tail you were still able to score! GOOD LUCK NEXT WEEK! Open 7 days a week 11am - 9pm 11. Bills vs Colts 541-575-1970 2. Grant Union vs Heppner 5. Oregon vs Washington State 8. Michigan vs Michigan State We’re here when you need us! 120 E. Main, John Day • (541) 575-0629 www.lensdrug.com Game Advertiser Winner No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 No. 5 No. 6 No. 7 No. 8 No. 9 No. 10 No. 11 No. 12 No. 13 No. 14 No. 15 Tie Breaker Score m’ Hardware 652 W. Main, John Day Best Pizza in Grant County Prairie City 541-820-4544 Wed-Sun 4pm-9pm 12. Vikings vs Jets Y OUR H OOK UP FOR E LECTRONICS For all your automotive needs! Baked Goodies $2.00 and up OFFICIAL ENTRY FORM Phone The helpful place. OXBOW RESTAURANT & SALOON 551 W Main St., John Day, OR. 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