Antelope skulls

MSUcat61

Active Member
Apr 7, 2011
247
0
ABQ, NM
I have the horn sheaths from a buck I got a few years ago but a dog ran off with the skull. I was wondering if I were to ever fill a doe tag, if I could just clean up the skull and attach the sheaths to the doe skull. I've never taken a doe so I don't really have a good idea of how much bone they have sticking up from their little horns, or if they even have any bone sticking up at all.
 

hardstalk

Veteran member
Sep 13, 2011
1,550
43
vegas
Id imagine you could build up some bondo on a does nubs and get a pretty secure fit. Ive got a doe tag this season so ill see what they have under there and if its doable.
 

Ikeepitcold

Administrator
Staff member
Feb 22, 2011
9,885
1,461
Reno Nv
They do but it's very small. You do know the black patches on the side of a buck is not present on a doe wich is the most distinctive way to tell a doe from a buck other then horns? Not that you can't do it just that folks would know your buck horns are on a doe. I will also say that I have seen does with some big horn before.
 

MSUcat61

Active Member
Apr 7, 2011
247
0
ABQ, NM
They do but it's very small. You do know the black patches on the side of a buck is not present on a doe wich is the most distinctive way to tell a doe from a buck other then horns? Not that you can't do it just that folks would know your buck horns are on a doe. I will also say that I have seen does with some big horn before.
It wouldn't be a shoulder mount with the hide. I'm talking about a way to do a European mount. Or for that matter any ideas on how to display my horns without a skull would be helpful too.
 

Ikeepitcold

Administrator
Staff member
Feb 22, 2011
9,885
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Reno Nv
It wouldn't be a shoulder mount with the hide. I'm talking about a way to do a European mount. Or for that matter any ideas on how to display my horns without a skull would be helpful too.
Maybe they make a plastic skull like they do for deer you can mount them on. I know my taxi has a crap load of skulls without the leaves on them. I'll find out if they are available for you to purchase or if they are available in plastic you can order.
 

ssliger

Very Active Member
Mar 9, 2011
900
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Laramie WY
There is a guy in Rock Springs WY that makes skulls for European mounts ill post his info when I get off work.
 

HiMtnHnter

Active Member
Sep 28, 2012
445
4
Wyoming
There is a guy in Rock Springs WY that makes skulls for European mounts ill post his info when I get off work.
If you shot a bigger doe it would be possible to make some mounts for horns by using bolts through the underside of the hole and epoxy or bondo.
 

AT Hiker

Very Active Member
Aug 2, 2012
638
0
Tennessee
I would suggest a reproduction skull, a quality one will run you about $50-$75 (from a supplier if you do all the work yourself, not including plaque either) and will last multiple lifetimes, plus they do not stink and you do not have to worry about cleaning them.

Here is one I just did for a customer.

IMG_0728.jpg
 

Umpqua Hunter

Veteran member
May 26, 2011
3,568
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59
North Umpqua, Oregon
If you are looking for an excellent reproduction skull, I would contact taxidermist Danny Benson in Klamath Falls, Oregon (541) 891-7882. He does amazing work. You can get the skulls in either white or bronzed.

http://www.bensontaxidermy.com/skullwork.html

Here is a pic of his antelope skull in bronze. Unfortunately I don't have a pic of the white skull. This pic gives you an idea of the nasal cavity detail and the teeth detail.



Here's our story. In 2008, my son shot a desert sheep and planned to do a European mount. He sold the life sized cape and left the head and horns at a taxidermist in Arizona. The summer of 2012, after 3.5 years of waiting we got his mount back and the skull was cut off and was leather wrapped. Besides that the taxidermist did not package it well and it was damaged in shipping. I spent weeks running down leads on who did the best reproduction skulls. Most sheep skulls I found were half skulls with the teeth "sawn" off since they don't want to mess with the nasal cavity and teeth detail. Numerous leads off of another outdoor forum lead me to Danny Benson and he had done a full antelope skull. As I talked with Danny, he said he could not find reproduction skulls with the quality he was looking for for his own work, so he had begun to do his own skull reproduction work. The antelope was one of his first. I talked to him about redoing my son's sheep. He said he was looking for the next skull reproduction he wanted to do and took the project on. He secured a sheep skull from fish and game and used that for the pattern. In only a few months he had done a skull reproduction, repaired the broken horn and remounted my son's sheep.

Here are the pics of my son's sheep before and after.



 
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Doe Nob

Very Active Member
Feb 21, 2011
565
0
Houston, TX
I've got a fair sized buck skull I picked up in South Dakota, but the nose has been chewed on by mice. Shoot me a pm if your interested, you pay shipping, you can have it.

 

MSUcat61

Active Member
Apr 7, 2011
247
0
ABQ, NM
Thanks for the input fellas. Some of those reproduction are far better than I could have imagined. Really impressive. I figured they'd look real blocky and fake. Those have some great detail. UH, the job on your son's sheep is unreal!

And thanks Doe Nob, but I'll pass on the skull. I think somewhere down the line I'll try to jimmy rig my horns onto a doe skull. It's not a super impressive buck, but he has some pretty cool "hay hooks," so just finding a way to hang 'em up at some point is all I really want. Plus, it gives me an excuse to get a doe tag at some point.
 

MWScott72

Active Member
Jan 27, 2012
220
0
West Jordan, UT
If you are looking for an excellent reproduction skull, I would contact taxidermist Danny Benson in Klamath Falls, Oregon (541) 891-7882. He does amazing work. You can get the skulls in either white or bronzed.

http://www.bensontaxidermy.com/skullwork.html

Here is a pic of his antelope skull in bronze. Unfortunately I don't have a pic of the white skull. This pic gives you an idea of the nasal cavity detail and the teeth detail.



Here's our story. In 2008, my son shot a desert sheep and planned to do a European mount. He sold the life sized cape and left the head and horns at a taxidermist in Arizona. The summer of 2012, after 3.5 years of waiting we got his mount back and the skull was cut off and was leather wrapped. Besides that the taxidermist did not package it well and it was damaged in shipping. I spent weeks running down leads on who did the best reproduction skulls. Most sheep skulls I found were half skulls with the teeth "sawn" off since they don't want to mess with the nasal cavity and teeth detail. Numerous leads off of another outdoor forum lead me to Danny Benson and he had done a full antelope skull. As I talked with Danny, he said he could not find reproduction skulls with the quality he was looking for for his own work, so he had begun to do his own skull reproduction work. The antelope was one of his first. I talked to him about redoing my son's sheep. He said he was looking for the next skull reproduction he wanted to do and took the project on. He secured a sheep skull from fish and game and used that for the pattern. In only a few months he had done a skull reproduction, repaired the broken horn and remounted my son's sheep.

Here are the pics of my son's sheep before and after.



UH - I'm assuming that the taxidermist in question, never got any referrals from you. Wow, 3.5 years for a skull plate mount when a European is what was asked for, and then to top it off, broken horns in transit because he didn't package it right. If it had been my sheep (still one of those animals on the bucket list), I think I would have broke down and cried! The reproduction looks fantastic though. I'm glad Danny was able to piece everything together for your son.