I said that my first buck, I’m going to mount the antlers. I didn’t care what they looked like, it was the distinction of being the first. I’m not really one for dead animals as decor, but sometimes it can have its place (e.g. a mountain cabin setting, sure). And here, some animals of distinction, like my first buck, sure… that’s a keeper.

Finally Cabela’s got these Van Dyke’s buck horn mounting kits in. It’s not the highest quality thing, but it’s Good Enough™ especially for my first. Instructions seem straightforward enough, but it does look like you need a little creativity and to be a little handy with things.

With Wife out of the house for the evening, I commandeered the kitchen and began to prep the antlers. That means boiling the skull cap. Oh lord what a smell! 😯  It’s not the worst thing in the world, but it’s still not pleasant. Been boiling and trimming off the fleshy bits. Presently the skull cap is about as clean as I can get it, and is dusted with borax and sitting in the garage. I’ll see how it looks in the morning.

Hopefully this will turn out OK and look good in my office. Yes office, because Wife has put her foot down about no dead animals on the walls in the house. She grew up with dead animals as decor, and now that this is her own house with her own decorating style, no dead animals except in my areas (office, garage, etc.). Fair enough. 🙂

I’ll post pictures whenever it’s done.