I shot these two Roe Bucks earlier this month:


Shot 1 May, 2013


Shot 10 May, 2013

Here is what they look like now:




Just have to add an oak shield and they're complete and ready for the new wall in Texas when I arrive in June.

Greetings from Germany

Hurry up and get home.

Looks great. I'm curious, why does it appear that you removed part of the skull on the one on the left side?

You're correct, we removed the upper jaw due to massive damage to the sinuses caused by a botfly infestation. The sinus bones had become brittle and in some portions, they were completely disintegrated.

The skull on the left is actually the traditional way to mount the roe deer skulls, the one on the right is done in the style of a larger stag. My partner who prepared these for me prefers to do them like the one on the right, but if you're going to attempt to score the skull for a medal, you should cut it as the one on the left.

Very cool.

Very nice! How long have you been in Germany? You've pretty much become a native!(seeing the way you write etc)

those are some good looking Roe mounts, the one the right is a big one, congrats.

For removing the skull , most around here leave or glue the teeth back into the skull and most are accustom to seeing them that way. I prefer the way yours are with the skull ground flat so it mounts flat to the plate. Have a couple elk mounted like the one on the right

Thanks, I have been here for 5 years, and unfortunately it comes to an end here in June with the closure of the Heidelberg Military Community. I'll be returning to Texas for a short period before beginning a new tour in South Korea. All things considered, I'd much rather stay in Germany than to go back to South Korea. There isn't any hunting there and although they have pheasant, boar and roe deer, the chance of me getting to hunt there is about as slim as it gets.

Thanks again, I think that I prefer them with the upper jaw intact and sanded above the teeth, but to get them to fit the shields correctly, sometimes you have to saw it off below the orbit of the eye and in line with the bridge of the nose. I think that when you leave the upper palate in place, it gives a more "aggressive" look to the mount.

The real key is using a belt sander to get a good flat base with which to attach the skull to the shield. This also helps with the brittle nasal bones. Some folks prefer to use a white construction adhesive to mount them, but I think a mounting bracket is best, especially in the event that I ever want to change the color or design of the shield.

These things are quite a bit smaller than an Elk- you can fit a good number of them on a trophy wall.

Elk do take up lots more space than Roe bucks for sure, I thought a Euro mount would be the best way to show off the broken pedical on this old bull, part of the broken bone had healed sicking through the skin

Very cool euro mounts. Thanks for sharing!

I definitely think that the game with abnormal racks are much more interesting to shoot than a typically developed deer. Did you do the work on that elk yourself or did you have it done at a taxi?

Had that one done at Black Dog taxi in Hamilton, but have since done deer and elk here at the house.

finished mine as well. (sorry for crappy pic) the nose ridge fell out because i boiled it a little too long, not a problem just needed to glue it back.

Nice spießer Mossberg, I try not to let them simmer more than 50 minutes in the pot. They tend to loosen the bones around the nose and or allow the upper palate to split. After that you'll have to wrap them with rope and glue them to get it back to normal.

Did you use any soap on the boil to de-grease the skull? We really let the peroxide do the work for us. We set it for three days and then we pick off the remaining cartilage or meat with a wire brush and needle nose pliers.

You can see how brittle the nasal bones are. It takes nothing at all to lose them.

So are these old roe deer or young? Looks like the meat would be very tender and delicious

We aged the deer in the grass at 3 years old, and the one in the bed of my truck at 5. The 3 year old have a bad botfly infestation and probably would not have survived the next winter, and the 5 yer old only had 1 or 2 more years ahead of him.

typically Roe do not live past 7 years. Their teeth wear down quickly, and if they are from a poor habitat, they wear out even faster. Where I hunted these two roe, the soil is a mix of sand and clay. This is very hard on the dentin in the teeth of the deer.

When we hunt in Germany, we used to use a harvest plan, but as of this year my Federal State did away with that, and now quotas are assigned by the forester. You used to try to shoot the atypical development, old or weak/inferior bucks and does. Normally you'll shoot spikes "Spiessers" or uneven 6 pointers (2 tines on one side and 3 on the other). We leave the forks and the 6ers alone, as they tend to have the better genetics.

Hunters used to start out as "jungjaegers" and were only allowed to shoot a fox in their first year. They progressed to pigs, nutria, badgers and then an inferior roe. You don't get to shoot a sixer until the lease holder is satisfied with your shot placement, and that you've put in a significant amount of work in the lease.

Very interesting. We are definitely spoiled with our hunting choices in Texas compared to Germany's system.