Hunting & Fishing How do you clean a hog skull?

[Burning sensation]

The heat has arrived, which means my busiest part of the year for hog hunting is over. My success rate is going down for now, and I most likely will not see another big boar until next year. I’m taking more time to clean up some of the skulls I kept that I didn’t yet have time to work on, and I’m looking for ideas from guys on the Hide that clean skulls themselves. I’ve read about masceration, cooking, and I’ve considered a colony of dermestid beatles. My current process is as follows:
1. Skin the head, remove the tongue, cheek meat, and any other chunks I can cut away quickly.
2. Simmer at about 180F for an hour, cut the heat and let it sit for an hour or so. The wife would kill me if she knew I used the same pot I fry turkeys in.
3. Pull off all the meat I can by hand, with forceps, and water hose & nozzle, and removed the brains.
4. Soak the skull in a bucket of water with Dawn dish soap for a week. Every day or 2 I take a few minutes to dump the water, remove little bits with a dental pick, spray with the hose & nozzle, re-fill with fresh soapy water.
5. Set the skull in the sun for a couple hour to dry.
6. Soak in mineral spirits for 3-4 weeks to degrease.
7. Set the skull out for a week or so to evaporate the mineral spirits.
8. Glue the teeth back in, and display.

This takes a couple hours of work total, and gives me a clean skull that is not white , but has a natural bone coloring. The picture shows a few from my collection. I may try brushing on peroxide to whiten this year. Maybe not. I’m interested to know how others clean their skulls, and may incorporate other methods into my process.

 

[jolofree]

Those look good. The natural bone looks better than bleached super white.
I boil all day w/ 20 mule team borax & use a high pressure air nozzle and a power washer.
Head shot on the near one ?

 

[Alabusa]

A power washer works well to help remove the flesh from bone.

 

[Burning sensation]

Those look good. The natural bone looks better than bleached super white.
I boil all day w/ 20 mule team borax & use a high pressure air nozzle and a power washer.
Head shot on the near one ?

I have not heard of boiling in borax. I’ll have to try it, thanks.
I’ve considered a power washer. How do you keep from loosing teeth? I occasionally loose small ones as it is.
Yep, I thought he was a smaller one I had hanging around. Had to glue him back together.

 

[isofahunter]

Boil & Borax and power washer. Or bury the head and let nature do her work.

 

[Raffy]

Maggots or something gross is what the taxidemist used for my elk I had mounted. He said they work really well.

 

[OG10]

I jut skin them blast off as much meat brains soft tissue and then soak the in Rid-X septic additive 2 week soak hose off the residue then one more 2 week soak then the final rinse. The last step is sit them in the sun in July or August . Once they are dried out im done ready to hang on a wall.I don't do hogs, but have done deer and antelope.Super easy.I don't see why hogs would be much different, just another way to skin a cat .

 

[Punkur67]

Had one done with beetles this year

 

[Raffy]

I dont have hogs where I live. Are you guys eating them? If so are they good?

 

[isofahunter]

^^^yes and yes. I stick with younger ones and let nature feed on the older ones.

 

[Burning sensation]

When I’m low on venison and get a young female I take the hams, shoulders, and back straps. If the skull is worth keeping, the meat is tough and tastes terrible.

 

[Boltyboi]

We always just chain em up so a critter cant run off with it, and stake that down next to an ant colony.

 

[OG10]

Oh I almost forgot if you have any skuls that have a funky odor you can use the Borax soak it will illuminate odors and stench we used to use it when we cured rattlesnake hides back in the day .

 

[TxWelder35]

I’m going to to suggest the easiest but longest way.

dig a 12” hole in the ground. Insert head. Bury it. Forget about it for a good long while. Dig it up when you remember 6 months later

 

[earthtrekker1775]

I am saving this thread for later! Those skulls look very nice. I drew elk tags this year in Oregon. I prefer the idea of a clean skull with (or without) antlers than a full mount.

 

[Burning sensation]

I’m going to to suggest the easiest but longest way.

dig a 12” hole in the ground. Insert head. Bury it. Forget about it for a good long while. Dig it up when you remember 6 months later

I could see that working. Where I live a hole big enough to cover a hog head is not an easy task.

 

[Sniperwannabee]

Bury it or Throw it in a lake and forget about it for a while, I think small hogs taste better than deer

 

[niteshooter]

I quit burying heads or using anthills because the hide and hair still remained some. And the ants carry all that dirt up into the cracks and crevices and never could quite get it all out. Blackland clay so there was tiny black specks all in it.

I just sawzall the bottom jaw off behind the cutters. Fillet the hide part off and soak the jaw part in a little pail of bleach over night. Eats all the gums, gristle off. Just don’t over soak it or the bone gets real flaky.

 

[86alaskan]

for overall ease of operation, I like to cut off everything I can, then cover with water and put it in a shady spot for a while. let it all rot off, it'll end up super clean. the only part that doesn't dissolve is the bone. then a good rinse, soak in a bucket of oxiclean/water set in the sun so it warms nicely. after about a week I'll get it out, rinse it real good and set in the sun for another week or so and it'll be clean and nicely whitened. the oxiclean works to de-grease and de-smell pretty well.

 

[Painless300]

Throw it on a large fire ant bed.

 

[Burning sensation]

I quit burying heads or using anthills because the hide and hair still remained some. And the ants carry all that dirt up into the cracks and crevices and never could quite get it all out. Blackland clay so there was tiny black specks all in it.

I just sawzall the bottom jaw off behind the cutters. Fillet the hide part off and soak the jaw part in a little pail of bleach over night. Eats all the gums, gristle off. Just don’t over soak it or the bone gets real flaky.

My experience from when burying was a feasible option for me matched your results. I never was able to get the dirt out of the pores & cracks.

 

[Burning sensation]

for overall ease of operation, I like to cut off everything I can, then cover with water and put it in a shady spot for a while. let it all rot off, it'll end up super clean. the only part that doesn't dissolve is the bone. then a good rinse, soak in a bucket of oxiclean/water set in the sun so it warms nicely. after about a week I'll get it out, rinse it real good and set in the sun for another week or so and it'll be clean and nicely whitened. the oxiclean works to de-grease and de-smell pretty well.

I’m going to steal your Oxiclean idea. That should be a good bit cheaper than buying buckets of mineral spirits.

 

[niteshooter]

Here’s what not to do.
Don’t put hogs head in a black cow feed molasses tub with holes drilled in it for the bugs to come, with lid taped on so scavengers can’t steal it.

Let it sit way out in the pasture for 3 months.
The bugs did thier work.
But, sealed up with poor air flow in the dark the greasiness has stained the bone yellow and the smell had soaked into the bone and wouldn’t come out.
Not even after soaking in store bought peroxide. Not with bleach. Not with the powder peroxide from a skull bleaching kit and boiling following said kit directions.
Still yellow and smelled funky. Not as bad, but enough you wouldn’t want it in the house, garage, shop etc.
Pulled the lower teeth to save and shitcanned the whole project. This was several years ago btw.

 

[diggler1833]

Much more professional than my work. I let the varmints clean it up...and if I find the skull later I'll leave it out until everything is clean. Then I spray it with off white paint and hang in my shop.

I lose about 30-40 percent of my skills, but thankfully no shortage of pigs.

 

[300 grainpill]

Skin simmer in salty water with dawn then power wash

 

[Burning sensation]

Much more professional than my work. I let the varmints clean it up...and if I find the skull later I'll leave it out until everything is clean. Then I spray it with off white paint and hang in my shop.

I lose about 30-40 percent of my skills, but thankfully no shortage of pigs.

You shoot some big hogs, I would definitely clean some of them. The one in your picture is impressive.
30-40% lost is not bad. Of all the hogs I’ve left in the sticks I’ve never found a complete skull.
I pretty much only keep and clean the 4+ year old boars, that’s only been 5 this year. Occasionally I keep a younger one if it’s a memorable hunt (my 1st with a bow, the first one I called in, etc.).

 

[338dude]

The heat has arrived, which means my busiest part of the year for hog hunting is over. My success rate is going down for now, and I most likely will not see another big boar until next year. I’m taking more time to clean up some of the skulls I kept that I didn’t yet have time to work on, and I’m looking for ideas from guys on the Hide that clean skulls themselves. I’ve read about masceration, cooking, and I’ve considered a colony of dermestid beatles. My current process is as follows:
1. Skin the head, remove the tongue, cheek meat, and any other chunks I can cut away quickly.
2. Simmer at about 180F for an hour, cut the heat and let it sit for an hour or so. The wife would kill me if she knew I used the same pot I fry turkeys in.
3. Pull off all the meat I can by hand, with forceps, and water hose & nozzle, and removed the brains.
4. Soak the skull in a bucket of water with Dawn dish soap for a week. Every day or 2 I take a few minutes to dump the water, remove little bits with a dental pick, spray with the hose & nozzle, re-fill with fresh soapy water.
5. Set the skull in the sun for a couple hour to dry.
6. Soak in mineral spirits for 3-4 weeks to degrease.
7. Set the skull out for a week or so to evaporate the mineral spirits.
8. Glue the teeth back in, and display.

This takes a couple hours of work total, and gives me a clean skull that is not white , but has a natural bone coloring. The picture shows a few from my collection. I may try brushing on peroxide to whiten this year. Maybe not. I’m interested to know how others clean their skulls, and may incorporate other methods into my process.

View attachment 7366722

Get the Beetles they do it much faster with no effort at all

 

[Burning sensation]

I am saving this thread for later! Those skulls look very nice. I drew elk tags this year in Oregon. I prefer the idea of a clean skull with (or without) antlers than a full mount.

I would love to have a big bull elk skull over my mantle. One day I may, but we don’t have many in these parts. I need to get out of TX more.
I would imagine an elk head is similar to a deer, other than the size. I do the same for deer as I do a hog, it just takes much less time to degrease. You can see the color of the bone is about the same. Congrats on the tags, and good luck!

 

[Burning sensation]

Get the Beetles they do it much faster with no effort at all

I do like the idea. I’ll likely look into that at the end of this year/early next year. I shoot enough hogs to keep a colony well fed even when I’m not keeping skulls.

 

[PinesAndProjectiles]

I've done three whitetail skulls with Beatles. It's easy, provided you are able to water them frequently.

I put the skull in a Rubbermaid bin with a lid. Beatles, like me, do their best work in the dark.

Put them in with shredded newspaper. I use a few inches of shreds in the bottom of the bin.

Water them as needed.

How long it takes depends on how many Beatles are in the bin. More Beatles equal less time.

I usually remove as much soft tissue as possible beforehand to cut down on Beatle time

Good luck

 

[Jabot]

Skin and clean all meat u can
Soak in a bucket of water for a month or better, change water once or twice
Then hose off and use brush to get anything else off that's left.
Soak in dawn dish soap or ammonia to get grease out. this is what causes skull to turn yellow is grease.
Let dry and glue in teeth

 

[earthtrekker1775]

I would love to have a big bull elk skull over my mantle. One day I may, but we don’t have many in these parts. I need to get out of TX more.
I would imagine an elk head is similar to a deer, other than the size. I do the same for deer as I do a hog, it just takes much less time to degrease. You can see the color of the bone is about the same. Congrats on the tags, and good luck!
View attachment 7371482

Those look great! I hope to have a full freezer this winter and a skull on the wall by spring!

 

[338dude]

I do like the idea. I’ll likely look into that at the end of this year/early next year. I shoot enough hogs to keep a colony well fed even when I’m not keeping skulls.

I was looking into buying some myself you can just feed them bits Of burger or any other raw meat when you’re not hunting but I never bought any the wife said she is not having those bugs in her house LOL

 

[338dude]

 

[Burning sensation]

I shot this guy on 6/11 and set him out to thaw last night. I have him simmering in borax now and he’ll be soaking in Oxiclean by tonight. I’m anxious to see how he turns out. If I can get this, along with some other projects, completed on time I may make it out to hunt tonight.

 

[Burning sensation]

I tried simmering the head pictured above in borax and then soaked it in Oxiclean.
The borax turns a lot of the meat to jelly, and it pretty much slips off of the skull. I spent less than half the time I usually do picking with dental tools. It also cleaned most of the usual brown junk off of the teeth. Great stuff.
The Oxiclean completely degreased the skull in a week. It also whitened all the plaque and removed all the brown gunk from the teeth. I’m not sure I like the clean teeth? I kind of like the natural looking dirty teeth. Like it or not, Billy Mays was right! I won’t be using it on deer skulls because I don’t want whitened antlers.
The skull on the right was simmered in borax, then soaked in Oxiclean. The whetters and other teeth that came out retained some of their original color because they were not soaked. The skull on the left has all of the usual brown junk on the teeth.
Thanks for some great info! Now I just need a power washer. Good news is, the wife spilled a jug of milk in the the driveway the other day, and it left a nasty stain. Now I need a one and she’s convinced it’s her fault.

 

[Wading]

I do the bucket of water with dawn and borax.
I put a lid on the bucket it took about three weeks in the sun. I put in fresh water and soap each week... The Smell well OMG it was tough but in reality it went quick. If you could find a spot in a field or lease hang the bucket in a tree to keep dogs away it wouldn't be bad. I did have to glue the teeth in when finished.

 

[NannySlayer]

I wire 2 milk crates together with the skull in the basket and a cinder block in the top. Go stick it in a fire ant bed and let them do the hard work. After that I boil it to clean it off and call it good. My buddy just bought some of those beetles so I might just let him feed the beetles now.

 

[Cjt1983]

I generally burry them an forget about them come back a few months later an check progress. Others I have just hung in a tree in the woods and that works also

 

[FjallJager]

This is what I do.

It is called masceration, but you can google it.

I cut all the meat off and split the lower jaw from the upper jaw.

Then I soak the skull in a 5 gallon bucket outside during the summer. I swap the water and hose off the skull every 2 weeks. If it is warm enough you can have them completely cleaned off by the bacteria within a month or two.

I wash the bucket out with bleach, soap and water and then put a half cup of dish soap (a tough one, not a vegan hippie one) in the bucket with fresh water, and we go through that rotation for at least another 3 weeks changing the water and soap out every week. This will degrease the skull. Really fat soaked hogs, bears, deer whatever will take more time.

Then I bleach with 50% peroxide, and use mop and glow or something like that to paint the skull/horns when I am done. I haven't done it in a while, so you want to look up the mixture on the peroxide.

 

[Contender-1]

A pressure cleaner properly handled will expedite the meat removal process. Will blow out a fractured skull as well, so proper handling is required.

 

[Wulf]

Not a hog but white tails I skin remove the eyes then put it in a stock pot with a mixture dawn dish detergent and water and boil till the meat starts to pull away. Then I take the pressure washer and start blasting it. After the first boil I pull out the nose bits and pop the ear butts out with a screw driver then back into the same pot and boil longer then back to the pressure washer and start getting the brain out. Once it’s all clean I change the water and add 40 hydrogen peroxide from the beauty supply store
Make sure the wrap the antlers from the base all the way up with plastics wrap and electric tape to keep it all tight add to the pot and boil and watch the skull once it’s whitened to your likening pull it out and hose it off with water all done and ready to hang no smell no left over meat nice and clean

 

[Burning sensation]

I need to try a peroxide paste to degrease. The complete deer from this season had a lot more fat than what I’m used to, and stained almost like a hog. The antlers also contain much more color than what I’m used to, and I don’t want them whitened.

 

[Wulf]

I need to try a peroxide paste to degrease. The complete deer from this season had a lot more fat than what I’m used to, and stained almost like a hog. The antlers also contain much more color than what I’m used to, and I don’t want them whitened.

View attachment 7501055

I wrap them in kitchen plastic then use electric tape to keep it sealed up and never lose any coloring in the antlers

 

[diggler1833]

I need to try a peroxide paste to degrease. The complete deer from this season had a lot more fat than what I’m used to, and stained almost like a hog. The antlers also contain much more color than what I’m used to, and I don’t want them whitened.

View attachment 7501055

Pretty good deer man.

 

[Burning sensation]

Pretty good deer man.

Thanks! He’s my personal best was #1 on my list this year. The guys that hunt on the neighboring property shoot everything that walks, so I consider myself very lucky. Just gotta get rid of that grease stain.

 

[Yote Klr]

This is what I do.

It is called masceration, but you can google it.

I cut all the meat off and split the lower jaw from the upper jaw.

Then I soak the skull in a 5 gallon bucket outside during the summer. I swap the water and hose off the skull every 2 weeks. If it is warm enough you can have them completely cleaned off by the bacteria within a month or two.

I wash the bucket out with bleach, soap and water and then put a half cup of dish soap (a tough one, not a vegan hippie one) in the bucket with fresh water, and we go through that rotation for at least another 3 weeks changing the water and soap out every week. This will degrease the skull. Really fat soaked hogs, bears, deer whatever will take more time.

Then I bleach with 50% peroxide, and use mop and glow or something like that to paint the skull/horns when I am done. I haven't done it in a while, so you want to look up the mixture on the peroxide.

Yep peroxide works very well to whiten. I boil with 20 muleteam borax.

Just did this last week

 

[Burning sensation]

Yep peroxide works very well to whiten. I boil with 20 muleteam borax.View attachment 7501315
Just did this last week

Looks good! I’ll try the peroxide tomorrow most likely.
I like backing also. Mesquite?

 

[Yote Klr]

Looks good! I’ll try the peroxide tomorrow most likely.
I like backing also. Mesquite?

Get 40% or 50% peroxide. You'll need a beautician to get it for you unless you have a license...and wear rubber gloves and safety glasses!

 

[FjallJager]

Do not bleach until you have degreased, you want no dark spots. Keep swapping out the water with fresh water and Dawn every week until the nasty bits come out.