Euro mount brain removal tool

[WI in the west]

long story short my dad does euro mounts for people and i skin/clean up the heads before they go into beetles. We use to use a claw (similar to a hammer claw but smaller) to scrape brains put and it worked alright. But i kust broke it last night. I was curious if any of you guys out there have any good tool designs or methods out there? Ive seen the air hose way but kinda wanna go a dofferent route if possible. We do about 200 skulls a year so im
Fine with putting time into making something if you guys got a good tool idea that works. Thanks for any help.

 

[SDHNTR]

A stiff wire and a pressure washer. Or compressed air.

 

[Macegl]

I twist a small circle in the end of a stiff wire and put the straight end in a cordless drill (think tiny egg beater). Works pretty good to scramble things, then I spray them out.

 

[Fitzwho]

I use this one:

Scrambler

100% SATISFACTION GUARANTEE!(If any aspect of this product fails to meet your high expectations, we will pay the postage for you to ship it back to us for a Full Refund.) String assembly required. The Scrambler is a hexagonal metal shaft with holes that can be put into a drill chuck like a...

www.raptorazor.com

 

[nodakian]

A friend said a pressure washer is messy but effective.

 

[Danny Hoey]

I use a dental pick.

 

[Sekora]

I am macerating one now and it is a pretty nasty process. Good thing I have a big pole building at work that has electricity because I would never do this at home. Its been in the bath for 8 days now at a fairly constant 90 degree F and the skull is pretty much clean. All that is left is a glob hanging from the base that is the brain I believe. I never tried it, but like stated above, my friend bends a wire in the shape of an L and chucks it into a cordless drill. Scrambles up the brain then rinses it out. He says it works really good. Next time I may try this to speed up the process and eliminate a few days of stink.

 

[4rcgoat]

Been wondering for years but never tried, .....has anyone ever experimented with using salt inside the skull to maybe dehydrate the brain.?

 

[Stalker69]

I twist a small circle in the end of a stiff wire and put the straight end in a cordless drill (think tiny egg beater). Works pretty good to scramble things, then I spray them out.

this is how I do it also.

 

[Olsolitaire1]

Garden hose & above

 

[WI in the west]

Thinking i might gove that string link a try and a water hose and see if that works better then scraping

 

[Aces11]

I am also in the boil and pressure washer group.

 

[elkyinzer]

I've done two myself (whitetail, simmer method) so I don't have a large sample size, but these are my observations:

First one, I removed the brain prior to simmering. I used various tools and a garden hose. I had brain matter all over me by the end of it (big negative). This turned out nearly perfectly, no degreasing whatsoever required.

Second one, I simmered with the brain in, then removed it with various tools. Mostly a bent coathanger. This one has a pretty large grease spot on the forehead.

From this, it's obvious to me that it is very important to remove the brain prior to simmering. Seems obvious, most of the fat is in the brain (and behind the eyeballs, but both times I removed the eyeball fat prior). By simmering with the brain in, you are rendering all this fat right into the surrounding bone.

I think a dedicated tool to remove the brain would be great. The hose/pressure washer is a little messier than I want to accept, and there are probably some CWD concerns there unless you are CWD denier. I have two thoughts:
- cheap and simple route would be a simple scoop that would ease that process more than a jury-rigged coathanger tool
- more complex, maybe some type of vacuum?

 

[nodakian]

I’ve done a bunch by cutting a ~3/4”x1.5-2” hole from the spinal hole forward. A chisel, hacksaw blade, or Dremel circular saw works. The whole process is much easier with so much more room to maneuver tools.

 

[WI in the west]

Weve been doing 100-200 euro mounta for the past 10 years or so now so thats why where trying to find a long term replacement tool to make the skinning and trimming process of the head before going in the beetles faster and hopefully keep it as clean as possible. Weve used something similar to the bent wire the whole time but it can be a little time consuming is the only real problem. I ordered that scrambler that was linked about for $15 on amazon. Ill come back later this week to share how it compares to wire in my opinion. Thanks all for the ideas

 

[cornfedkiller]

Buddy of mine whipped out that skull scrambler linked above after our hunt and within a few minutes, we had the brain cavities of 3 muleys completely cleaned out. I thought it was awesome and my wife got me one for christmas!

OP - I think you're gonna like it. Just make sure you use some water and dont spin it too fast or you'll be wearing some of the brains.

Let us know what you think!

 

[cnelk]

My buddy does over a 1000 heads a year. His method is small copper tubing attached to a water hose nozzle.
Quick and clean high pressure

 

[jspradley]

Pressure washer and pair of long forceps works for me

 

[wyodog]

A stiff wire and a pressure washer. Or compressed air.

This is how I do it.

 

[BackcountryBloodline]

My buddy does over a 1000 heads a year. His method is small copper tubing attached to a water hose nozzle.
Quick and clean high pressure

View attachment 142936

I can smell that photo right through my computer screen lol