I don't know if anyone has done this before, but here is how I decided to mount this years nice 9 point antlers.
I used some pretanned deer hide I had to cover the scull cap. I think it worked out real well and looks great.
Here is what I did:
After I dryed and cleaned the scull cap which I had previously hand hack sawed and ground/sanded more or less flat, I temporarily attached it to a board on top of some wax paper. I then filled in some voids under the front and back bottom with some construction adhesive I had left over from another project. You could use whatever you want, ie: wood putty, etc. Or if you have a lot to fill in or replace you could use rigid foam or something.
After it cured, I then touched it up with a file and sandpaper. I then started attaching the tanned deer hide to the scull cap using gel super glue. I did this little by little, inching my way along. I did not cover the entire area with super glue....only here and there where needed. I took my time around the antler bases, stretching the hide to keep it fairly tight and putting glue around the entire bases. I also stretched the hide around and under the entire scull cap and super glued underneath. I ended up with only one small wrinkle that can't be seen easily. The seams around the bases are pretty well hidden also. Be very careful to NOT get any super glue on the outside surface of the hide....it will cause problems later when dyeing the hide.
I then used a razor knife to very carefully cut around the bases to remove the excess hide.
I then dyed the hyde with wood stain, but you could use leather dye if you have any. I used a q-tip around the antler bases so as not to get any stain on the antlers. As the stain dryed it nicely shrunk the hide tight to the scull cap. The stain/dye will NOT be absorbed wherever you may have gotten some super glue on the hide. I had to use a razor knife to "scrape" a little off, but those areas then ended up darker but evened out pretty well after the stain dryed.
I then epoxied a small block of wood to the inside of the scull cap to accept the two screws I used to attach the assembly to the rustic oak slab I had previously stained and polyed. I screwed the assembly through the back of the slab after making two countersunk holes.
I then attached the actual shell casing along with the bullet that lodged in the bucks opposite shoulder from my 30-30 fired from about 80 yards away.
Let me know what you think. I like it better than some other more conventional mounting methods and I personnaly think it looks better.
Thanks for looking.