December 2009 Web Xtra Coverage. Check out the December ’09 issue of Florida Sportsman for Bill Popp’s guide to striking your own wild boar feast. Here, Popp’s guide to the trophy boar mount.

This style of trophy mount has been around for many years but has only recently gained popularity in the States. The cost is one reason, since it is negligible compared to having a massive boar head mounted in the traditional fashion by a taxidermist. What’s even better is you can do it yourself, if you have a few simple tools and are able to use them.

ITEMS YOU WILL NEED:

1 pair of work gloves

1 large pot, big enough to totally submerge the jaw.

1 small, sharp knife

1 pair of tongs long enough to reach the submerged jaw

1 pair of tweezers or slender forceps (sometimes used in fly tying)

4 quarts of hydrogen peroxide (Walmart has it for less than a buck a quart)

1 bucket and lid large enough to submerge the jaw

STEP ONE:

Fill the large pot with tap water deep enough to cover the jawbone and bring it to a rolling boil. Actually Step One should be, “Please Honey can I do this in your kitchen?” (you may beg, but not where anyone can see you.)

While the water is heating up, carefully begin to cut away the hide, tendons, flesh and cartilage.

See Photo One.

Don’t worry about nicking the bone a little, just be careful not to nick your fingers. Take off as much tissue as possible, the more you remove now will shorten your boil and scrape time later.

STEP TWO:

When the water is boiling, slowly lower the jaw into the pot using the tongs.

IMPORTANT! Don’t leave the jaw in the boiling water for more than a few minutes at a time. The bone will soften and your prize hog jaw will become a useless soup bone.

After a couple minutes, lift it out of the pot, and place it on a sturdy work surface.

SUGGESTION: Put on your work gloves before touching the bone. The bone will be very hot.

Turning your knife edge perpendicular to the jaw, begin to scrape the loosened flesh away. Repeat this process until no tissue is visible. At this time you will inspect any holes or crevices for tissue and remove as much as possible using the tweezers. If you can’t reach some bits deep in the jaw, don’t worry. The hydrogen peroxide will preserve it, turning it into a rubbery, odorless consistency.

STEP THREE:

Once you’re satisfied with the tissue removal, your trophy will look like Photo #2. It will have a grayish appearance rather than white. That’s where the peroxide comes in.

Pour all the peroxide into the bucket, lower the jaw into it, and fill it the rest of the way with cool tap water. Put the lid on loosely and check it every day or two. Leave the jaw in the solution for 5-7 days.

While you are patiently waiting for the jaw to bleach and preserve, prepare a wooden plaque as you would for mounting deer antlers. You will need basic woodworking skills to do this. If you do not possess said skills, bribe a buddy or buy a plaque.

When the whole “wet” process is complete, let the jaw air dry for several days before mounting it to the plaque. See Photo 3.

You will notice that the bone has taken on an almost creamy, translucent appearance, as opposed to one bleached and chalky after being weathered by the elements.

See Photo 5

It is also very smooth to the touch.

This mount will last for years and years, generating stories with greater and greater embellishments as the years go by.