Great job! Looks like it was a mature deer.Any idea how/why it died?
Corey, I use one quart 3%peroxide solution to 3 gallons of water. I lower the skull down into the solution just up to the pedicles then I take about 6-8 connected sheets of Bounty paper towels and cold them till I have one super thick absorbent 4" wide strip of paper towel then I lay it from nose to back of skull between the burrs so that the water solution wicks heavily and soaks the top part of the skull and around the bases of each antler. I do this to prevent any discoloration to the antler bases.
I have no idea as to how this buck met his demise. I rolled over the carcass several times and couldn't see any evidence to the skeleton or carcass as the meat and hide were pretty much gone due to the yotes. Ron sat in a stand less than 100-120 yards away from this deadhead for the first two days of deer gun overlooking a great pinch point leading up into this thicket without seeing a deer. It's no wonder the deer were avoiding this area as the yotes were pounding this carcass pretty hard at that time. He did manage to kill one yote the day I found this DH and I pushed one by him at 80
yards. He made a heck of a shot hitting it twice out of 3 shots as it ran through thick terrain.
Ron had TC pics of this deer and one bowhunting encounter with this mature deer this season.
Thanks for the nice comments fellers.