Mounting a Moose head on the wall.

[IDShane]

I am going on a Moose hunt in Alaska next year and the outfitter that I am going with has a very high success rate. So I have been looking at the walls in my house wondering if I am successful how am I going hang this thing? I have the space I am just wondering what others have used to hang theirs'.

 

[dieNqvrs]

Euro or a shoulder mount?

 

[Firestone]

Lag bolt into a stud.

 

[S-3 ranch]

My taxidermy guy has a weight distribution mounting system I used for my elk , but you still need a stud , don’t forget to have your guy mount it with a removable horn , or prepare for new french doors

 

[John Havard]

If it’s a shoulder mount a French cleat spanning two studs would be my choice

 

[live2huntelk]

I tried a 1/4” toggles - Holds up to 1,080 lbs in concrete block and up to 265 lbs in 1/2-in drywall

It started pulling through the drywall on the initial hang. I didn’t want chance it would pull through and fall. I end up moving it slightly and using a rugged structural screw as recommended by my taxidermy- Wildlife Galleries. The rugged structural screw has an integrated washer built in the head …. keeps it from sliding off the screw. I believe it was a 4”GRK RSS screw …. Solid mounting option.

+1 on the removable antlers… Will worth it from transporting the head to mounting the head on the wall.

 

[IDShane]

Great ideas here thanks. It will be a shoulder mount for sure.

 

[Kevin Dill]

Problem with any moose head is leverage. The weight and leverage of the mount will try to pull the anchor out from the wall versus straight down the wall like a picture frame would do. Putting all that weight and leverage into one anchor creates a LOT of pressure. No way drywall alone would ever work in the longer term. Anchoring into the center of a stud with a chunky lag bolt is fairly good, but it has to be centered or you risk having the anchor split out the side of the stud (you won't know it) and later a heavy mount crashes to the floor and furniture below. Far better is @John Havard s suggestion of the french cleat across 2 studs.

A good experienced taxidermist should be able to advise you of his best methods as well.

 

[CoHiCntry]

Lag bolt into a stud.

That’s what I did. It’s been hanging 10 years now. I did have to borrow some scaffolding from work when I hung it though. Made it so much easier!

 

[ammonnhonduras]

So I have a wall that is all shiplap. I dont know if it will hold a moose without drilling into a stud, but I also am hoping to kill a moose next year. Ive thought of taking all the sheet rock off one wall, putting 1/2in OSB on the studs, and then sheetrocking/shiplapping over it. Then that way I wont have to look for a stud for any mounts when I hang them.

 

[Nooksack]

If you go to the trouble of pulling rock, then solid block where you want mounts. Then rock, shiplap, T&G etc over. 1/2 OSB under rock or shiplap won’t hold a moose unless it’s a dink.
I have three that have been hanging on lags through T&G over blocking for many years. There all over 66 and only European, they are still very heavy.

 

[cgasner1]

If I was gonna do shiplap on the entire wall I’d just cut rock out where I wanted to hang the heads put blocks in then throw the piece of rock back over it


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Kevin Dill]

Friend of mine hung his euro moose (60'er) using an expanding anchor into sheetrock. Several days later it fell in the night and crashed hard, breaking nasal bones and scaring hell out of everyone.

I personally would not hang any moose mount....euro or shoulder....without having it directly supported by the framing in the wall. If no stud was in the right place I would either:

1. Use the french cleat spanning 2 studs as suggested by @John Havard .
2. Remove sheetrock and add 2x4 blocking between studs where needed.

You can't overestimate the amount of leverage and pressure exerted by a moose shoulder mount. A hardboard wall might work fine, but I would want solid plywood vs osb and I definitely would NOT use lags or screws into the hardboard only. I would use an expanding anchor correctly sized to open behind the hardboard and distribute pressure. Plywood is much stronger than equal-thickness osb.

 

[PA Hunter]

Definitely a lag bolt into a stud & you have no trouble at all. I also use a piece of washline green wire. Never had any problems.

 

[mtnbiker208]

I also did the lag bolt into the stud. been fine for 4 years now.

 

[MallardSX2]

I hunt my wifes on the wall with a 3.5" deck screw.

 

[william schmaltz]

This is the one in my living room about 10 feet up. It’s a heavy 66 inch bull. 4 inch bolt angled into a stud. This setup survived a 7.1 mag earthquake 4 years ago that cracked the foundation of my neighbors house and cleared all the cupboards and shelves at our house. I added the safety cable after just as an extra precaution if the bolt fails or the skull gets bucked off during another earthquake. I took the picture zoomed in form the top of my stairs. You can't see any of the hardware from the living room.


This is a garage bull at about eye level. Just ran snare cable through the skull and cramped with ferrules. Then did a 4 inch threaded hook into a stud to hang.

 

[IDShane]

That looks like the way to go. I do like the french cleat idea too I use that quite a bit in my woodworking shop too.

 

[PA Hunter]

Definitely a lag bolt into a stud & you have no trouble at all. I also use a piece of washline green wire. Never had any problems.

 

[roymunson]

PA Hunter, you took your moose skull to Mardi Gras? You sailor, you...