What began with a single elk hunt has since grown into a family-run business serving hundreds of hunters across Northwest Colorado each year. Bonehead Boilers, located in Craig, processes both big game mounts and memories by hand through tradition, technique and a solid dose of family pride.
Owner Jeremy Sanders started the business over 25 years ago, shortly after harvesting his first bull elk. At the time, he couldn’t afford to have a European-style mount done professionally, so he rolled up his sleeves and went to work figuring out how to do it himself.
“Next year, I did some for myself as well as some friends,” Sanders said. “It just kept getting bigger and more and more friends kept asking me to process their mounts. When I started doing stuff for a taxidermist, it kind of snowballed.”
Originally from the Four Corners area, Sanders moved to Craig in 1993 and brought his do-it-yourself gusto with him. As the business grew, so did his family’s involvement.
“I’ve got pictures of the girls when they were two feet tall holding horns for me,” he said. “They’ve just grown up in the business.”
Today, daughters Misty Newell and Mandy Wagner are at the heart of Bonehead Boiler’s operations as they handle everything from skinning, to boiling, to the final whitening process.
“Before we were strong enough to dump pots, we were just out here probably annoying him since we were messing around with stuff,” Wagner said with a laugh. “Then we started helping by dumping pots, washing skulls and skinning. Eventually, we got to the point where we were boiling too.”
Despite the hands-on work, which is both gritty and messy, both sisters view it as an art form.
“We try very hard not to miss anything and make everything as pretty as we can,” Newell said. “When a skull turns out really nice, you feel really satisfied.”
The satisfaction with the process and outcomes doesn’t come easily however, especially when the weather turns cold.
“Power washing when it’s zero degrees out, that part is no fun,” Sanders said. “You come back inside with ice on your rain suit.”
Still, the family finds joy in the process, which also contributes to their bonds with each other. A typical skull takes about three hours from start to finish, and each step is done in-house.
“From the time hunters bring it to us with the hide on to the time it’s done and in front of our fans takes about three hours,” Wagner said. “We skin it, wrap the antlers to protect the color, boil, pressure wash, soak it again, then bleach and dry.”
European mounts, which are popular for their clean aesthetic and lower cost to customers, have grown increasingly common, especially as shoulder mounts become more expensive and chronic wasting disease regulations restrict transportation of brain matter across state lines.
“We were happy to help hunters with their skulls due to CWD,” Sanders said. “Hunters either had to skull cap or have a Euro done so they could legally move the skull.”
Before the severe winter of 2022–23, Bonehead Boilers processed around 300 to 350 skulls per year. While numbers dipped due to that year’s winterkill, last year saw the business edging back toward processing 200 or more skulls.
But the work is more than numbers. It’s about taking care of another hunter’s memories while also finding time to reminisce.
“We take 10 minutes every time to just look at the horns and talk about how cool they are,” Wagner said. “Hearing hunters tell their stories when they come in, that’s probably the best part.”
One story stands out to Sanders in particular. Years ago, he found a shed from a uniquely shaped bull. That fall, a hunter brought in the matching skull.
“I looked at the head and said, ‘Hold on,’” Sanders recalled. “I ran down and found the freak side. We have a picture of the head with the shed that matches it.”
Full-circle moments such as those happen often. One hunter, who had his first bull mounted at Bonehead as a teenager, now brings in mounts from his son’s hunts.
The family includes another daughter, Whitney Wilde, who grew up helping with the business and now lives in Utah but still returns on weekends to lend a hand. Misty’s husband also helps with caping and heavy lifting. His contributions are part of the wider network of support that makes the family-run business work with the support of friends and family..
The family’s roots in the Craig community, and its reputation as the “Elk Capital of the World,” help drive the business forward.
“There’s so much BLM around here that people come from all over to hunt,” Sanders said. “You’ve got the numbers here.”
Bonehead Boilers process everything from buffalo to fox skulls, and no job is too small, though Sanders noted that the smaller skulls can actually lead to some hard work.
“The little ones, like foxes, you can’t pressure wash them,” Sanders said. “You’ve got to hand pick everything out of the skull with dental tools.”
Newell, who harvested a trophy bull elk in 2021 in Unit 2, understands the importance of the final product on a personal level.
“The feeling is just awesome,” she said of being able to process a mount from an elk she shot. “I’m working on it and making it beautiful. Then I get to hang it on my wall.”
For her, the experience was made more special by the fact that her dad, husband and extended family were all part of the hunt.
“I still can’t believe that this whole situation is real,” she said. “I feel too lucky.”
“We hear hundreds of hunting stories every year,” Sanders added. “That’s what keeps us going.”
For more information on Bonehead Boilers, visit their Facebook page at Facebook.com/BoneHeadBoilers.