$150 is a great price for an elk boil, sounds like maybe you saved some money cause he didn’t whiten after or mount it on a plaque? Regardless, it looks awesome!
Beetles do great work and are easier on the bone. Boiling and pressure washing works too and it’s how I’ve been doing it, but sometimes you lose some of the thinner skull material. This has never bothered me, I’m not overly worried about the thin fine bones inside the mouth and nose as much as I am the overall trophy.
For deer euros, a life hack I came across... wait for it.... curtain rod brackets are perfect for holding a deer skull up. They fit right inside the skull, you have to tilt the skull back to get it on the bracket, then they will latch nicely into the groove for the curtain rod. Pick your size and colour, they are so darn cheap compared to the skull hooker brackets and works like a charm.
I make custom plaques for some of mine and for friends, then attach the skull to the plaque using a large screw through the plaque into the base of the skull. This even works well for moose with a large enough screw to support the weight. Then I use the exact same hardware SSTL used on the skull but on the back of the plaque, they are very sturdy.