Jim Hartsock
Jim dove into taxidermy at the age of 14 when he found an ad to “learn taxidermy” in the back of Boy’s Life magazine. Although the correspondence course has been around for years and many have taken it. Jim realized there must be an easier way, so he learned all he could from various sources, books, video tapes, and talking to anyone he could about the subject. In the 1980’s he found the Arizona Taxidermy Artist Association where he continued to improve his skills thru seminars and classes. Jim competed at the State, Regional, and Nationals winning numerous 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and many others awards. He won the National Taxidermist “Award of excellence” with a baby cottontail. His taxidermy studio is one of the largest in the state, with 5 employees including his wife Annette and his son Cody. Southwest Wildlife mounts trophies from all over the world. Taxidermy has been an obsession with Jim almost his whole life. So the saying “Where an obsession became a profession” fits perfectly.