swwildlife

We have just completed another sheep for the visitors center at Imperial Wildlife Refuge north of Yuma. We mounted the ewe, lamb and the mountain lion that is above stalking the two below. The ewe had sinusitis and had drown in a waterhole. and the lamb also died of natural causes. The plan is to get a ram and add to the scene. the mountain lion was a known sheep killer and was transplanted twice for killing sheep. So there was no third chance. Its nice to see they are using these animals for educational purposes rather than just leaving them to rot. If you ever get down to Martinez Lake stop into this visitor center.

this project is slightly larger than a coues deer but I thought you might like to see a pictorial of how an Elephant pedistal is put together. We are one of the few shops in the Phoenix area that can handle a large project like this. Here is the basic flow of what it takes to put it together. Here is the rehydrated skin ready for test fit, the trunk was cut off separate from cape. Form ready for test fit Test fitting the skin Skin fits perfect after alterations ear skin test fit to liner Tusks are attached Trunk is modified to lay on tusk Skin is prepped and all holes are sewn plenty of glue is mixed up Ears are test fitted Glue goes on Finally ready for the skin to go on Adjustments are made Stand him up Make more adjustments Now the drying The finished product

We are now a stocking dealer for DoubleTap. stop in the shop or call on what we have available.

I was going thru an old thumb drive and found this picture. I thought you might enjoy this one. its on display at Sprague's in Yuma

Ryan, I can score it for you for SCI. I am an official SCI scorer. as for Pope and Young or B&C I don't know anyone in the Scottsdale area.

We see many types of split and torn up ears on deer and elk. Some guys like to leave them and some want us to repair them. This is a deer that was taken in southern Arizona. It had a very unique ear mark. while working on this one the ear had healed over a long time ago. the whole tip of the ear was cut clear off. This reminded me of stories I heard while working on cattle ranches growing up. One of the ways to mark livestock is to catch the animal, and cut a unique pattern in the ear, either slices or taking a larger piece out of the ear. I have heard, more than once and from different sources that cowboys would rope deer. And to prove it to their peers they would mark them by cutting their ear. looking at this ear it appears that the ear was cut off cleanly and smoothly. If the ear was torn I would think that you would see more scaring at either end of the cut. although the picture doesn't show it it is a very smooth cut, and while holding it while wet and movable, I could recreate the motion of cutting it off. Now I don't know if true or just some Americana folklore, So I just put it out there.

Deborah Liszt, wildlife scratchboard artist, came into our shop a few months back and took various photos of Jim’s work. She created this coues deer scratchboard original using one of Jim's mounts as her subject (see our CW Avatar for the mount used as her model). It is our goal at Southwest Wildlife Taxidermy to re-create each animal as true and realistic as possible to its species. It is an honor and a great compliment to have another artist appreciate our work. Thank you, Deborah!

Nicks Antelope had a bizarre split and curl to the ear. That was a fun one to work on.

Mulepackhunter you are welcome anytime at our studio. I will show you anything you want to know on caping and trophy care. This is also an open invitation to anyone on CouesWhitetail to stop in and see the proper way to cape an animal Jim

I'm glad others have heard of this because when I tell someone around here of this practice they look at me like I'm full of it.

Here is a large Tom, when the customer got it home and hung on the wall his wife said it was so beautiful that she wants it closer, so we will put it on a pedestal.

Adam, We can do almost any pose you can imagaine, including habitat around the mount. Stop in to the studio and we can discuss what you might want. Jim

here is their statment, I don't think they have an agenda, they hate everyone.

We do quite a few multiple animal pedestals. We have done many same spieces pieces but the more common ones are the multiple spieces. Most of the time you choose two or more that are about the same size and will compliment each other. Like Kudu/Gemsbuck, Impala/Springbuck, Wildebeest/Hartebeest, Mule Deer/Whitetail, Antelope/Mule Deer. We were challenged to put an Elk and an Antelope together. This client was one of those lucky ones to draw both in the same year. He wanted them both on the same pedestal. The challenge was how to make sure the Elk didn't over power the Antelope. So we put the Elk behind the tree and Antelope in front of the tree.

I had another taxidermist use pictures from my gallery. he used them in his gallery as if they were his own. one of them was even used in his logo. I talked to him and he said "oh it was my web designer, not me" he didn't remove them. then I talked to a lawyer familiar with internet theft. he said we could sue and would win without a dought, however at what time and cost. the other guy had no money, I just wanted it off his site. the only ones who come ahead are the lawyers.

Its all about closure, I have said this time and time again, they want us out of their forests! case in point, Bushnell tanks, needle rock area, the area south of needle rock, sycamore creek(soon to be a pay area), all closed trails around Forest Lakes. Until we stand up and take back our forests, they will continue to close areas.(now I don't know how we do that)

Just got a 2nd hand Bully dog from a friend. its the triple dog power pup. It is a turner that you can use on Ford, Chevy, or Dodge. (only one at a time) it has 3 settings, no power or stock, econ/tow, performance, extreme. econ/tow and stock are very close in power and fuel econ.(11mpg). Performance I get 14mpg and a lot of power, I can smoke the tires. extreme i get 12.5 mpg a ALOT of power. its fun to drive now. I got it for 150.00 if I would have had to pay 600.00 aprox list price I don't know if it would be worth it. Don't get it for the fuel economy, it will never pay for itself. get it for the fun.

Does anyone know who can work on a double shotgun in the Phoenix area, or for that matter, anywhere in the state. I have a Charles Daley/Miroku over under. thanks in advance

As an added convienience to our customers we are selling a line of premium ammo. We are now a certified dealer for Doubletap Ammunition. Doubletap has approxamatly 75 different calibers to choose from. They come in a variety of bullet weights and constructions from hard cast, barnes, accubonds, partitions, and Speer gold dot to name a few. Give us a call and stop in.

Southwest Wildlife will have a display at the ISE show this week, starting today. come see us and introduce yourself. we will have show specials as well. Jim

Thanks for stopping, it was nice putting a face with a name.

If you or someone you know has lost something of great value in the sycamore creek area on Saturday Feb 16th. please PM, Email, or call me. (480) 661-0372 sorry for not being anymore specific, if you lost it you know what it is. thanks Jim

Lower Sycamore, where all the 4 wheelers, bikes and quads go

here are pictures of the Bongo

Here is a picture of some of the ducks we do. stop by the showroom to see more