During my first contact with AJ Harrington I asked, “why did you enter a rabbit?” and he said without hesitation, “I was going after the difficulty points, and if you do it justice, that’s one of the factors needed to win a major award.” Another factor he wanted to present was originality by custom sculpting his form and all parts of the anatomy—including the eyes. He documented the custom procedures with over 100 photos for a judge to see.

To subscribe or renew visit www.breakthroughmagazine.com or simply call us at 800-783-7266.

The 2023 UTA Expo took place at the Drury Hotel and Convention Center in Wichita, Kansas, April 18–23. After being absent from the competition world for five years, the mounts that were entered were of exceptional quality. The judges were Jack Emery, Kerby Ross, Todd Kranau,  and Randy Holler. To join the United Taxidermist Association visit https://unitedtaxidermyassociation.com or contact Tim Stidham (chairman) at stuffit@timstaxidermy.com.

To subscribe or renew visit www.breakthroughmagazine.com or simply call us at 800-783-7266.

In 2017, an excellent client harvested a rare black rhino in Namibia. It was one of five killed in the world that year because only 5 tags are sold each year. The client asked me in 2019 if I would mount his black rhino shoulder mount, and of course, I jumped at the chance and so began the struggle. While waiting for the rhino hide and horns to arrive at the shop from being tanned at Wildlife Gallery, I started my search looking for a form, and I discovered that no one makes black rhino shoulder forms. So, the wheels started turning, and my creative side went to work.

To subscribe or renew visit www.breakthroughmagazine.com or simply call us at 800-783-7266.

Back in the late 1800s the three species of ducks listed above were put in the same genus Bucephala. Buffleheads were formerly treated as the only members of the genus Bucephala, while goldeneyes were incorrectly placed in the genus Clangula in the early 1800s, the genus of long-tailed ducks like old squaws. In 1885 goldeneyes were moved into the genus Bucephala with buffleheads, but biologists may soon change this as they now know the two goldeneyes are well diverged. The genus Glaucionetta may soon be resurrected for goldeneyes.

Common and Barrow’s goldeneyes are very similar so I will present their reference first. What is the difference between a common goldeneye and a Barrows goldeneye?

To subscribe or renew visit www.breakthroughmagazine.com or simply call us at 800-783-7266.

A common question we get from new anglers is, “Is this a walleye or sauger?” Although obvious on many occasions, Mother Nature has been known to throw a few tricks into the identification process. Depending on the waterbody, walleye and sauger often have many similar characteristics, and the telltail differences between the two aren’t always super defined.

To subscribe or renew visit www.breakthroughmagazine.com or simply call us at 800-783-7266.