Jim’s passion for guns came from his father, Jerry, who was a gunsmith when Jim was growing up. After high school, Jim attended Trinidad State Junior College in Colorado. He completed his degree in Gunsmithing in 1984. Afterward, he served a year apprenticeship in Kalispell, MT under three well known gun makers. In ’86, he went on his own to do contract work for Champlin Firearms in Enid, OK. While he was building his clientele, he met an English gunsmith, Jack Rowe, who fostered his desire to learn about shotguns. At which time he began competing in sporting clay competitions. A few years later, he moved to Kansas and started to focus more on shotgun stocks and now specializes in competition and hunting stocks. He has built a clientele of shooters from around the world. Now he travels and sets up shop at a few select locations a year building pattern stocks for his clientele. Currently, he is located outside Wichita, Kansas.