Bud Jones first started his business back in 1946, when, as a youngster, he collected birds and small mammals to be his subjects. Even throughout high school and college, where he received a B.S. degree in biology, his taxidermy interest remained strong.

After a two-year army stint, Bud taught high school biology, but continued to do taxidermy as a sideline. In 1972, he and his wife Jackie entered the taxidermy business full time. For years they were the only taxidermists in the area, and their business flourished. Gradually they added to their abilities to mount North American animals. Many people hunted Africa and Bud Jones Taxidermy was the recipient of much of this work load.

Bud, who has always been interested in paleontology, years ago started making dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals. This interest culminated in 1986 when Bud contracted with the South Carolina State Museum, in Columbia, S.C., to make a life-sized American mastodon and a giant beaver replica. This job took nine months, and today these large behemoths can be seen, displayed at the state museum.