Big Red Pic, Very rare and very few have seen.

44 Ruger, he says, I dont know the model tho..

 

Thanks bow only , he just knew it was a Ruger 44, and thats what I was pretty sure it was, but didnt have a clue on the model, this pic is in 1964

 

C.W Shelton, killed him here in Todd County in 1964.It was the first season, for this county and was only 1 day only. There have been a few different stories, written on him, none of which I have read, that were like it was. The name Big Red came from the deer being almost Red, my dad killed a big 9 point that field dressed 260 in 1965, He was also very red, I killed a buck or 2 in the 70's that still had that red color, but nothing to the size of those. My thinking is both those , Big Red and my dads were probably on the original stocking. Which I cant really come up with anything, to validate, the year they stocked them or where exactly they came from. Some of the older guys years ago, told me they came from up north, and were hauled in cattle trailors, with the bucks racks cut off, to avoid injury, again , I have nothing to validate that other than old timers talking. I do know they turned at least of the few originals , on my dads farm. So the real reason he was called Big Red.Some of the stories, give different reasons. But at only 4 years old, I wanted to hunt so bad, Dad and Mom, let me sit in the yard , at just starting to get daylight with my bb gun, Since my dad left the house walking to where he was gonna hunt on the farm, I can remembered , hearing him shoot, I cant hardly tell you what I did yesterday, but can remember that as plain as can be.So as word got around the county about Big Red, I tried to find out everything I could growing up about him. I kept a newspaper clipping the county put out, That read Big Red thought to be new World Record. But as I have said time and time again pictures was something if you took, you had to take them somewhere, I think here was the drug store and they sent them off to be developed , took about a week, to get them back, and if you wanted someone to see them, you literally , had to hand them to them, nothing Luke today, but C.W was a auctioneer , and sold real estate, so he was one of the few that even had a camera, in 64. Later in life I had the newspaper clipping copied, and Laminated, C.W, didnt have one, so I mailed him one just last year.But when someone speaks of deer hunting in Todd County, at least most of the older folks, the name Big Red, usually gets brought up. There have been several replicas made of the rack, and to this day, there is a gun shop, that says they have the real rack, but its not you can look at it, and know its not real, even if you dont know anything about where the original rack is, he told me it is the original, I didnt tell him, I talk to C.W a couple times a week, and the original is at Bass Pro in Springfiel Mo. I will have to look at the score sheet, but he was about 32 inches wide, the pic , I started this thread with, C.W says very few have seen, he had it copied and sent me one, im gonna get it framed, while they arent many Big Red pics, this is my favorite. I put here another pic of C.W and Big Red, also Big Red on display at Bass Pro, original rack, of course different cape.

 

According to this, was at 1 time widest typical, not sure if thats still true today.

 

Here is Newspaper article, I had for years, I had it laminated, and C.W didnt have this article, so I had him a copy made and Laminated, and sent to him . He is a good man, but is now 82 and has his share of health issues, and cant do much, while im in better shape than he is, I dont feel like im to far behind him, we spend talking about things, we used to most of the time in our conversations.