Bob Ramsey dies Invented horn rattling
Whitetail Deer
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My friend and a Texas Icon Bob Ramsey died in Kerrville TX Sunday at age 91
Bob invented horn rattling and wrote the first book, article and made the first film on antler rattling in 1954. he was a Texas Icon.
Pix of Bob with general Billy Mitchells Winchester Model 1886 44/40 rifle given to Bob before WW11.
TINK
Sorry to here about the loss of your friend. I bet he had some more stories to tell.
he wrote several Books Will try to find them. First YO Ranch Wildlife Mgr former Texas gamewarden Served in WW11.
Texas A & M Graduate
His Home and ranch was a Museum of Texas Artifacts he was a master knapper as well
he showed James Mitchener around Texas when he researched his book TEXAS 2 Volumes
I am good friends with his only great grandson Robert Neuman
He Fell is home Sunday they took him o ER With broken hip or leg.
he was in no pain talking normally to ER staff when he flat-lined from heart failure and too much blood in the lungs etc. he felt NO pain and died instantly mid sentence.
He only dated one girl in his lift his wife Willy Auld Ramsey
One of th guns was purchased by him from a Killer for $4.00 and a six pack of beer. The Norton boys buried $2,000,000 in cash on his ranch is Mason glass bottles and its never been found. It was cemented in a cave and camoflauged the entrace. When they went back to get the $$ His Dad had removed the arrows and sign and rock piles pointing to the cave so they would never come back and haunt them and the Norton never did.
$$$ robbed from the Bandera Bank and the bank of New Branunfels TX Film Norton boys was made about them. His daddy knew them and Bob Meet them as a kid in 1924.
I was blessed to have him make me Bolo tie froma arrowhead e Knapped and made from the fork of a Sika antler
i treasure it today.
Bob himself could never find the $$$.
God only knows how many Indians and outlaws died from that old 1885 Winchester. in 44/40
I will miss him
Tink Nathan
Bob offered to let me fire it but I declined
Sorry to hear about Bob, Tink, but he was about 200 years late in inventing horn rattling.
Great story! Sorry for your loss Tink, your blessed to have known a man like that.
Bowriter I'm guessing Tink meant he popularized the calling technique instead of "invented". I think you know that.SWH
Sounds like we could all learn something from him. Hard working good people live longer, wish him well in the big hunting ground in the here after.
I think I remember reading about him in F&S back in the early 70's. The Burnhams picked up on his techniques, right Tink?
The Burnhams, especially Murray, mostly concentrated on predator calling and were masters of it. I was with Murray when his mother died. We were at Harrisburg, PA. I believe she was well into her 90's.
There are accounts of antler rattling back as far as some of the Indian tribes of the Northeast in the 1600's.
The Gears, anthropoligists from WY have written of it many times. Apparently, it was a fairly regular technique for many native American tribes.
They shot bows and arrows long before the Thompson brothers or Saxon pope & Art Young but... they are called them the "Fathers of Modern Bowhunting". This is a similar situation.
Someone had to tell the world about the technique besides just passing it on to the "kin folk in the holler" and most hunters don't read Anthropological Illustrated. This guy gets his due respects!
SWH
Sorry to hear of his passing.
Definitely an interesting man and great pictures, Tink. Thanks for posting.
bowriter that's cool, pretty sure I have a Murray Burnham book on calling game, that includes antler rattling, but could be mistaken
he made the film with the Burnam Brothers they were good buddies
Of course it was an Indian trick But he master the art and made films and wrote books
I have seen the film as a kid of a nice buck coming right to the camera while Bob was bent over rattling
He also wrote the first rattlign stories for Field and Stream Magazine a la 1954 I figured the word "invented" would be understood by all hunter no need to quibble at a time like this Thanks
TINK
This is interesting stuff. Thanks Tink for sharing. (and I understood the way you used inventing.)
Sorry to hear of your friend's passing, sounds like we had a couple things in common. I love rattling in whitetails also and my wife says that I too am a master napper; she claims I can hog a couch and snore like a wounded buffalo while maintaining a death grip on the TV remote.
Sorry for your loss, Tink. Thanks for sharing this with us. Ironically, my dad (stepdad actually) is named Bob Ramsey. Kind of weird to see that headline.
Tink, sorry for your loss. It is truly refreshing hearing about such a man and his life. Thank you for sharing.
Sorry for the loss of a legend... great pictures and story... I'm sure he will be missed!
Great info Tink, hope you are doing well, learn something new every day, or at least if I had time anymore to play on forums. My condolences and respect goes to the Ramsey family. You can tell by the pics he was a dandy guy, we appreciate what he gave us.
Thanks fellows.......
bob saw real wild Indian on his daddy ranch s a youth They follow Indian trails known on to them that skirted white people
they never caused trouble
Well its A Winchester I am getting long in-the tooth too....
yes I am blessed
Some where I have a pix of bob in my Living room where he was admiring my stuff imagine that? been honored to other like Fred bear, Jim Dougherty Judd Cooney, Dr Judd Grinnel, BillWadsworth, max Greiner, Dutch Wambold Keith Schuyler, MR" (Marion) James & Janet, and others come to visit. Fred Bear invited me to spend Christmas eve with him and Henryetta in his all wood hand made Log home on the Au-Sable River in Grayling MICH
Merry Christmas all bowhunters
TINK
Found the pix of Bob at my home in Center Point TX on my Birthday 2006