I am sure the coon club really missed him those 9 months he spent in federal prison.
That $575,000 fine in wildlife violations (which he pled guilty to) he paid also, was probably just a drop in the bucket for a high roller like him. I hope it did not cut into what he spent at your auctions.
Originally posted by Surveyor4:
......I know Russ Bellar through the coon hound world and can tell you there is no one in our sport that has done more for more young people than him. I have been to his facility several times-not for deer hunting, but for a coon hound training program he used to run. The facility is clean and massive. I belong to an organization called Hoosier tree dog alliance. We have a yearly banquet and the last 2 years it has been at the Peru coon club, which Russ basically built. Both years he has bought up probably 2/3 of the auction items, then at the end of the auction he picked out the kids in the crowd and gave all the items he just bought to them! Agree or disagree with his beliefs about deer as marketable stock, he is NOT a slime ball!
