Found rifle

[Turkeygetpwnd38]

I almost left a real nice rifle leaned against a tree on an old gated logging road. I was bear hunting with my dad, he was planned as the primary shooter and we were moving spots and walking a lot. Most of the time I didn’t even grab my rifle, he just had his. Several long days of this and after a glassing session we headed back to truck minus one rifle. Realized it about halfway and had to hike a ways back to grab it.
Hope you track down the owner and get some good karma headed your way.

 

[Pony Soldier]

For a while I carried my rifle in a scabbard that had the rifle butt next to the horses butt. One time We reached the bottom of a skid road and Dad's rifle was no longer in the scabbard. I backtracked and found it in a short distance. I adjusted things so I could keep an eye on it.

When I was 16 I was told of a rifle leaning against a tree for a couple years. So the story goes a visiting hunter paniced, left his rifle and took off running for the valley floor three miles away. Anything is possible.

 

[mt100gr.]

Not very many years ago I was tooting around the woods with a single shot 44mag, just plinking. When I hopped out of the truck, I put my Glock in my back pants pocket.

I was in a couple hundred acre burned over clear-cut. Literally thousands of black stumps.

I found a little more challenging target for the 44 and decided prone would be the ticket. For some reason, I pulled that Glock out of my pocket and set it on a stump....

Got home and did the mental checklist thing as I carried gear back into the house. FML....it was right where I left it!!

 

[Turkeytider]

Turkey hunters are particularly bad about leaving/losing things. All the calls, strikers, etc lost every year could probably stock a nice sporting goods store.

 

[NB7]

Sat down and took a break a few years ago elk hunting in a sea of new growth pines, one of those places where everything looks the same. Realized a few hundred yards later after walking off I had left my bugle tube laying there. Got lucky and found it after about an hour searching. Lesson learned from that was to always mark my location any time I stop to glass, take a break, etc. Just in case something is missing or fell out of the pack unnoticed, at least I can try and pinpoint where to look.
Good luck with finding the owner, compliments for being honest and doing the right thing.

 

[4rcgoat]

Sat down and took a break a few years ago elk hunting in a sea of new growth pines, one of those places where everything looks the same. Realized a few hundred yards later after walking off I had left my bugle tube laying there. Got lucky and found it after about an hour searching. Lesson learned from that was to always mark my location any time I stop to glass, take a break, etc. Just in case something is missing or fell out of the pack unnoticed, at least I can try and pinpoint where to look.
Good luck with finding the owner, compliments for being honest and doing the right thing.

Did the same thing in 2021. Chased a bugling bull for over an hour into some deep timber,blew him out of the area. Took a break before hiking out,1/4 mile later realized I didn't have the tube,went back to the rockslide where I had taken a break,every damn boulder looked the same! Middle of the rut, had to pack up and head to the truck( where I did not have a spare) and an hour back to town too late to pick up a new one,had to wait until next day.
Somewhere in a rockslide at around 9000 ft is a bugle tube someone MAY find years from now.

 

[cnelk]

Years ago, my son & his friend were riding their bikes on a dirt path next to a road. My son spied a revolver in the grass.

They brought it home and showed me. It was a Ruger 44mag. Not in the greatest of shape, been in the grass for awhile.

My son was asking if he could keep it and I told him we have to report it to the County Sheriff.

Found out it was stolen and probably used in a crime. The criminals probably tossed it out the window

 

[Dos Perros]

I've known several people who leaned a fishing rod up next to a vehicle got distracted and drove away. I'm thinking something like that.

Did that once in Yellowstone. Well, leaned it and walked up the trail to fish with another rod. Returned to trailhead, saw a note posted on the board "lost fly rod - contact ###-###-####." Literally thought "what idiot loses a fishing rod?" Didn't realize till I was back home in Kansas. FML.

 

[dtrkyman]

Killed a fine Missouri gobbler one morning, hiked back to the truck and when I was loading my stuff I got a phone call, well that was enough for me to leave my shotgun leaning against the fence post right along a gravel road.

Had no idea until the next morning, I was taking a client hunting and when I was putting something in the back I noticed my empty case, I had to get the client out so I took him hunting, late morning thongs were a bit slow but we did have birds near by, so I called a friend and asked him if he happened to be near that property, he said he was going to drive by and look for birds.

While I waited for him to look for my gun I was online shopping for a new 20ga

To my surprise he soon sent me a picture from the road of my shotgun still leaning against the post!

 

[journeyman713]

A couple years ago, I found a bow in a hard case laying in a ditch, opposite a country road intersection. Appeared to have slid out of an open tailgate. Figured the guy would show up at the local archery shop for a new one, so I made a posting to hang there. When telling the shop owner what I was doing, he said a guy just came in and left a posting for a Lost bow. Made the call, it took only 10 minutes for one very happy hunter to get there. Hope nothing fell out of his truck on the way.

 

[wytx]

Found a locked phone one year, had been left beside a county road all winter.
Our son dried it out, bought a cheap battery and got it to turn on. Only thing we could see was a pic of the guy's Wyoming hunting license with some info blocked off. Found him online in Nebraska and sent it back to him, just asked him to make a donation to a local charity to cover the cost of the battery and shipping, and he did. He said all of his contacts were in it and he was thankful to get it back.

 

[GotDraw?]

Gear adrift is gear a-gift.

Remember the adage if/when it's your turn!
JL

 

[GotDraw?]

There is an old ad from Kahles scopes where a dude in Austria (?) leaned a rifle against a rock only to be forgotten and then found again almost 30 years later - still leaning against the rock.

@ODB , I found that story:

Cranston, Rhode Island (August 24, 2004) - A professional hunter in Southern Austria inadvertently performed the longest, most realistic, environmental test on a riflescope in history. A Kahles Helia 6x42 riflescope, lost in the high mountain region of the Austrian Alps in the late 70s was recently found in technically perfect working condition.

FULL STORY and PHOTOS HERE: RIFLE WITH KAHLES SCOPE FOUND 30 YEARS LATER

Great story.

JL

 

[5811]

Remember the adage if/when it's your turn!
JL

It's something we said in the Marines. If I found a firearm I'd definitely make an attempt to find the owner.

But then the other Marine mentality would kick in and I'd feel obliged to whip the a** of whoever lost their weapon after they got it back.

 

[Gunnersdad49]

Years ago, my son & his friend were riding their bikes on a dirt path next to a road. My son spied a revolver in the grass.

They brought it home and showed me. It was a Ruger 44mag. Not in the greatest of shape, been in the grass for awhile.

My son was asking if he could keep it and I told him we have to report it to the County Sheriff.

Found out it was stolen and probably used in a crime. The criminals probably tossed it out the window

I found a .44 on a trail in Alaska decades ago. 8 miles from the trailhead. No bones or clothing around it, and it appeared to have been there through the winter. The round under the hammer was fired, other 5 were unfired. Weird. I brought it home, told the State Troopers about it, serial number, location, etc. Also had a LEO friend run the numbers to see if it was wanted anywhere outside of AK. Troopers later told me that nobody claimed it or reported it missing or stolen so it was mine now.

 

[GotDraw?]

It's something we said in the Marines. If I found a firearm I'd definitely make an attempt to find the owner.

But then the other Marine mentality would kick in and I'd feel obliged to whip the a** of whoever lost their weapon after they got it back.

My brother was in the Army in the 90's and due to the nature of their mission, his group spent weeks/months at a time in the field. One particular mission, his whole team had been up 3 days straight and an enlisted team member got tasked with multiple fast-tasks all at once by another officer before they pulled out. Long story short, the kid was so exhausted and sleep deprived that he left his weapon behind in the forest. The Sargent in charge then failed to properly check personal weapons inventory before they pulled out and simply filed his report as "all accounted for". A couple of German hikers found the weapon and reported it to police. The poor kid was severely disciplined and the Sgt, who could have avoided the entire debacle had he not fudged and misstated his inventory check skated w/o incident.

My brother felt horrible for the kid.

JL

 

[GotDraw?]

"Back in September 1977"....yaddayaddayada.... "Hannes looked through the Kahles scope he couldn�t believe his eyes: the image quality was like that of his new modern riflescope"



While its impressive that the thing still worked . Claiming that any 30 year old is as good as the new stuff is pure comedy.

Wow. Maybe lighten up a bit on the pure comedy.

It seems you missed the obvious context: ...the scope worked and the optics were clear. I don't think anyone is reading this that the guide that found the scope is claiming the optics are "as good" as a newest generation scopes. The inference is that the clarity/functionality is what one would expect for a scope of that generation that had been cared for.

JL

 

[willtim]

Gear adrift is gear a-gift.

Kidding, right?

 

[Davidson51]

while out on a lake this past summer, I spotted a floating bag with no boats around. I drove over to it and my son pulled it out of the lake. we opened it up and, amongst various things in the bag, found a loaded 38 revolver along with a wallet belonging to a recently retired police officer. I'm surprised the bag hadn't sunk, it was just a small duffel bag. I found an old receipt in his wallet with his phone number and needless to say, the guy was very happy to get it back.

 

[Jethro]

I try to remember to do an area check after stopping while hunting or leaving an area with the truck. I've found that I've gotten better at checking since I started carrying my phone. Checking that I have my phone kind of prompts an all gear check.

I have had to back track for bugle tube a few times. The worst was only 20 yards and 1 minute lost. Covering some ground one day the easy to maneuver woods was ever increasing with deadfall. I could see it open up but got to a spot where it was 3-4 high, stacked. Look left and right, no seen openings. Decide to walk the fallen trees out. Crawl up, do my balance beam routine, maybe 4' off ground, zig zag, make it across and never made a sound.

Hit the ground on other side and am feeling impressed with myself for that accomplishment. Give a little pat down gear check and SOB. I left the bugle tube laying where I started the maze. So consequently I tackled the balance beam blowdown 2 more times. Neither of those trips was as stealthy and graceful as the first.

Located a bull not long after that. We had fun with him for the next 3 days. Unfortunately, that elk was smarter than us.