Ever find a shotgun while hunting?

I used to fly with rifles for hunts. So I had one of those super aluminum double rifle cases for the airlines. I loaned my 30-378 W to a friend for a late elk hun in Utah about 700 miles away. They ended up getting snowed out so bad that on the third day that they had to load up the quads and chain up all 4 tires just to get down out of the mountains. My rifle was in the case strapped on the back of the quad. They drove back and decided to gas up all the quads and truck before heading out to where the guy lives up in the hills out of town. It was also snowing here and dark, but he unstrapped the rifle and just put it next to the quads on a car hauler type trailer for the last 15 miles.

Well when he got home it was gone. The rifle had a 30 inch custom barrel and $1500 dollar scope. It was November and I said that maybe someone will find it because it had my name address and phone number on the case holder for flying. 6 months later a lady was riding her horse out in the hills and found it down an embankment off the road not all that far from my friends house. I told my friend to go get it from her and to give that honest lady $1000 bucks. That super case was basicically water proof and it made it clear through the snowy winter. The case only had some dings from bouncing down the hill but not much damage because of the snow on the ground.

It was everyones lucky day! :)
 
Last edited:
I sold a shotgun at work the other day to an older fellow who needed a new one because "I left my old one up against a tree somewhere and never saw it again". Alarming, funny, and unfortunate all at once.

That dude exemplified some life goals for me tho haha…old Indigenous grampa hunter who was just excited as could be that he was gonna go duck hunting with his kids and grandkids! his ID showed he was born 1943, I hope that when I'm his age, if the Lord sees fit to let me get that old, I'm out duck hunting with my kids and their kids too. It was awesome, just wanted the cheapest break action single shot we had but those kind of gun sales honestly feel like more of a win for me than the big money ones (especially cuz I don't work on commission 🤣)
Thank you for sharing this story with us. My DOB ends in 1946, and....I thank God every single day for giving me another day on this earth. We black bear hunt as our annual ritual. Due to being who I thought superman in my 30s, 40s and 50s, my physical condition is not too conducive to walking, but...black bear hunting over bait still works for me. Plus it gives me an opportunity to spend time with my son making great memories that will live both his lifetime and mine. I again thank God every day for giving me this opportunity. I was fortunate this past season to find an outfitter who was compassionate and respectful of me and my present condition. I can walk okay, but going through dried creek bottoms and over protruding ruts in the path leading to the blind can be challenging. However....coming out of that blind in the dark is another challenge yet! After my first attempt of coming out in very dim light conditions, in the dark, the outfitter realized that I was having quite some difficulty managing my way out. On the next night of coming out of the blind he told me to stay at the blind and he would come in to get me. The next night he came in, I was waiting at the ground blind as he had asked. He came over grabbed my gun, then grabbed my hand and helped me through the myriad of uneven ground and protruding roots between the blind and the path leading out of the blind. On the following night he came in again grabbed my gun, then helped me to the path to the blind, then he told me to stop which I did. He then reached under my arm, grabbed my hand and then pinned my forearm between his and helped me out. This happened every night until the end of the week of hunting. This experience was "extremely" humbling to me to say the least. I think that oftentimes we forget that sooner or later it is inevitable that "we" all are going to reach this humbling state. So thank you Lord for letting me get this old and for letting still do the things that I like to do and thank you for allowing me the opportunity to still make lasting memories with those who are close to me and who I love.
 
c5ce167e-af70-4730-95e1-657914026107-1_all_2821.jpg

Not out hunting but found this laying on the shoulder of the interstate while working. Local Sheriff deputy said a guy from back east stopped to take a leak set it on top of his car and took off. He reported it the summer before I found it. The deputy was laughing when he told him the guy that lost it worked for another law enforcement department in a major city east of the Mississippi.


There's a lot of things on those interstate shoulders. Money, drugs, guns, knives...
 
A lot of my friends that hunt salt marsh do so with the cheapest Mossberg pumps they can find. They leave them in the boat all season. Clean them with a water hose and then spray a little oil on them when they need it. When they quit functioning they are chunked overboard with old toilets or other reef debris and left to grow barnacles for Sheephead fishing. If you find one of those leave it be, I assure you it's done.
 
A lot of my friends that hunt salt marsh do so with the cheapest Mossberg pumps they can find. They leave them in the boat all season. Clean them with a water hose and then spray a little oil on them when they need it. When they quit functioning they are chunked overboard with old toilets or other reef debris and left to grow barnacles for Sheephead fishing. If you find one of those leave it be, I assure you it's done.
Man that's a different take on the world lol
 
As a kid I found a knife on the side of the road in similar fashion. We pulled over to take a leak (as apparently the previous knife owner had) and I saw a piece of plastic near my foot. I kicked it gently out of the way and my grandpa said "well aren't you gonna pick it up?" After I finished I grabbed the plastic and it turned out to be a kydex knife sheath with a lovely little buck knife in it. I still have that around somewhere. Might have to dig it out for this years season, just for nostalgia.

Ha! Last year I got my dad a buck 110 (the one with the ebony handle and real leather sheath) for his birthday as his old one that he had carried for both hunting and farm tasks since the 80s was lost! The culprit: a hole that wore through in the pocket of his old coveralls. Knife slipped through somewhere in a field.
 
Ha! Last year I got my dad a buck 110 (the one with the ebony handle and real leather sheath) for his birthday as his old one that he had carried for both hunting and farm tasks since the 80s was lost! The culprit: a hole that wore through in the pocket of his old coveralls. Knife slipped through somewhere in a field.
That'll show up in a hay bale next year lol
 
That'll show up in a hay bale next year lol
Oh he lost it 5+ years ago now, but just last year started griping about missing that knife and not liking the other "beater" knives he made do with as much as his old favourite from years ago. Being an eminently practical man who wouldn't go and buy a new knife when he did have knives he could make do with already, and also an increasingly frugal man past his retirement now, this was the perfect opportunity to get him something he'd actually use and like and wouldn't have bought himself.

But anyways that old knife never did show up, in a bale or anywhere else.
 
Ha! Last year I got my dad a buck 110 (the one with the ebony handle and real leather sheath) for his birthday as his old one that he had carried for both hunting and farm tasks since the 80s was lost! The culprit: a hole that wore through in the pocket of his old coveralls. Knife slipped through somewhere in a field.
A Buck 110 was the first skinning knife I ever had. It was given to me by my parents. Great knife. I lost it many, many years ago. Would love to have it back. I carry two yellow handled Case pocket worn medium stockman knives every day now. They are really good as well and big enough to skin with. Plus the yellow is easy to see.
 
I turned 18 as we were starting a family vacation. We lived about an hour from Fort Dodge, Iowa. As we traveled through, dad stopped at Kautzky's Sporting Goods. They were the home of the Lazy Ike fishing lures. They had an assortment of sporting goods, as well as a gunsmith. I wanted to go in with dad, but I was disappointed when I was told to stay in the car. Dad came out with a paper bag, handed it to me and said, "Happy Birthday". Inside was a Schrade LB7 knife, the competitor to the Buck 110. The salesman told dad that at the time, the Schrade was the better knife. I have used that knife to clean a LOT of game. I carried it while I worked in the fields and around the farm. It held an edge fantastically! I am now 63 and the knife doesn't get used as much, but is my forever faithful companion when I go to the outdoor range, hunting, and hiking. Dad is passed two years ago at 94. He would be very proud of how I have taken care of, used, and enjoyed that birthday gift.
 
Top