I was working as a Range Safety Officer yesterday at our large gun club. During my four-hour shift it was possible to interact with members and guests. One fellow was having trouble sighting in his new rifle even on the 50 yard range. He decided to take the rifle back to a large box store to get it collimated and buy more ammo. Within a minute of his departure from the range, it was evident that he left the new rifle on the shooting bench. I secured the rifle and advised my relief Range Officer of the incident. Three hours later the fellow returned and picked up his rifle. The rifle was a Weatherby Vanguard .300 Win. Mag with a 4.5X-14X Leupold scope. This was the first time I observed this happening. I like a story with a happy ending. All the best...
Gil

I couldn't imagine forgetting a rifle. That's shocking.

Dimitri wrote:

I couldn't imagine forgetting a rifle. That's shocking.

I agree mate, that’s astounding…in fact the new rifle would be the first I packed up , especially considering he was taking it in for work.

he WANTED it to be pinched..... it booted him too much is why he couldnt get it sighted in...if he was heading to store to get it boresighted.. yeah nah he took 3 hours to come back.....yeah right.

Elvis wrote:

he WANTED it to be pinched..... it booted him too much is why he couldnt get it sighted in...if he was heading to store to get it boresighted.. yeah nah he took 3 hours to come back.....yeah right.

You may well be right mate…an insurance jobbie.

Someone here (whose name might not be clear to all) remembers the rifle but forgotten the bolt

gelandangan wrote:

Someone here (whose name might not be clear to all) remembers the rifle but forgotten the bolt

Damn, I’m never going to live that down am I.

In my defence, my mate was hurrying me up to go go go, let’s get moving, I want to get amongst the deer (nothing like buck fever to get the adrenaline pumping hard)…hence in doing the right thing legally (bolts separate from the rifles when travelling) they were missed when loading the car.

Still, no excuse, I f@#$&d up badly and hang my head in shame. I had to use my mates rifle, that was zeroed to his dodgy eyes (he eventually lost first an eye, then his life to cancer - may he Rest In Peace - I miss him and our fun trips). It taught me a valuable lesson…yelling BANG at a game critter doesn’t have to same result as making the rifle go BANG.

Vince wrote:

Damn, I’m never going to live that down am I.

You shoot ONE tree and they never forget it! Oh, wait, we were talking about bolts...

Pumpkinslinger wrote:

Vince wrote: Damn, I’m never going to live that down am I. You shoot ONE tree and they never forget it! Oh, wait, we were talking about bolts...

Welcome to the membership of a very elite Club Punkin, the
“I F@#$&d Up, ‘even if it was an unplanned accident’ Club”.

the list of important things I have forgotton when heading out hunting is long and rather funny to look back upon
some of the more notable
sleeping bag when heading into high country in winter
boots when hunting wallabies (flat soled town shoes not flash)
my dog when picked up to go pighunting is possibly the worst
no no NO ITS NOT
that would be last duck shooting opening day,we get to hunting grounds and hour n half from home...get boats etc ready and Brother in law is looking for his shotgun..the one thats still at my home locked away in my cabinet...we changed our routine in that he wasnt at our home the night before..we shared mine LOL.

Seems we have another member Punkin…welcome aboard Elvis.

Vince wrote:

Seems we have another member Punkin…welcome aboard Elvis.

Folks,
We used to have a famous newscaster from Chicago who would say "... and now for the rest of the story..." The fellow who left his rifle behind did return three hours later and picked it up. He came back a few days later to finish sighting it in. He said the reason he departed the range so quickly and forget his rifle was due to a call he received on his cellphone. He was told that a family member was involved in an auto accident with few details. He departed quickly to check things out. Hence, he was able to return the same day for his firearm. All the best...
Gil

as the sailor said to the bargirl in Saigon,"happy endings are great".