Dropped firearm

[ambush]

I let a dumb thing happen on my last deer hunt Friday. Climbed into my treestand 20' high, hoisted my muzzleloader up, untied it. Leaded it against the shooting rail with the buttstock rest in on the platform. Turned to stow the hoist rope and ....crash. There goes my gun twenty feet to the ground. In my 32 years of hunting, this is a first for me...I was totally ashamed of myself as I pride myself on firearm safety and instill it in my sons firearm handling. Yes, the firearm was damaged (bent stock bolt) and I'm not sure about the scope yet. Has anyone here ever dropped a firearm from their treestand?

 

[belton-deer-hunter]

nope but to prevent this tie a rope around the pistol grip if it falls jsut pull it back up

 

[lawson]

we've all done stupid things, hopefully it's not too damaged.

when i was 7, i dropped my dad's ruger bearcat off a bluff and into the Black River. i was unable to find it.

to this day, whenever i do something stupid, he brings it up.

 

[waterhouse]

Never from a tree stand, but I've had a gun fall off the tailgate of a truck. . .a little worst for wear, but everything still worked. I've knocked a handgun right off the bench and onto concrete as well . . . also took a cosmetic beating but it still shoots fine. Hopefully yours will be ok, and it will give your gun a little character as well.

And I didn't drop it, but when I was 11 or 12 a family member's very nice and fairly expensive duck gun went overboard from the pirogue. Since I was the youngest I got do strip down and go swimming in chilly gator infested waters (they told me the gators are sluggish and don't eat much when it gets cold). But I found it and didn't whine too much, and they've been inviting me back to hunt at their camp for several years now, so sometimes even though dropping a gun is crappy it can have good results.

 

[Subby]

A couple of mine have went swimming, inadvertently. Also, don't pick up a rifle by the sling unless you know for damn sure the swivels are locked, learned that one the hard way. If you drop your rifle in the dark on the way to your stand, pull the bolt and sight through the bore on the moon or open the action and shine your flashlight through the muzzle to make sure mud/etc hasn't plugged it up. Surprises a mile and half from the truck are generally bad.

Sub

 

[Roadkill]

I knocked a 1911A1 off a bench on concrete and cracked the frame. Had a gas adjustment valve on a FAL fly up in the air, it came down and hit the lens on a $500 scope and ruined it. Haven't dropped one out of a climbing/tree stand yet but have come close a few times. I read here a while back about a hunter who was killed when his muzzle loader was dropped from a stand, went off, .50 hit him solid, had time to call for help but was dead when they got there. rk

 

[ambush]

we've all done stupid things, hopefully it's not too damaged.

when i was 7, i dropped my dad's ruger bearcat off a bluff and into the Black River. i was unable to find it.

to this day, whenever i do something stupid, he brings it up.

I'd remind Dad that he was "stupider" for letting a 7 y.o. hold his ruger while standing on a bluff overlooking a river!!
Thanks for the replies....I still feel stupid though. I ordered a new stock bolt. I will test out the scope when I put the gun back together.

 

[Lennyjoe]

Have heard several stories of hunters dropping their guns out of tree stands and getting shot from it when it impacted the ground. For that reason alone I always empty the chamber before getting up into the stand and pulling the gun up.

Only gun I have dropped so far was a shotgun.

 

[Polishrifleman]

Never dropped from a high altitude but this last season. We were back at the truck after about a 4hr jaunt talking grabbing a quick bite of food etc.. we load up in the truck drive about a half hour and I realize no rifle? #@!^ turn around drive another half hour back and there it is Browning A-bolt Leupold VX II less than 20 rounds fired leaning against the stump where I left it.:banghead:

 

[one-shot-one]

i think,

i would have changed my log-in name before i posted that!

 

[Lennyjoe]

Ughh, I could only imagine the feeling you had when you realized you left the rifle behind.

Worst thing I have done so far this year hunting is leave a spotting scope on the top of the back tire of my bronco. Needless to say, I remembered it when I felt the bump while backing up.

 

[Guyon]

Have heard several stories of hunters dropping their guns out of tree stands and getting shot from it when it impacted the ground. For that reason alone I always empty the chamber before getting up into the stand and pulling the gun up.

Only gun I have dropped so far was a shotgun.

+1 on both counts.

I don't pull up a gun with a round in the chamber. Why would you? If you chamber the round slowly, you're not making any more noise than you did climbing up the tree.

I too have dropped a shotgun while turkey hunting. Took some cold bluing to hide a scratch or two, but it shoots fine.