Tikka rings are not the highest quality product out there, so my scope was slipping while at deer camp. Being a complete novice I got it back where I wanted it and cranked on those screws. Whoops. Cracked something internally and instead of increasing magnification, the reticle spun. I put it back to the lowest power and shot a deer the following morning (40 yard shot so it would have to have been majorly off to miss). Needless to say when I got home I found a reputable gunsmith!
Worst thing to happen to your rifle while hunting
- Thread starter brnsvllyjohn
- Start date
thusby
Well-known member
I got to watch my rifle clatter about 10 feet down a rock pile in the boundary waters this year after I slipped on a mossy rock. It looks like everything is okay but I about had a heart attack.
Guy
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2018
- Messages
- 481
Shot a bear at about 325 yards with my 30-06. My companions and I were hiking down into the ravine we had to cross to get to the bear when I slipped and fell.
My rifle landed on the rocks, right on the old 2-7 Redfield scope!
I just knew the scope would be off, but was pleased to see that there appeared to be no damage to the rifle.
Turns out, the scope hadn't shifted zero at all! It could have been a lot worse. BTW, I was glad that I was hiking with an empty chamber. Don't think the rifle would have fired when dropped, but who knows?
Guy
My rifle landed on the rocks, right on the old 2-7 Redfield scope!
I just knew the scope would be off, but was pleased to see that there appeared to be no damage to the rifle.
Turns out, the scope hadn't shifted zero at all! It could have been a lot worse. BTW, I was glad that I was hiking with an empty chamber. Don't think the rifle would have fired when dropped, but who knows?
Guy
Gunner46
Well-known member
Dad bought me a 20ga single shot Stevens, as a Christmas present, when I was 11 yrs old. He also bought me a box of 3" shells. (#6 shot)....for rabbit hunting.
Full length stock, 28" barrel, full choke. (Appalachia logic)
1st shot on Bugs Bunny, the butt plate got caught in the lower right under-hang of my oversized coat and at the shot it promptly bucked up into my face full force. Nose blooded, front tooth knocked out, fat lip.
Dead rabbit.
Full length stock, 28" barrel, full choke. (Appalachia logic)
1st shot on Bugs Bunny, the butt plate got caught in the lower right under-hang of my oversized coat and at the shot it promptly bucked up into my face full force. Nose blooded, front tooth knocked out, fat lip.
Dead rabbit.
Gunner46
Well-known member
John, you haven't lived until you have had a turkey use the back of your head as a launch pad, at the crack of dark, when you inadvertently chose to use their roost limb just above your stand site. Trust me... you are Alert after that !!That's what happens to your silly Easterners with your goofy treestand ideas
Gunner46
Well-known member
As my Dad used to say...."builds character".
I had a friend canoe across a creek to slip into a stand. While getting out he dropped the rifle muzzle first into the mud which was so soft it went in well over a foot deep. He made the decision to “suck” the marsh mud out and go hunting.
Yes, he did the mud extraction safely. No, he didn’t get a deer that morning.
Yes, he did the mud extraction safely. No, he didn’t get a deer that morning.
ChrisC
Active member
Nor sure you can say it happened "while" hunting, but I went hunting with someone who didnt realize his trigger lock was still on his shotgun until after we were at the spot. He didn't have the key (a multitool was surprisingly effective).
On another occassion that same person, and probably that same pump shotgun, got wet during a boat ride to a duck hunting spot. The slide froze. He watched for most of the morning.
On another occassion that same person, and probably that same pump shotgun, got wet during a boat ride to a duck hunting spot. The slide froze. He watched for most of the morning.
SPDSpappy
Active member
Paid $13k for a once-in-a-lifetime trip for elk, mule deer, and antelope this past October in CO. Was supposed to go to a long distance shooting range (MO) to shoot for the day to make sure everything was good to go. Arrived there and was told it was closed for a group event. After much whining on my part, they at least let me make sure my gun was good out to 600 yards (had issues with it the last time I was out there). I arrived w/ the outfitter and checked my gun at 200 yards and was a little high, but the outfitter said not to adjust my turret (against my better judgement, I left it alone). While hunting for antelope, the first animal we put a stalk on was ~600 yards, so I turned my turret to account for this distance. No shot, so I turned it back to 0, but it didn't feel right. We then saw a B&C antelope so we put a stalk on it. After taking 5 shots on this thing and completely missing over its back, I couldn't figure out why I was missing so bad. Was I really that jittery??? We went back to the truck with my head down and tried to find another antelope. Thankfully, we found another decent one (not B&C, but still really nice). He was at 450 yards, so I went to change the turret and it came off in my hand... When I did the adjustment from 600 yards back to my zero after the first stalk, the turret was just spinning and not actually changing the elevation (verified this on a range later that day -- thank God for the gun club in Craig CO who does sight in days during the weekends before rifle seasons!!). Thankfully, the outfitter kept another gun in his truck (he said to leave my second one back at the lodge) and I nailed him at 410 yards!
buffybr
Well-known member
Other than once slipping and getting a little mud in the muzzle of my rifle which I easily got cleaned out back at camp, and a few little scratches, I've never had anything bad happen to my rifles while hunting.....however,
Years ago a friend was elk hunting late in November when the temps were getting down around zero. They were hunting on horses and there was fresh snow on the fir trees.
My friend had a custom built rifle in .338 Win that he carried in an open top leather scabbord on the side of his horse. At the end of one day he brought his rifle into his cabin. He did not take it out of the scabbord.
The next day he tied the scabbord, with his rifle in it, back on his horse, and they rode out in the dark. Just at daylight they spotted some elk and my friend got off his horse and took a shot at one of the bulls.
My friend's partner said it sounded like a stick of dynamite going off and it knocked my friend to the ground. When they looked at my friend's rifle the barrel had split and peeled back like a banana to the stock and the tip of the forearm was gone.
Evidently snow had fallen into the open top of the scabbord and had melted when they were in the cabin. When they rode out the next morning, the melted snow refroze in the muzzle, then when he shot,and the bullet hit the ice plug and the pressure split the barrel.
My friend owned a bar in town and for several years he had that rifle hung on the wall behind the bar.
Years ago a friend was elk hunting late in November when the temps were getting down around zero. They were hunting on horses and there was fresh snow on the fir trees.
My friend had a custom built rifle in .338 Win that he carried in an open top leather scabbord on the side of his horse. At the end of one day he brought his rifle into his cabin. He did not take it out of the scabbord.
The next day he tied the scabbord, with his rifle in it, back on his horse, and they rode out in the dark. Just at daylight they spotted some elk and my friend got off his horse and took a shot at one of the bulls.
My friend's partner said it sounded like a stick of dynamite going off and it knocked my friend to the ground. When they looked at my friend's rifle the barrel had split and peeled back like a banana to the stock and the tip of the forearm was gone.
Evidently snow had fallen into the open top of the scabbord and had melted when they were in the cabin. When they rode out the next morning, the melted snow refroze in the muzzle, then when he shot,and the bullet hit the ice plug and the pressure split the barrel.
My friend owned a bar in town and for several years he had that rifle hung on the wall behind the bar.
grizzly63
Well-known member
We came out of the cafe to head back out hunting and my nephew pulls the coat off the seat. The coat was covering our guns so they were not tempting people. Needless to say my scoped 30/30 ended up on the pavement beneath the truck. I looked it over and peered thru the scope, everything seemed fine. It wasnt. I missed 7 shots at running whitetails that afternoon that i felt pretty good about the sight picture and trigger squeeze. It had weaver tip off mounts. Turns out the front had slipped upward and lifted out of the rail. The scope had also turned in the rings so it appeared level when i looked thru it. I figured i was shooting 2-3 feet low on all the shots i took that afternoon. A little over a week later, I'm set up in a plowed field waiting for deer to travel through in the evening. I'm setting behind a bipod supported rifle that i had used three days earlier to kill a decent mule deer out west at around 300 yds. One shot bang flop. So, this nice whitetail buck comes along and i admit i get a little excited but have things under control. Standing still buck, five shots executed nicely and he finally runs off. I cant figure out what the heck just happened. I go check for blood just in case, nothing. He is between 3-400 yds on all the shots, standing still each shot. I decided to try and put this behind me. I switch the bipod to another rifle and use it for the rest of the season. A few days later I am rewarded with another opportunity at a decent buck. Same deal, sitting behind a bipod. Bang flop. After the seasons and taking care of the meat, i took the rifle to the range. Could not register a hit at 300 yds. Move up to 100 and I'm shooting 11-12" to the left. Aha! Everything on the scope seems tight. At least now i know why i missed. I will get the rifle out on a decent day and see if i can figure out what went wrong. If not, someone helped me adjust my scope. Not many people have access to my rifles so i doubt that but i'll figure it out later. I have fallen many times over the years and usually come out pretty lucky. Maybe, this was my year.
pilsner
Active member
MarvB
Well-known member
Ell hunting Idaho this year, opening morning odarkthirty, me and three buddies park the rig and take off humping down the road. Come to the gate, first buddy climbs over, I hold the rifles then hand then over to him. I climb over go to sling the rifle back over my shoulder only to hear it fall onto the rocks. Looked down (headlamps) to see that my sling on the swivel stud hadn’t latched (I had put it on in the dark). Two scratches alongside the body of the scope
Hunted all morning fearing seeing an elk. Got back to camp and found a decent backstop at around 100yds (usually have a 200yd zero) and took two shots, holes nearly touching. Let my stomach unclench for the first time in seven hours. Lesson learned.
Hunted all morning fearing seeing an elk. Got back to camp and found a decent backstop at around 100yds (usually have a 200yd zero) and took two shots, holes nearly touching. Let my stomach unclench for the first time in seven hours. Lesson learned.
Buffs35
Well-known member
During deer season this year. Never took the saftey off...
Was coyote hunting a farm late one evening and was walking out in the dark. It was cold and I slipped on the river of piss coming out of the cattle barn and ended up flat on my back.
busted the stock through the wrist, dented the scope, busted the screws off of the scope bases.
left it in the cradle one night to cure the epoxy gluing the stock back together.
the shop caught fire that night and burned to the ground.
This is all that’s left of a 98 mauser with full swastica stampings rebarreled to 25-06
busted the stock through the wrist, dented the scope, busted the screws off of the scope bases.
left it in the cradle one night to cure the epoxy gluing the stock back together.
the shop caught fire that night and burned to the ground.
This is all that’s left of a 98 mauser with full swastica stampings rebarreled to 25-06
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Tradewind
Well-known member
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2015
- Messages
- 5,218
someone sent me this
My brother was in a rush to go hunting for cow elk, and had just finished reloading a batch of ammo for his .300. While in the field my brother had a small herd of cow elk come within 25 yards of him. Pulled the trigger and click phish sound happened. Turns out my brother loaded and fired his dummy round used for sizing. The bullet was stuck in the barrel with the cow elk still grazing near him. My brother then proceeded to grab a stick and try to knock the bullet, the stick snapped off in the barrel as well. With the plugged barrel my brother. Hiked back to his vehicle to get his back up rifle. Only to discover he forgot to pack his bullets for this gun. He then drove 45 minutes to the closest town, and found out all of the stores were out of .308 ammo. My brother then got to drive 5 hours home for another rifle and ammo. The rest of the season my brother only saw bulls. No more cows.
Pighunter
New member
- Joined
- Jan 3, 2021
- Messages
- 29
Once I was walking a rotted log across a small stream and of course it collapsed. The .308 speared into the mud, embedding about 6 inches into the barrel. Fortunately it was at sunset and the hunting day was over anyway.
A couple of years ago I was working across another muddy stream, stepping on sticks and clumps of grass. I tripped and dropped the AR into the mud, which filled the birdcage flash hider and forearm. Again it was about sunset and it really didn't hurt the hunt.
I now carry a cleaning kit in the 4x4.
A couple of years ago I was working across another muddy stream, stepping on sticks and clumps of grass. I tripped and dropped the AR into the mud, which filled the birdcage flash hider and forearm. Again it was about sunset and it really didn't hurt the hunt.
I now carry a cleaning kit in the 4x4.
Walkathon
Well-known member
I was walking down a slope, and slipped and landed on my 30-06 while it was slung across my back. Nothing appeared to be damaged, but I'm OCD when it comes to making sure my guns are shooting where they should be. Broke out the emergency cardboard / target I keep in my truck to confirm zero, and the gun didn't hit the 16" square target at 100 yards. Switched to my backup gun and shot a deer later that afternoon. Glad I took the time to check the one I fell on and confirmed that it was no longer "on".
