Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Do you leave your rifle in stand between hunts?

yes this year for 2 weeks rifle stayed loaded and in stand but i hunt sunrise to sunset all day in the stand , makes life simpler but i am on my own land in a tamarack swamp with good neighbors .

Nope.

I've occasionally left some gear if I'm sure I'm coming back. Bucket to sit on, seat cushion, not much else though.

-Jake

Nope!

How does one kill a critter on the way to or from a stand if the rifle is in the stand??

Ain't no way.

Could I? yes. I get in the stand an hour before light and stay till dark, there's no walking about when I could shoot something.
Do I? no

Sounds like I’m about the only one who does. I’m miles from any roads, but y’all got me thinking that’s dumb. Some of my rifles are worth a few bucks, not big money, but wouldn’t want to learn a hard lesson. I didn’t figure many guys did.


I didn’t mention the stand was padlocked, windows locked too

No but the question made me think of "one time in South Africa". Friend had shot an Oryx and I was going to help drag it to the truck, 10 feet away. Laid my gun down by a tree and turned to grab a leg. South Africans were agast! Could not believe I would lay a rifle down and walk away. All 10 feet. Just could not imagine anyone would do that. Different places, different rules. Of course it takes them a year or more to get a gun after purchase.

Absolutely not. That would be a good way to get sued for all you got or will ever have. When I get too lazy to carry my gun to the stand every morning I'll quit hunting.

No I've shot many deer while walking back to truck or driving through lease on the way back to camp

I know of people who will leave their rifle overnight if they hunted an evening and hunted again the next morning. We leave our side by sides and atvs inside the gate a ways on the property we hunt.

I don't anymore. I once left a Ruger American in my blind overnight, came back the next day and a Sako Forester was in its place!

Absolutely not! Being a responsible gun owner means never leaving your gun unsecured!

No.

DF

Found poor doe. She may have been there yesterday, didn’t notice her, buzzards on her this am

I brought rifle down with me. Will do from now on.

I stayed in until almost 1 pm. Damn Aoudads come in the middle of the day

The only rifle I’ve had stolen was at a range in MA. Went down range to change targets at 200 yds. When I got back to the bench my C. Sharps 40-70 and my equipment box was gone. There were two shooters at the other end of the range both old timers but nobody recalled anything. I ordered a Shiloh the next day

Rick

😮

Thieves should always be beaten senseless
with quality hardwood pick handles or similar
until at least a week or so of recovery is required
Or caning by an expert in the field followed by
a lemon juice/ salt rinse

I have when I hunted another place I used to hunt but not on this place. Illegals are a lot worse than they used to be.

You're talking some truth here. Everyone I know that has had a lease in E. TX had gear stolen. Feeders, blinds, hog traps etc. Lots of meth-heads and low-lifes in E. TX.

I hunt central TX and I've never left a gun in a stand. I have 2 rules whenever I go in the pasture, rifle and bino's, this includes to/from the stand.

We have had an out of state member leave a rifle and shotgun in the locked camphouse so he doesn't have to deal with the airlines when he goes to/from the lease. But the camphouse is right in the main workings of the ranch where the rancher is visiting the barns, workshop, stock pens all day.

Hanco, do you have buzzards right now? All our buzzards in Mason county have migrated away for the winter. We just have the Caracara's right now. It's weird, I never would have thought buzzards were migratory, but they are.