In the stand I leave behind just about everything but the rifle. I have been know to leave the rifle at camp before heading out because the beer cooler took two hands...

where are you hunting that you worry about leaving your guns in the stands while you are on the lease? Maybe near the border I could understand, but in most of Texas?

I've left one or both of mine once or twice. Not my practice, but sometimes have. Figure they are probably safer there than in my house or vehicle in the metroplex!!

I left my rifle in the truck Sat as I walked to the stand. Since I shot my buck that morning I wasn't thinking about another deer. I did turn around and go get it anyway.

I have a vault that is mounted under the back seat of my truck that will hold two full size rifles or a couple broken down AR's/pistols and suppressors, also one in the center console for pistols.

I always leave a stand with the idea I won't be back. Never know when something will come up and you you have to leave camp asap. I close all windows, take all trash out, etc.

Wisdom is a byproduct of experience.

And when that something does happen, you need not add to your worries when you remember your valued firearm was left behind.

read the thread on here (and similar on other forums) about "the strangest thing on your game cam" or the other "strange things found while hunting"

I would be more worried about what some of the freaks and geeks creeping around out there would do to or with the gun Vs them actually stealing it

and as for "in the middle of nowhere" in addition to the story on here of the 4,000 acres in the panhandle I recall reading a story on here or a (similar forum) about a couple of guys that were in WAY BFE west Texas in the land of 30,000+ acre ranches that are 40 minutes on a decent highway and 45 minutes down a terrible road away from anything and theirs was surrounded by larger acreage

they are in the tent in the morning and one hears their fire being stoked up and unzips the tent and there is just some random dude there stoking up their fire and the guy ask him "how far to Midland" (or San Angelo or somewhere similar) and the guy in the tent answered "about 200 miles" and the guy at the fire ask "can you give me a ride" and the guy in the tent was like "uh no"

so the guy at the fire says "well I am just going to get warm here for a bit and I will be on my way"......sure enough he warms up for a bit and walks off into the nothingness to go to his destination 200 miles or so away

another story in that same thread from the same area was some guys out on a similar property (that had about a 20 mile walk from I-10 as the crow flies) are sitting around their fire one morning after the hunt and they look up and there is a crazy naked woman standing there staring at them and the thorns were so thick on her feet they looked like sandals

the guys are all pretty much in shock and they try and talk to her, but she just freaks out so they call the law

law finally gets there and has to pretty much "subdue" her and when it is all said and done the story was she was some meth head driving down I-10 and she sees some other meth head guy hitchhiking and stops to pick him up

they are driving down I-10 and the guy whips out some meth and a pipe and they start smoking out and after a bit the guy starts trying to rape her and to get away she smashed her car into the pole of a bridge overpass and that knocked the guy out and she ran off into the nothingness

the cops had found the car already (and I think the guy), but not her......she had been wondering around out there all night and got all meth crazy and tore her cloths off and walked up on the hunters in the morning

the point being "they" are out there when you least expect it and where you least expect it and with some of them you might not want your gun back after they are done with it and with others you might just wish they had stolen it and moved on instead of possibly running into you and holding your gun

This...


I also have a a pic of a 4 door sedan driving down the middle road at the lease...no idea how it got into the property!

Heck no! For one thing, you never know what you'll see on the way back to camp. But mostly, I would be sick if anything ever happened to one of my rifles because I neglected it like that. I'm very fond of my rifles.

For what it is worth: my buddy and I just set up a nice deer hub near Smithville, along with two nice game cameras, buckets, chairs, etc. I mean, this place is jungly. My wife is from Cambodia and has described the jungle there, and this place pretty much fits that description. So, we thought we had found hunting Nirvana. Lots of nice big hog showing up on the cameras, and nice big rack bucks. He just went out to check on it last Saturday and EVERYTHING was gone. Which reminds me that many, many years ago, I was sitting in the audience of a certain 12 step program listening to people speak. A couple of them started talking about how they were living in the woods in holes in the ground with cardboard roofs near Advanced Micro Devices off Ben White Boulevard near Austin Bergstrom Airport. So, it's just good to know for your own safety that there may be actual troglodytes living in the ground out there in the woods that you think are so empty and devoid of people. There are bad actors everywhere, in the cities, and unfortunately out in the woods.

On the way to the ranch we eat at a place I have a clear view of the vehicle or one of us stay in the vehicle...

Your move hand

if the thread linked below does not end the practice of leaving guns in blinds unattended for even brief periods of time....as well as leaving guns in vehicles overnight while at camp or even unattended in camp.....then nothing will until that gun (or those guns) is stolen

http://texashuntingforum.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/6562749/1

The days of having a gun rack in your truck rear window are gone. I agree with Someone that is this thread doesn't change habits, I'm not sure anything will....Be safe out there. .

Wouldn't even consider leaving my weapon in the blind. What would be a reason besides just being lazy??? Hell, I've had my entire box blind stolen off my lease lol! I get nervous just leaving my dang fold up lawn chair

"What would be a reason besides just being lazy???"


NAILED IT...
Or people worried about where you were, what you seen, where did you go, what did you do


We unload our Ranger the SECOND we roll in and all weapons besides whats on my hip is secure...
I also make sure all my vehicles and tool boxes are locked..

Laziness and Complacency...will get you ever time..

I would never leave my gun in the blind, mostly because of worry about it being stolen, but also because I can't count the number of times I've crawled out of a box blind or a ground blind and saw a deer easily within range. With my luck, I'd sit in a blind half the morning freezing my arse off without seeing anything and then step on a bedded deer on the way back to the nice warm truck.

No way I would do that.