Lost my shotgun

Went hunting at Lake Ray Roberts the day after Christmas, the 26th. Took the first open spot I saw, Clover Road in Tioga. Nearing noon I packed up. Put my shotgun in the case, leaned it against the car while I put everything else away. Drove off. I'll never understand how it was possible for me to do this. I've had that shotgun for many years, its my only one, daily I was building new aspirations. Extreme sentimental value. Shot 193/200 in trap with it in my last competition. Its my first year hunting. Its everything to me, I'll never understand how I did this to myself. Filled a police report. Do you or anyone you know find a shotgun? Had to be someone looking to fish/hunt. There has to be someone who knows somebody, right? Has anyone else lost their most valuable possession?

Good luck, check out pawn shops and gun stores to see if anyone got cash for the shotgun

Hope you find it. I have seen people lose lots of stuff on the forum, and had it returned from a post being made like yours. Maybe describe the gun/case? Just curious, when did you realize you did not have it? How much time elapses before you went back to get it and realized someone took it? Have you tired calling the lake office? That is where I would have returned it. I know we have Ray Roberts park ranger on this forum that posts every now and then. Good luck finding it.

Man that sucks. I hope you get it back

On second thought, probably good idea not to describe it. That is probably a question the lost and found will ask.

Check with the local SO and GW….good luck getting it back. Still lots of good folks out there

Describe it if you have the serial # or any other identification marks ( that you keep to yourself) that you can use to prove ownership.
A lot of folks on this forum are constantly checking classifieds, gunbroker, etc.

There are some Facebook groups for the lake and NTX public duck hunting, might go check those out.

This^^^^^^^ If you are on Facebook there are several active duck hunting pages on there for North Texas.

Sorry to hear. That access point gets a lot of traffic. Hopefully a good citizen found it and turned it in. As mentioned, I'd check with the park offices for sure. The closest one to there is probably the Johnson Branch entrance. Good luck. Might check with Tioga police department too.

Man, sorry for your loss. Believe it or not but it happens quite often. You get side tracked thinking you have checked all the boxes and one thing is overlooked.
We shot trap for years and people would drive off and leave high dollar shotguns in the parking lot that were leaned up against their car/truck.

Post your story everywhere it should turn up.

sorry to hear. hope a good dude finds you and gives it back..

back in the late 90's I had a buddy who dropped his shotgun off his kayak on Ray Roberts....made for a crappy day...

I hope you get your shotty back. We’ve all done something similar, good luck!

It’s just a shotgun. If it were your most valuable possession why would you lose it?

My dad left a Citori on top of his truck while dove hunting when I was a kid. He realized it when we got home and we drove the road looking for it. He opened another beer after we couldn’t find it. I remember his words, “ Doing stupid [censored] is expensive.”

Thank you all for the suggestions and encouraging words as well as relatable stories. I'll definitely be checking online sells, posting on the facebook group, and visiting the office. Just in case anyone comes across it online, it is a black Benelli O/U.

I hope you get that shotgun back, OUCH!!!!

Best of luck recovering your shotgun. Hopefully an honest person will turn it in.

[/quote] “ Doing stupid [censored] is expensive.” [/quote]

Words of wisdom right there!

Well; there is some brain disconnect between leaning or putting something on a truck and then driving off. I don’t know what causes it; but it has happened to me several times. I hope you find it.

Parkcop, shoot him a PM.

https://texashuntingforum.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/7713534/all/lost-shotgun-ray-roberts-lake

Don’t feel bad. I’ve done it myself - twice. Recovered my gun twice.

Go back and post a sign, Lost shotgun right here please call #, maybe the person that found it is honest and will see your sign.

Not a bad idea.

Or maybe the person that found it posted a sign…

Get used to it,,, at your age you will start forgetting all kinds of things.

Go back to the local Sheriff's Department. File a lost property report and provide the make model serial number. If you have these bits of information and report it, the weapon has to be entered into TCIC/NCIC. This will do good things for you. Number one it creates a record for you. If the weapon is ever used for illegal activity, you have a case number on file that indicates you were not in possession of the firearm. Two, if the gun is ever sold in an instance where FFL rules are to be followed, the Sheriff's Department will get notification and you get your gun back. If a cop runs the serial number, again the Sheriff's office will get notified and you get your gun back. If you don't live in that county, you can probably do the report over the telephone.

Report the serial number to the police. If it is taken to a pawn shop it will pop up on the police data base that is linked to all pawn shops.

I did the exact same thing at Lake Aquilla a few years ago. We are human, and we all make mistakes. Don't beat yourself up to badly. It may take a little bit of time and sacrifice of other purchases, but it can be replaced. If you have a home owners or renters policy you can file a claim with your insurance company since it was stolen. Put an ad on Facebook market place and on Craigslist. I would also put an ad in the classified section of the closest towns newspaper. Find the nearest convenient store and ask the clerk if anybody has come in boasting about finding a gun.
Whoever picked it up most likely told several people, so someone is bound to see your ads.