Rifles are the keepers of our memories

[Michiganhunter]

Every rifle has memories that allows us to go back in time and recapture an event. A story that remains vivid in our minds. Every time we pull a gun out of a safe or case and hold it in our hands, there is a story we share with that rifle. It becomes a companion. It is also a witness to all that happens when we carry it with us on our shoulder or in our hands. If you think about it, we have it with us on a hunt all the time, yet we only need it for a few seconds.
Every one of us that are part of the Weatherby Nation have stories about our guns. Events that take place and remain burned in our memories. Why not share them with the rest of us. Some are funny, some impressive, many are embarrassing and just plain interesting. Tell us about them. We won't laugh...well that's not true, we'll laugh but, at least you won't hear us.
In 1990 I went hunting in Wyoming on public land for mule deer. My brother and I backpacked about four miles from where the road stopped. I had a new .257 weatherby with a leopold 3.5-10x50mm. The first day I glassed a bachelor group of mulies on a fairly flat bench on the top of the mountain. The only way to get to them without being busted was a really steep climb on the backside of the mountain. It was about a 1,000 foot climb and poor footing with lots of rocks. As I was about half way up the swivel on my sling came loose. The rifle slipped off my shoulder and I watched in horror as it bounced end over end back down that mountain. You can imagine the sickening feeling watching this unfold. It was the first day and I was 4 miles and 7 hours away from the truck and a spare rifle.
I crawled back down and picked up that once beautiful rifle. It was scratched and chips of wood missing. The Leopold scope was all beat up with dents in the bell and a turret cap missing. The glass was scratched but not shattered. A miracle it was still on the rifle. I headed back to where we're had our tent to leave a note for my brother. We had camped in a bottom draw between two ridges. I decided to shoot the rifle in that draw before I headed back out. A rifle shot would be muffled and I wouldn't scare off any game. I shot the rifle 2 times and it was dead on. That Leopold and talley mounts withstood that horrifying tumble! I called Leopold, no email back then, and told them about their rugged scope. They asked my address and four days later a new scope arrived. Great company! I did not shoot a big buck that trip, but I did take a smaller 3x2. My brother shot a big 5x4 with a 31" spread.
I have quite a few memories that are stored in my rifles. I know many of you have rifles with memories. Share them with us. We won't laugh, I promise...........

[jmnyckt]

I have one that is burned in my mind. I was hunting in Alabama, i was able to hunt some private land, i waited all day overlooking a nice food plot and saw nothing, then at last light a nice doe stepped out, put the crosshairs right behind the shoulder and let the .300Wby rip. Clean miss. I was tormented all night by that. The very next day i was on post, walked into an area i had no clue about. I sat down up against a tree, I was far from quiet, I had no expectations other than scouting. I sat for about 2 minutes, looked to my left, and a really nice buck was slowly meandering along, no idea i was even there 15 yards away...I put the .300Wby to my shoulder, crosshairs right behind the shoulder and dropped him. I ejected the spent casing, picked it up and saw another deer, put in another round, aimed and fired, 25 yards. Ejected the casing and i saw two flags take off. I went to see the ones i got, the first was a 7 point, the second an 8 point. On post, you arent allowed to field dress, so i had to drag them out one at a time, that was a really, really long day, but it was worth it. I knew my rifle was fine, but at that distance i think I could have thrown a rock at them. But in Alabama using a spear is legal, maybe i should have tried that. Theres more, but Im going to keep it to one. But i have one about a bear, one about a moose, and a bunch about deer. Most of my hunting successes are 1% skill and 99% pure sh## luck and im probably giving myself more credit than reality. I cant think of any hunt that i have been on where skill has been the case, clever ingenuity? Yes, at times. Im no pro, i just have a whole lot of years of mistakes and learning not to make the same ones.

[zonie]

I have dreams about exciting fishing trips and hunting.  I guess about 12 -14 years ago we were elk hunting locally and hauled the horses to Loco knoll  just north of Escudilla mtn in eastern AZ.  My dad had passed away and I decided to use his rifle scabbard which was pretty old and I didn't check the condition of the leather straps which looked fine until you bent them and then you could see the degradation of the leather.  I was on my wifes loco freking horse half appaloosa & paso fino gilding ,  this horse hated guy's and was about worthless when a gun went off.  Don't even think about shooting off of him other wise it's yea yaw or a e- ticket ride.  His eye's would go wide with fire and then he got upset,  anyway I was in the middle of world war 3 with him when we decended down loco knoll and the top rifle strap broke and slung the rifle down smacking a big  rock,  right on top of an old Leupold Vari X III 2.5x8 ,  great scope ,  dented and scratched the scope and rifle,  BUT it didn't break and still held zero,  I couldn't believe it,  it hit hard.   I hated that freking horse, he would give me crap every time I went to catch him.   This last year my son and I were down unit 27 Az on his Coues deer hunt and he went over backwards after a rock gave way and landed on the scope  totally bent his scope had to drive into town about 60 miles away and buy a new scope,  normally we don't take a spare rifle when we hunt locally,  probably ought to.   I got a bunch of stories,  sank a jeep in a creek,  had to drive backwards off a mtn because we lost all foreward gears on my buddies  jeep,  cooked an elk in the back of the same jeep due to an axle overheating while I was towing  the jeep for miles.  Towed that same jeep down to Patagonia in south AZ javelina hunting  tow bar broke and dragged the jeep sideways with the safety chains.  Friend shot an elk just south of Flagstaff someone forgot to latch the towbar back in the up and locked position and retrieving the downed elk the towbar swung down  into the dirt and high centered the same old jeep ,  finally I told my buddy unless you get a better heavy duty tow bar I ain't towing this thing any more and he did.   This was one of those jeep you didn't care if you tore up or not if you know what I mean,  it always got us back with one exception when we lost a tire, wheel, and axle. 

[.257]

My story involves a German Shorthair Pointer named Joey, a Weatherby .257, and a Antelope. I am a upland bird hunter and have had dogs all my life. Picked Joey out for two reasons, one to have another hunting dog, and two for breeding. She has turned out to be one of my best dogs. She has had two litters, from the first litter's money I purchased the Weatherby and a Vortex scope, Leupold bases and rings. From the second litter on went on a Antelope hunt. This antelope was the first big animal taken with this rifle. He just missed the record book, by 6/8.

[danno50]

Once while on a lease in Kerrville Tx, I was hunting late morning(nice and cool, about 40 degrees)when a big sow hog and her piglets, about 8 or 10 and none weighing more than a few pounds each, showed up at my feeder. The piglets were running around like little Mattel hot wheel cars all charged up. Well, I knew I wasn't gonna see any more deer that morning, so I shot that big sow, and the piglets scattered into the brush in all directions. I figured I'd give it a few minutes and go down and drag her out, but before I could even finish that thought, the piglets started to come in again. Then the strangest thing happened,(strangest to me anyway)the piglets all gathered round the dead sow and started suckling on her. I sat there in disbelief, and then thought, thats why they call them "pigs", cause they never miss an opportunity to eat.   

[Michiganhunter]

In the mid 70's I was not able to make it back to our farm for opening day of Michigan deer hunting season. It starts November 15 and ends on November 30. I made it up there on my birthday November 29 and went to my hunting shack about 3 hours before dark. As the light was waning I spotted a nice buck about 50 yards away in the brush and behind some does. The only shot I had was a neck shot. I shot and the does took off and with all that commotion I didn't see the buck drop. At 50 yards it was a given that my accurate wby 300 connected. As I walked there I was humming "happy birthday" to myself. I went to where I shot him and no buck. I checked for evidence of hair or blood along the deer trail but nothing. As I am walking back I see one of the tag alders was broken with white showing. Tag alders are red not white. My shot hit that tag alder and that buck would live another day. If your family and friends are like mine they seem to remember those events no matter how you try to forget. So now when somebody misses in our group of hunters it's known as a "happy birthday" shot. They say "time heals". It doesn't. It's a lie.

[terminator]

LOL. Now that is a good one.

[badsection]

I tend to relate keepers of memories as long departed friends rather than tools. I tend to forget nothing, a blessing and a curse!   

[PARA45]

Danno, I thought you were going to say that you had a bit of remorse after shooting the sow and watching the piglets come back to mama.....LMAO!!!!!!

My memory is quite upsetting.  I went on an elk hunt at Steam Boat Spring, Colorado.  While coming down a mountain, I lost my footing, and tumbling down I went.  I had with my a Vanguard 300 Wby with a Leupold VX-II 3-9 scope.  I thought I protected the rifle, and I don't remember hitting the rifle with anything, but it proved that something did hit it.  The next day a 5x5 bull elk came into view at 228 yds (ranged), and I shot over it's back and to the left of where the bull was standing.  I was extremely upset, and disappointed of what happened to put it mildly.  My best friend who heard the shooting, came to me after about 30 min to investigate, and when he saw how upset I was, he gave a chance to redeem myself.  He had been watching a group of mule deer, but he didn't have a tag, but I did.   Well, I used his rifle and shot a 5x5 mule deer, my biggest mule deer to date.  Talk about a happy ending.    Not the best picture, but you get the idea.

[danno50]

Danno, I thought you were going to say that you had a bit of remorse after shooting the sow and watching the piglets come back to mama.....LMAO!!!!!!


Good one Oscar, I read your first line and I started LMAO!!!!! Remorse after shooting the sow
Well if I couldn't have a great 5x5 Bull Elk, my second choice would be a great 5x5 Mule Deer. For a change, I'm glad to know someone who was actually able to to make Chicken salad out of Chicken shit, I've always been told it can't be done. Congratulations!! (Your lucky to have a good friend that has your back when your down and out)

[PARA45]

As always you have a ways with words, and that is some funny sh*t!   Yes, I was lucky that day.  The other side to this story is that his friend had never hunted before, and had never shot at anything beside the paper target in Basic Training.  He ended up shooting a small 5x5 bull with my spare rifle.  That's right this guy was using my spare rifle, and he managed to drop this bull with a single shot.  LMAO!!!!  We still laugh about this story, not about me missing, or the big muley, but mainly about me going down the mountain.  LOL!!!!!  Yeah, there were witnesses, and thank God for no GoPro cameras. 

[Michiganhunter]

I have been going to Wyoming on BLM land for almost 30 years hunting mule deer. We plan on hunting for about 7 days. If we are fortunate and tag out before then we go after coyotes or do some fishing. I had my buck tagged the first day so my brother continued hunting and I went in the opposite direction to see if I could call in a few coyotes. Overnight we had about 4 inches of snow and that makes it quiet to walk and easy to see them. I set up on a nice bluff overlooking where 3 draws came together and started squealing like a dying rabbit. I stayed there for about an hour calling every ten minutes or so. I didn't see anything so I picked up to try somewhere else. As I walked about 30 yards I saw in the fresh snow where my tracks were crossed by a cougar. As I read the sign I could see where that cougar had come in behind me and made a half circle, stopped about 10 ft from where I was sitting and then bounded off. It scared the living daylights out of me to see what had just happened to me and how close it came to me without even knowing it. I didn't know if it was ready to pounce on me or I stood up I scared it off. It still sends cold chills down my back when I think about it. I went from being a predator to possibly prey that morning.