In your rig, well your in the field..a question

onpoint said:
I love your style but a missing $3,000 gun that took me near 50 years to be able to afford or one of my family members(my dog(s)) just spooks me these days. Grant it, I never have had anything taken but I had $175 to 1,000 guns back then. It's sad we have to even be thinking this way. I hate to say this but I have caught more so called friends taking my things then anybody else. Once I was at a friends home and we were BBQing. For many years I have bought what is called a cruisers double bitted axe at auctions. They are very small and you can't find one no where in a store today. There I sat as he went to his shed to get a ax to chop some BBQ wood. My eye's about fell out of my head when he brought my missing cruisers axe and started chopping wood right in front of me well I drank a cocktail. I never said anything but it wasn't unlikely, that after he would leave my house. Inevitably sooner or later I would find something missing. Sorry for the high jacking of my own thread, but those we know can sometimes be the perpetrator.
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stole an axe lol i just cant beleive it lmao i cant quit laughing im saying to myself steal something to work with no thanks unreal !!!
 
only a pointer said:
stole an axe lol i just cant beleive it lmao i cant quit laughing im saying to myself steal something to work with no thanks unreal !!!
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Nothing funny about it to me. If you knew what a quality Zenith cold steel cruisers ax was worth and how hard they are to find. I have been to auctions all summer and maybe seen one. This isn't some ax you would buy at Menard's
 
I don't leave extra guns in my truck . . . too many gang-bangers/meth heads around anymore, but the only problem I ever had was in my driveway . . . I slipped-up on the guy while he was in my rig & he was somehow content to just sit there until the PD arrived. I must have a calming effect on people . . .

A friend who does a lot of hiking/hunting off trailhead parking lots has decals on both door windows: "Do crosshairs make the hair on the back of your neck stand-up? Too bad, it could be your only warning. Don't F*** with my Jeep." He has never had a problem . . .
 
While hunting in SD back in November, the glow plugs in my truck started acting up the first morning and it took me a couple of hours to finally get the block warm enough with the block heater for the engine to crank. So as not to miss any more hunting time, we set out, drove over a hundred miles from where we were staying to our hunting spot and to be sure we did not get stranded we left the truck running while we hunted. There were times that we were well over two miles from the truck and no it was not locked either. We did this for seven days straight without incident. I would not have done this if I were at home 'cause the truck would have been gone before I got 100 yards from it. Under normal circumstances I would leave a set of keys on the front seat, doors unlocked and spare keys in my pocket. Probably not the best thing to do, so far no problems.
 
At the hotel at night we take all guns inside, pretty much anything loose in the bed too. Had a cooler stolen one night, it was full of bread and chips. No more coolers left in the bed at the hotel.

In the field, we generally as a group only carry one spare shotgun, its left under the back seat. Truck is usually not locked and keys are not taken with us for fear of losing them as somebody posted above.
 
I hate having keys in my pants pocket when walking all day. I sewed a key retainer clip in the outside pocket of my bird vest and bird coat. Just clip the keys to that and drop them in the pocket. No reason to leave the keys behind that way. Lock the topper. Never had a problem. Spare gun under the back seat. One year while deer hunting I left the keys in the ignition on my '99 Chevy and left the doors unlocked. Somehow the dang vehicle locked its doors up tight. I did not do it. Had to break a window with a fence post. Since then I added a hideout key to prevent that in the future. If someone is hunting with me I usually give them my spare set of keys in case they get back to the truck when I am not there.
 
I just keep a spare key on the back of my license plate. Just take out on screw and hook it through the top of the key and you will alway have a spare.
 
Thought I did it right but wasn't sure.:eek: I'll check and make sure it works next time.
 
I don't typicaly have any problems here at parking spots while hunting. I don't worry too much about it. Thats what my insurance is for. I did have some pheasants stolen out of the back of the truck from out side the bar in Onaka SD once though. But that could have been cats or something too. All I know is they were gone when we came out. We had a cool one or two just after hunting and went to go clean the birds that were no longer there. I told my buddy it was my turn to clean them today, so tomorrow it's your job.:D
 
Never had a problem

I always lock the front of the truck but rarely the topper (lately the lock doesn't work anyway). I have never had a problem, especially in the timber it would take some balls to rob a hunters truck, you know he is armed and probably don't know where he is in the woods.

Besides, unless I am hunting multiple species I never have a spare gun with. In all my years of bird hunting I have never had a gun problem that I couldn't fix, knock on wood. That includes trips to Canada and Arizona where it would be a bummer to be without a shotgun. Most thieves would be disappointed with what they found in my truck. :D

I heard a rumor once that in California during the waterfowl season it was common for thieves to target public hunting area parking lots and steal vehicles. Don't know if that is true.
 
When I lived in SE WI there was quite a bit of trouble with antis vandalizing vehicles at parking areas.They also destroyed a guy's mink farm by releasing the breeding pairs who mate for life.They,of course, weren't capable of surviving in the wild.Wish they would have strung-up the puppy mill operator down the road.I would have supplied a brand-new rope.
 
In your rig, well

This might save someone from a terrible accident and may be fitting for this thread. I heard of an incident where a guy was trying to negotiate a field and became stuck. After he tried to free the wheels he got back in the truck and started it up. He had a fairly new truck and the door locks were set to engage when the motor was started. He unknowingly set some grass under the truck on fire and was unable to exit before he became severely burned. He was permanently disfigured and crippled. My strong suggestion is if you have a truck similarly equipped you program the locks not to engage until you reach 15 mph or something similar. Some of the remote areas we hunt could easily result in loss of lives. I think it is also a good idea to have a spare key on your person or with a hunting buddy. One cold day we climbed out of my Chevy and left the motor running and the doors locked when we stepped outside and shut the door. Not supposed to but they did. There is even a little metal left underneath for a magnetic key holder.
 
Went to South Dakota a few months ago. We checked in at the hotel and got our room. We drove around to the back where the room was and found the door kicked in. I talked to the desk clerk and they said that it happens from time to time. Some ass, knowing its pheasant season and the place is packed with hunters, picks an room and kicks the door in looking for whatever they can get. They fixed the door and we stayed, but nothing but clothing was left when we were not in the room. I have never had a problem out in the field.
 
onpoint said:
I like to take several guns when I'm hunting but I'm thinking this is not such a good idea anymore these days. I have heard of people coming back to busted glass and a truck that has been emptied. I would be just plain sick to loose one of my guns, or a dog for that matter. Sometimes we change off dogs and leave one or two dogs back in the truck.

What do you guys do?

Have any of you lost gear/guns/dogs from your parked unattended rig?

I NEVER! leave guns or gear in the truck overnight, not even in my own yard. Too many people I have read about on the net have had stuff stolen, specially at a motel.

One of the gun vaults that slide in out in the bottom of the truck bed would be nice. I just don't have that kind of coin. I'm lucky to afford gas these days.

Lets hear your thoughts and experiences.
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OnPoint,

I have tightened my security issues with my hunting-rig over the years, due to concerns of people helping themselves to items in the back of my truck. I built a sub-floor system in the back of the truck, which has a gun safe and hidden storage. Installed a tailgate lock, and always activate the onboard alarm system. Dog compartments have locks installed and the truck (topper or cap) has a duel key lock system. I installed bars on the side sliding windows of the truck cap that keeps honest people honest. I did all of this for less than $125.00 and some scraps from the metal pile. It gives me a piece of mind that I can leave my dogs in the truck un-attended.
 
I'm and old school guy I guess, I'm always more concerned about losing the key and locking myself out of the truck than I am about theft. I like motels where I park right outside the unit, I trust the dogs will bark, guns go inside with me, or I camp in some remote area. I think it would take more guts than a government mule to try and loot a hunters truck, while there are armed hunters in the immediate area. But we live in weird times.
 
I used to be the same way until I had a Franchi 48AL 20 gauge stole from the truck.
 
Okiegunner; Do you have any hops-hornbeam trees around where you live? Imet a guy that made a truck cap using this wood. He did a mortise and tenon set up to put it together. When he put it together on the truck he counter sunk bolts to strengthen the corner joints even more. He also put some weather sealer that was safe to be around animals and kids.He did this while the wood was green to make it easier to work with.I'm in the process of looking for one myself to use for a project that I have.
 
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