People will surprise you sometimes.

A

Andrew Holley

Well-known member
As some of you will remember, last fall during hunting season, I had a boat accident and lost my gun, coat and shell bag.

Well, I got the gun back.

A fisherman hooked the gun case, while trolling for walleyes two weekends ago and brought it home and cleaned it up, not knowing what to do with it and wanting to do the right thing, he contacted a warden, who heard about me losing the all my equipment from a friend of a friend. Three guys the story past through last October and they tracked me down and I got a hold of the fisherman and picked the gun up tonight.

All in all it's in pretty good shape, the bluing on the barrel need to be redone and there is alot of sand in the action, but no rust in the barrel and you could probably fire it without a problem, after about 7 months in the water.

I have to say, I am very impressed, first that the fisherman contacted a warden and didn't just keep it. Second that they were able to track me down from a story they heard about last year.

The fisherman also gave me the corridates of where he hooked the gun and I am going swimming this weekend and see if I can find anything more.

Would really like my lanyard back.
 
congrats on getting your gun back.
I hope you can find more stuff when you go swimming although I have some doubts about a lanyard.

I had a longbow returned to me 20 years after I last saw it.
Someone found it propped up against a dumpster and turned it in.
It was a handmade longbow by Jerry Hill. Don't know the value resale but I met with him and described exactly what I wanted and he built it custom for me.

db
 
Andrew, A huge ray of hope!!!! I wish the guy who snagged my 35 Evinrude was as honorable. Good luck with the rest of your gear recovery. The world has some good folks left and we need to take care of each other.
 
Its good to hear good info now and them.

Just a suggestion..... Contact someone from your local Police "search and rescue" unit and get some ideas on doing grid searches under water. Assuming you have scuba gear, they may be able to give you some ideas to save you a lot of time (and air). The techniques are simple. Especially if you have a friend in a boat with a GPS, a couple of floats with lines and anchors on.

Best of luck... and maybe a story to be told later in one of the outdoor magazines???

Dave
 
Dave is right. If you can get a couple of guys with scuba gear and the water is somewhat clear they would be able to help a LOT. Trying to swim and find your gear would be really tough (if you meant actually swimming) unless it's in < 10' of water. Most scuba divers will help just for the fun of it if you pay for their air (I know I would). If I had a tank with air in it, I'd do it for free just for the excuse to get in the water!

Good luck!!!
 
Last edited:
Andrew,

Your story reminds me of two quotes that I think quite highly of. The first is by Mark Twain - "Always do right, it will astonish some and gratify the rest". The second is my signature quote on here by Victor Hugo. I'm of the opinion that most people are basically good and you can trust them.

I'm glad you got your gun back. How accurate do you think the GPS coordinates are? I have all the scuba gear including tanks and could come up and run a search for whatever else might be there. It's quite a remote possibility but you won't know unless you try. If I remember right it's a pretty shallow area isn't it? You could also contact the Green Bay Scuba shops/club and see if someone there would help - the difference is they might charge you , while all I need is to be fed. Then again if one of the instructors is doing an Advanced Scuba class, they might do it for the Search & Rescue portion of the certification. Let me know and we can set something up.
 
Hey Dutch, Do you still have your Jerry Hill? I've never seen one but have heard that they are very smooth shooters - is that true? I have two longbows now and really appreciate their simplicity.
 
Pete-
I've still got it but have not restrung it in a year or so.
It is a SWEET shooting bow just don't have the time to put in right now.

db
 
Dutch,

I just got back into traditional after a 35 year dabble in wheel bows. I'm shooting two now, a John McDonald 'Big River' @ 57#s and a Howard Hill Big Five @ 51#s. Almost identical looking bows but they sure shoot differently. My preference is the former as it just seems to fit me the best and shoots smooth. I think with these two bows, the difference is in the tillering and makes me appreciate the skill/art of a good bowyer.
 
Pete said,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
[font=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]the difference is they might charge you , while all I need is to be fed.[/font]
Click to expand...
[font=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]

Andrew,

Don't invite Pete up to help you look. He is actually after your pie baking secrets so he can beat you up in August at Lacrosse. Of course maybe that is how you two would enjoy spending the afternoon. I can see it now,,,,, flour and sugar everywhere, pies in the oven browning nicely. Meanwhile the discussion centers on,,, Which makes a lighter crust, bear lard or pig lard?
smiley-angelic012.gif

[/font]
 
Pete, thanks for the offer, I am probably going to take you up on it. My first thought is going out there and see if I can see down enough to spot anything. Water is suppose to be fairly clear and the fisherman said it was only 8 feet of water. No idea how good the cooridinates are.

Dave, only ever used pig lard, not sure I could eat bear, almost tried bear sausage once, but could handle the smell.

Also, I am not sure I will be around in August. I am heading to Alaska to mine for gold and hunt Caribou in late summer and the dates are not set yet, hoping to leave the following weekend.
 
When I dropped my SBEII in the river this year I used a aquaview underwater camera to find it. The screen stays in the boat and you drop the fish looking camera down to look around. Mine was in about 8' with heavy current and ice flow... I don't wanna think about it anymore. Glad you got the gun back, very cool!

Have fun in Alaska! I did the same thing a few years ago and it was an awsome trip! I'm tyring to get back for moose or sheep next year:) My buddy moved back to Fairbanks this year and I hope he plans on staying awhile!

Gene
 
Dave, Dave, Dave

When you make an apple pie like mine you don't need to steal someone elses "secrets" dontchaknow. After all I learned how from my Mom and nobody beats Mom's Apple Pie. Not that I don't enjoy everybody elses efforts. I have always said "I like any dessert that has the word PIE in the name".
 
Andrew,

Let me know when. I need to get my tanks checked and filled and that's about it. I have everything else. Oh, the water temp can't be 50 either, I dive with a wet suit so the warmer the better.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top