WMA Turkey Hunter Finds Shotgun In Woods, Uses GON Forum To Find Owner

What a blessing it is when we get to report on a hunter doing the right thing. I’m sure it happens often, but so many times those stories go unreported. Here’s a good one.

Jim Ehrensperger, of Woodstock, was riding through Pine Log WMA with his buddies Mark Frutchey and Rex Morrison on April 4.

“I was showing my two buddies some areas that I had seen some turkey sign when something caught my eye,” said Jim. “I thought to myself that there was no way that I just saw a shotgun on the side of the road. I stopped and confirmed that it was in fact a Remington 870.”

Jim picked up the gun and headed to the check station to see if anyone was around.

“I learned from a fellow hunter at the check station that someone came by asking if anyone had mentioned finding one,” said Jim. “We obviously had just missed each other by a few minutes. I put a note on the board that if someone lost a gun, they could call me and describe it,” said Jim.

Jim had a burden to find the rightful owner of the gun, so he took another step in getting it back into the hands of its owner.

“I got to work that Monday morning and was trying to think of ways to find the rightful owner,” said Jim. “I use the GON web forum from time to time and decided to give it a shot.”

Jim’s post read, “I found a shotgun on a WMA this past Saturday and would like for the rightful owner to have it back. If you or someone you know lost one, have them contact me to get it back.”

It didn’t take but a few hours for a message to appear in Jim’s inbox from someone claiming they’d lost a shotgun on Pine Log WMA.

“Tony described the gun and where it was lost,” said Jim.

Tony Boudreaux, of Decatur, who goes by “boudr2525” on the GON forum, posted this after touching base with Jim: “I owe you one buddy! This is something that doesn’t happen every day. I am really thankful, and Jim is a really nice guy to do what he did.”

On the day Tony lost his shotgun, he had been hunting and was at his SUV and fixing to leave. Another hunter was driving out and stopped to speak with him for a few minutes. When the conversation ended, Tony got back in his SUV and pulled off with the shotgun still leaned against it. The gun was likely on the ground for 30 to 45 minutes before Jim found it.

“He is a very appreciative guy and was excited to get his first shotgun back,” said Jim. “I know if I am out on Pine Log, and he is around that I have someone to count on if needed. We as sportsmen need to always do what is right, stick together and help each other in times of need.”

Sign up for the GON web forum at http://forum.gon.com/.