Turkey hunting disaster

[Brillo]

I was sneaking up on a strutter, late Sunday afternoon, that I had seen from the road. I heard another vehicle stop and and a door shut followed by a female voice calling, "hi turkey".  Then it drove away.  Several minutes later I came to a place where I could peek out and the birds were gone.  But that's not the disaster...
When I returned to my truck I unloaded my gun, stored it and continued scouting, then trying to roost birds. The next morning I discovered that I had ejected my three $10.00 shells and left them laying next to the road.  I went back to the spot later and the shells were not there.  That is a disaster. that cost me five times more than my license.  My new procedure is to retrieve my shells before I store my gun.

[Marc]

First off...  Don't unload your shells on to the ground...  I do not want unnecessary dirt or moisture on my shells; moisture can damage the shells (or gun if quickly loaded for some reason again), and any dirt you get on the shells can help fowl the chamber.

Typically, I unload, and the shells go into my hunting vest, or into the side panel of my truck.  I typically load when turkey hunting as soon as I leave the truck, so my shells have a special spot in the side panel, and they stay there until the next hunt or end of season, and I can grab them in complete darkness.

All my turkey hunting gear is loaded into my truck so that I can grab it in complete darkness... 

[Brillo]

I have wondered about the moisture and grit.
So...open the door and try to hit the pocket with the ejects?  I guess I can do that without shooting my truck.  That would be real expensive.   

[Marc]

I have wondered about the moisture and grit.
So...open the door and try to hit the pocket with the ejects?  I guess I can do that without shooting my truck.  That would be real expensive.   

Yes DON'T shoot the truck...

I generally unload the shells into my hand.  What kind of complicated mechanism does your gun have?

[Brillo]

Franchi semi.  Hard to catch those and work the charge handle.

[Marc]

Rotate the gun so the ejection port is down, and eject into your hand.

You can unload the shells directly from the magazine with a little button inside...

[Brillo]

That sounds good Marc.  I didn't know that.

[Marc]

That sounds good Marc.  I didn't know that.

This is a Benelli, but Franchi works the same way
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLErmjHs8Ag