There have been three (3) separate times I have left guns laying/leaning around and gone home.
First: After a rabbit hunt, I leaned my old Stevens single shot .410 (my first gun) against a phone pole while we took pictures. After pictures, I got in my truck and left. Three days later, I drove back through the gate, saw it leaning there and thought "whose gun is that?" -- then it hit me. A little bit of rust has started, but I got it cleaned up.
Second: I turkey hunted Easter morning, but promised my grandmother I would meet her at church at 10:30. Turkeys entered field at 8:30, remained 80 yards from field edge until 9:45. As I was trying to decide which was the lesser of two mortal sins (knowingly scaring away turkeys to get up and leave vs. knowingly standing my grandmother up at church on Easter) -- a 2 yr old gobbler entered field directly to my right and stopped at 20 yards. (God really wanted me at Church I suspect). I killed him at 10:00, sprinted to him, grabbed him while still flopping and jogged back to the truck carrying a flopping turkey. Leaned my Super Black Eagle against a fence post (10 yards from the road and in plain view), hopped over the fence, threw my turkey in the tuck and sped away. I realized it was missing the next morning while loading the truck to hunt. It was right where I left it. (I made it to church before the first song was over, FYI)
Third: (and worst) Killed a turkey mid morning and hiked back to the truck. Was parked with two tires in a small ditch and two on the gravel road (rural Weakly County). I dropped the turkey behind the truck to open the tailgate, laid my gun beside him (same SBE), took off my vest, took off my boots, noticed a ROAD GRADER was coming (actually in the process of working the gravel road) and the truck was in the way. So, as quickly as I could I threw (almost) everything in the truck, and left. Got back home, unloading my truck, no shotgun. Panic. Sped back to the place I was parked, freshly graded gravel -- no gun. Driving back home I got a flat tire. Cussed myself for 2 hours, then it occurred to me. I called the county road department, eventually got the name of the guy driving a grader in the area that day, tracked him down, and he had it. He said he had already pushed the pile of gravel over it a little (as evidenced by grit and gravel I cleaned out of it) and saw a hat laying there (I also lost my hat) so he stopped to get the hat and saw the gun sticking out.
All of these have been since I was college age -- and I'm in my mid twenties now. With my track record, I fear there will come a time when I don't find my gun after stupidly leaving it somewhere. SO -- don't feel too bad. You're gun is right where you left it, and the odds of somebody else stumbling upon it at night are nill, so you'll get it back. You just have to drive back and pick it up.
