Tragedy Averted

[Harold Pickens]

While out pheasant hunting yesterday, I followed the dogs into an autumn olive/multiflora hell hole as they worked a running bird. I was carrying my little VHE 20 onehanded in my right hand as I tried snaking thru the briars, warding them off with my left. Hit a little opening, and shifted the gun to my left hand and froze. The fore end was off/missing and I suddenly felt very sick. I hung my orange hat where I stopped and started working back along an old deer trail I was following, and about 25 yds back spotted it sticking up in the air with the metal lugs stuck in the mud. You dont have to tell me how damn lucky I was. Had it come off in a field, would have never found it.
It snapped right back on, tight as a tick, with no play or wiggle. I can only surmise that a stick had gone under the latch and popped it up and off. Don't think this could happen again, but has me thinking about putting a small piece of tape over the latch to prevent it from happening again. Has this ever happened to anybody?