Author Topic: Thieves (Read 710 times)

ARMallardSlayer · « **on:** November 08, 2003, 04:08:01 PM »

Today at about 12, I took my son to a WMA we hunt........he wanted to do some bowhunting. To get to where I usually hunt, you need a 4wheeler.......ours is out of commission right now. We decided to walk. After walking a ways, I told him, lets try to find another spot a little closer. He agreed.

I took off my tree lounge and backpack and laid them on the 4wheeler trail.......we were the only hunters in the place.

We took off into the woods and found some sign but it was way to thick for him to hunt in.....We ended up crossing the trail and looking on the other side........as we crossed the trail, I looked and my stand and backpack were still where I had left them.

We came up on an opening with some rubs.......and continued on. We then came up on a dry creek bed......walking down it we observed some deer beds. We then followed a good trail off the creek bed and came up on a larger dry creek bed........found some more rubs and 2 scrapes under 1 tree.

We found a tree and he climbed up and settled in.....

I told him I would leave the way we came and mark the trail so he could find his way out.........

I had heard a 4wheeler that sounded like it was on the trail I had left my stand on.

I finally finished marking the trail and emerged onto the 4wheeler trail.

Guess what? No stand, No backpack............

I thought a buddy that hunts up there might be playing a joke, so I walked back to the truck to see if he was there, he wasn't.

There were two trucks, a Jeep and a Toyota.....both appeared to be carrying 4wheelers.......the toyota appeared to be carying 2........they had ramps and a trailer.

I walked back down the trail to find the 4wheelers.......the 4wheeler trail is about 2 miles long.

I found one 4wheeler about 1/2 way down......no stand. I started to walk out into the woods and then decided not to.

I noticed the other 4wheeler had went on up the trail, I continued after it.......

These two were the only atv's on this trail.......no one had left, including these clowns......you can tell by the water hole they went through.......water was pushed out only on one side........

Anyway, I find the other bike, it was a 3wheeler. Again, no stand. I saw where they were entering the woods and again started to go out there. I then decided I wanted to be at the truck when they came out not 2 miles away.....so I started back.

I had been looking all along the trail, into the woods, thinking maybe they had thrown it down somewhere......but I saw nothing.

When I came back upon the spot I had left my stand....I got to thinking, they had to have stashed it somewhere. So I entered the woods right there. I went about 50 or 60 yards, and then over a knoll, and off to the left was my stand and backpack......

They stashed it out there and went on hunting.......thinking that if I gave up and left, they could sneak it out.

I wish I'd had a 4wheeler and I would have hid it and waited in the woods for them to come for it.......and have my son take the truck up the road if they came out to see if we were gone........

But I didn't have one and really didn't want to confront them, who knows how many, in the dark.

I loaded all our stuff up and got ready to go and thought, they, there is their loading ramp...........they tried to steal my stuff so their ramp is a freebie.......I thought about just taking it for compensation for all the walking and sweating and not getting to hunt this evening...but I couldn't steal it.

I'd be just like them.......

So I did them the same favor............I call it hide and seek.

I hid their ramp 50 or 60 yards away........maybe they can find it maybe they can't........

They have just as good a chance as I had.

I have to go to work in the morning, but on my days off, I'm gonna be right back up there.........this may not be finished. :x

Varmint Hunter · « **Reply #1 on:** November 09, 2003, 06:10:36 AM »

I hardly know a bowhunter who hasn't had his equiptment stolen at one time or another. Some dirtbag located my CamTrakker camera deep in the woods and actually returned with a hacksaw so he could cut the steel brackets off which were cable locked to the tree. It was a rather expensive camera that he stole. Portable treestands are ripped off every day.

It is sad to say but there are MANY thieves amoung the ranks of us sport hunters. Leaving ANYTHING in the field unattended has become a risky thing to do. :evil:

VH

rickyp · « **Reply #2 on:** November 10, 2003, 12:43:58 PM »

All my tree stands are marked with a sticker telling my name and address I then scribe my name in the metal then cover it with the sticker and cover it with a good coat of clear paint. so if they should get all the stickers off I still have my name on it. If i should have to leave my stuff on a trail I will normaly drop it off about 10 yards or so off the trail so it isnt able to be seen I then use a cable to lock everything up.

Lets give them the benifat of a doubt. :-D :-D

:grin: Maybe they found it and thought they would put it away for safe keeping then when they find you they would tell you where it was safe and sound :-D :grin:

Myk · « **Reply #3 on:** November 10, 2003, 06:04:47 PM »

I've never had anything stolen (other than some animal who was going into my blind and moving my spare grunt tube outside this year). But then I don't leave stuff laying around even on private land let alone on public land.

When I was using my climber on private land I would leave it on the tree but I would brush it so it wasn't easy to be seen.

I seriously go with the benefit of doubt theory. The story didn't say he heard them stop at his stuff and rev up to take off. I'd think if you could hear them on the trail you could hear them stop and pull away.

It could've been some walking anti's came by and decided to hide it. I know if I wanted to steal the stuff and had a choice between loading it up and hightailing it out of there with a sure thing or bowhunting on public land, I would've taken the sure thing. Anyone who knows the market on stands knows a Tree Lounge is pretty pricey.
Something else that tells me the wrong people were punished is that why would they do this when their vehicles are in the parking lot to identify them or to take revenge on?

It could've been them, criminals aren't the brightest stars in the sky, but I don't see any hard proof it was them. It's a shame if you threw out someone's ramps who was totally innocent.

WNY_Whitetailer · « **Reply #4 on:** March 09, 2004, 07:32:09 AM »

AR...You handled it the right way...Hide and seek is the way to go...That way you can chuckle to yourself without the guilt of knowing that you stole something.