First off this is not my property, it is private land owned by the church. I and 2 gentlemen from PA were the only ones to hunt the land or even go on the land for that matter.

Not only have a bunch of yahoos been trespassing on private property destroying a terrific hunting area they have now STOLEN my summit climber. I left work early today to do an evening hunt, drove around to back of the property, walked in woods to get my climber to use in a different location this evening and BANG it is not there.

This is private property and we have never had anything like this happen in the last 3 to 4 years since I have been here. With all the problems I am having keeping these yahoos off the land and now my climbers gone.

I have a backup climbing tree stand but that is not the point. Why is it that people just do not respect each others rights anymore? I am soooooooooo mad right now it is unbelievable.

(update) At 3pm the property manager told me he was going to make some phone calls about my stolen climber. He thinks he knows who may have taken it. The same group of guys he had prosecuted 4 years ago for poaching. I hope he can get it back for me !!!!!

Dave

You are preaching to the choir. Sad isn't it. I've lost treestands, climbing sticks ,etc. I've had permanent stands torn down on private property where I had permission to put them up. I've had guys pissed off at me because I secured land to hunt that they couldn't, so in response they decided to put roofing nails in my parking spots. The list goes on and on.

That really sucks....nothing worse than a theif - except maybe a theif that calls themselves a sportsman.

I feel for ya. Having anything stolen stinks out loud.

But I have a question. Why would you leave a climber in the woods? I also have a climber, but the only reason I use it is because in some of my spots I would expect a hang on to be stolen. I pack out the climber after every use.

Ive even had someone steal my ratchet straps.[:'(] Seriously?!? Ratchet Straps?!

Had a TV tower strapped to a tree with a permanent stand built on up there, used two heavy duty ratchet straps for the 25 ft tower.....some thief saw the stand setup, went in and when they decided the stand/ladder was useless, they stole the ratchet straps, tore down the stand, and laid over the tower. This was my dads main rifle hunting stand, and boy was he steaming...

I left the climber because I was going to hunt there this evening if the wind was right. Besides, why should I have to take it with me? It is PRIVATE property just like our homes. None of us would standby and let someone walk into our homes and take stuff would we? That is how I think of this.

Dave

You should be able to leave your stand anywhere and not have it stolen. You know the whole, "Thou shalt not..." thing.

That sucks Dave. I really hope you are able to work out that problem. Hopefully you'll even be able to get the stand back.

I feel your anger and you have a right to be. I also hunt private property but like mentioned would still never leave something in the woods (in some of my spots). In the area I am speaking of my buddy bought a armored 1" cable to lock his stand in the tree. The cable is actually worth more then stand and it would be esier to cut the tree down then to get through this lock. He had a 3/8" cable which was cut through in the last stand that he lost there. He brought it up last night again about the price of it, and I reminded him that he is also paying for the piece of mind that the stand will be there when he gets there which is money worth the price.

I also take precautions on my house which is covered 24/7, so no, would would not let someone in and take what they want.

Dave,

It's a small world and we (you and me) have to be able to find out who did this and where they live. From what you have told me over the phone there can only be so many possibilities. We could find the property on the county web site, find all of the surrounding neighboring properties and start knocking on doors. You know what the one guy looks like...the 60 year old on the 4-wheeler. We need to look for him to start with.
I'm all in.

Made a phone call to the property manager. He said " I bet I know who has it" then he told me he was going to make some phone calls. He would get back with me later. For now I will respect his right as the property manager to deal with this. If he can not find the thief then it is in my hands.

Dave