i hate theives....
 

i went to my stand yesterday morning only to find out that someone stole all my footpegs. that got me mad.:mad: so then i decided to go sit at my friend and i's backup stand. so after sneaking along quietly for 25min. i get to it only to find all those footpegs gone too! now i'm really pissed off.:rant: so after giving up on hunting for the day i decided to check out my friends stand and sure enough his are also gone. so i called him up to tell him the news(and of course he is mad as hell). now we have to go buy another 30 footpegs at almost 2.50 a piece. i hate thieves and trespassers. this is my friends grandma's property that no one else has permisson to hunt or be on. my guess is it is one of the neighbors because they also hunt (and won't let you even get a deer you shot if it ran on their property). we've always respected them buy not trespassing and all. why can't they do the same. i'm sure it's mainly because there are 2 big bucks that are around and they don't want anyone else to get them. it's not right of them to do this but we can't do nothing unless we catch them. and those deer aren't theirs either. i really really hate people like this. well to everyone that reads this thanks for listening and letting me vent.

Use 1/2"x10" lag bolts instead, the a-hole who stole your pegs probably doesn't carry a ratchet. Then set up a trail cam to see who is not only trespassing but stealing your steps, be prepared to file a complaint with DNR for interfering with your hunt. BTW, the next time a deer you've shot runs to the neighbor's property and he won't let you retrieve it call your local game warden immediately. Most folks would rather allow you to get your deer than pay for the tag to possess it legally when facing a game warden.

http://www.hudsonfasteners.com/security.htm

use those...they cost a bit , but noone will take anything that way.

I hear you. I have permission to hunt private land that borders state land, last year on the last day of the season, I get out to where I have my blind set up to find that someone was hunting out of it the day before, left the windows and door wide open and stole my seat, went down to my stand which is pretty much right in the middle of the parcel and they stole my seat from there too.

I'm sure you heard it before before but why not use a climber? Or take out the bottom 5 pegs and hide them near by. Also to speed things up use strap on steps for your first 3 or 4 then go with the screw in's. Good luck.

Probobly loose a camera too that way. BTW you can't have someone prosecuted for stealing something with just a picture of them walking on your land. They better be holding the screw-in steps.

But man that blows that someone do that to ya. Too bad the karma bug didn't bite them while they were doing their ill deeds. But actually, who it to say it didn't? They might have had to limp their way out of your woods or may injure themselves using those steps later. That would be so bad wouldn't it?

I'd jump in and give some advice and tips, but pointing the finger without knowing for sure, that's not good. What if.... just what if it was NOT the neighbors and you started something over it?

I know how it is when a person is almost positive who is the culprit, but they can't prove it. It sucks. I've been the receiver of the pointed finger and when the pointer finally realized I was not the person, they were all sorry, etc, etc, blah, blah, but I had no part in him after that.

At least your stands weren't stolen? Why is that? Were they chained or locked in?

iSnipe

i know all to well what you are facing man. my dad has some land and kids are alway riding on it and this ahole who thinks he owns it. they tore up a feeder i had out there and i never put one back. this season i decided to put a trail camera up and to keep them from taking it i took some 1/2 iron and fired up the lincoln. i made a strong box with a chain around the tree they cant steal it now.:D but about your problem heres what you do like mentioned in the other posts get some lag bolts and screw them in next bring a file or battery grinder and strip the head of the bolt now it impossible to remove. also try hanging a sign letting them know that they have beem photographed, even if you dont have a camera set up its a simple detterant. good luck

As sure as sunshine, what good that one gives to the world, they get back and then some. And those who do ill, that'll come back to them as well.

I've seen it all my life. It's a universal principle.

iSnipe

Hey, they make steps, or at least they were going to be made again, that are bolts and then the step. You use a ratchet to get the bolts in and then the steps slip over the bolts. My friend uses these all the time on his permenant stands he hangs all over the place. However, instead of using them all the way up, he only uses the bolts for the bottom 6 and then the regular ones the rest of the way up. By using the same number, you know how many you need to carry to climb for each stand. It also is just easier for you because you only have to carry six steps and then if they really want to screw you they can anyway.