Not A Happy Camper!
 

Well, back from my hunting area ... 3150 acres of gated, private land. Found one entrance gate yanked down and another damaged severely .... and a total (so far) of 10 ladder stands, 6 trail cameras and 1-7400# capacity, double axle trailer gone. Five of the stands and the trailer were mine. The other stuff belonged to other members of our club.

These folks have a great knowledge of the layout of the place. The stands were taken off of food plots, across at least 65% of the property. They used a cutting torch to cut off a HD lock/chain to get to the trailer. Also busted into the house trailer and ransacked the place. Nothing of value was there , so that foray was a bust. They tore it up i guess just for the fun of it.

I hate thieves !!!

Season open in 2 weeks ... so bad timing as well.

Man that sucks. I wish you could somehow find out who did it and teach them a lesson. There are so many freakin idiots in this world. I'm putting that nicely. Don't want to get kicked off the forum.

Check Ebay and craigs list for your stuff! Might luck out. If you do, first take a team of club member to their house ("To buy stuff") and beat the sh!t out of them. Call the cops as you pull up. If you make the news and a few end up in the hospital word will get out and the next bunch will think twice.

Sucks... Worse is they probably used your trailer to haul out all the other stuff.

sounds like a ex-member
 

or someone thats been there before.

they got ALL the cameras? fishy.

if not they may be on it!

put a hunting equipment wanted ad on craigslist.

someone you know NO DOUBT ABOUT THAT.:fighting0007:

A good warning for others
 

We're into a nearly six year recession (construction trade) in our area, so I'm not surprised some are using their skills to steal.

I'd say the thieves were very good woodsmen and probably very familiar with the site that large, in some way. How much time did it take and did they know that adequate time was available for the theft?

Unfortunately, there's a lot of advertising on outdoor sites, that tree stands and often not well hidden trail cams are available for the taking.

It should be a wake up call, that hunting items left behind, with no one observing, are sometimes easy pickings.

My rule was often hard to follow, but more than adequate. Carry it in; carry it out. Leave nothing behind to be seen that I was even there.

I hate thieves and the parting of my money; I don't underestimate them. I try to really avoid them like a plague.

As mentioned above, watch your regional craigs list. Wouldnt hurt either to swing by the local hunting stores and pawn shops to see if you recognize any of the gear. Hunting stores are always full of used merchandise. With hunting season on us, your gear will fetch a premium price. You can bet the theives are looking to unload it as quick as they can while they will still get top dollar for it.

Dont give up, get active.

That hurts. Same advice as above.

VA

SOunds like they knew the property. So it's a member/former member/friend of a member/or a local. As mentioned above, check craigslist, local shops, all possible places. Your trailer will be the easiest to prove, so watch for that.
-Jake

if they drive into property put a 2x4 with nails on leaves on it and get a non flash game cam and hide it high in a tree...

happened to me as well...

Thieves just really burn my butt. I work hard to have the things I have. It really pisses me off because thay are not just stealing from me, but my whole family, and the rest of the hunting community. Because now I have to buy new gear, and I am less likely to want to help others, or have the gear to lend another. There will always be those lowlifes out there though that have absolutely no respect for their fellow man or their property. I assume they are raised with the mentality that the world owes them. Just maybe, they will be dumb enough to keep and use the gear they stole, which could lead to their arrest. The trailer would be the clincher. The tree stands or cameras, unless mark with your identification, would be hard to prove. I hope it works out to your advantage. Keep us posted.

I hope You turned this into the local Police/Sheriff's Dept...?They have the means and knowledge to check any leads out and hopefully arrest the Theifs.As mentioned it sounds like it could very well be a former Hunting Member that knows the area and lay of land and where everything is located?Another place to check would be any Photo Processing Shops/Businesses,Theifs are known to be stupid and mess up.....someone may have taken an SD card to have it developed and they may be traced down?Some times You have to go and do some leg work if You want anything accomplished!


I would try to keep a closer eye on your Land,set up multiple hidden trail camera's that will send a picture to your cell phone and/or internet site host so even if a camera is stolen You will have pictures and proof of who is stealing or trespassing.


I would beef up security on your Land and have any Trespassers arrested and Prosecuted...eventually People will talk and You'll find out who was behind all the stealing...even if it takes months or years,things like this would pi$$ me off to no end and make me more determined to find out who the Jerks were! I HATE THEIVES TOO!

I would almost bet that it is a previous menber or frequent guest at the club and there were probably 3 or more in on the theft. I doubt they will be back. I hate a dang thief.

My place was broken into a couple of years ago, and it's not a good feeling, to put it as nicely as possible. They were after smaller items that they could unload right away. They hit about 22 camps throughout the area before they got caught. Most of the items were taken to pawn shops according to the cops, and i was told there was a chance I would get some of my items back; still haven't seen anyhing. We are actually heading out in a few minutes to pull our cams; we don't leave them out during the season. A trespasser will have to take the cam not to be seen. Hopefully they find the guys who took your stuff, but as others mentioned, you may be dissapointed to find out that it is probably someone who was there before. Good luck.

I feel bad for you. You might want to set up a few day-cams in the future in out-of-the-way places to take continuous photos near your entrance and entry points. This would provide info to law enforcement and proof for conviction.

Nothing worse than a thief. Eventually they'll get caught in the act and someone'll put one in 'em. Oh, crap sorry... I forgot, we're not allowed to defend ourselves, families, & property here in America. They can tell me that when they are prying my gun from my cold dead hands. Hope they catch these lowlifes....

Thanks brother for post intresting topic

Boobie trap the place!!!!!!! seriously had an incident on one of our spots where stands were disappearing.someone,and i dont know who boobie trap a stand.from what i understand the guy stepped into the stand with a set of bolt cutters to remove the stand and the stand colapsed send the scumbag to a 15' plumet!!!!! from what i understand another hunter who had premission to hunt the property found him the next day.poor guy had to spend the night in woods all busted up.you got to be,i guess on what youre stealing,might be defective......LOL!!!!!!

If the thief gets killed, you would face murder charges I am guessing. Not that I agree you should be charged as such but that is the way it is. Better to spend money on some day cams (that you can get for as little as $90 each, like the Primos DPS) so the thief does time in jail, not you. And once you get some photos and license plate numbers of trespassers, prosecute to the fullest.

That's really sad, sorry to hear about this.

They will be back. I also agree they know you or another member. Survailence! Another thing that they have probably hurt the hunting with all the walking around.

Thanks for the sympathy!

Here's what has been done. Police report filed. We have installed 4 high end, auto e-mail, no flash, cameras in strategic l;cations. Very well concealed. Our next project will be to toughen up all entrance gates to the property. And to replace all gates immediately adjacent to the camp grounds with higher end, heavier duty ones. We are considering installing an digital recording surveillance system recording the outside and inside activities he camp house and house trailer. One guy has added a tracking system to his Kubota tractor.

Police feel that the perps are locals who can case the property any time we are not around. I certainly agree. Other that these precautions, I will not be leaving anything of value at the camp during the off season.

I like the tracking device in the tractor. Wonder if it would be worth almost tempting them somehow. With all the new surveillance and tracking you might actually catch the basterds.

Yes, very likely locals that think you are some "millionaires" from out of town and that gives them the right to rob you. You might try to do a little snooping around at the local cafes or other places of business, discretely asking here and there if they heard of this robbery. There was probably a bunch of guys involved - it will be hard for them all to keep too tight lipped about it.

i hope you find your stuff thats terrible