and another stand stolen..

[Tajue17]

thats 3 for me so far,, this one was special though which is why it was 100yds behind my house, it was so comfortable with the arm rests and foot rest a gorilla kong that was too nice to resist for someone, and all the treesteps too!!! usually they don't bother unscrewing all the steps from an oak tree but this time they did which means its a local hunter who wants me gone, a lefty at that by the way he was swinging the axe while standing on the steps.  


they used an axe or hatchet and beat the heck out of the chain until one of the links broke at the weld and folded in then just unhooked it.  

so one stand was stolen when I used one of those cable locks which was easly broken by someone using pliers or a leather man and they just kept squeezing while twisting until all the cable wires broke. 2nd stand was veery very remote, very cheap and dangerous stand at that but it wasn't locked. and 3rd which was locked but I guess the chains need to be thicker now.

okay so heres the kicker, I love chain on stands so I go to Dicks to buy the typical cheapo chain on stand and they don't sell them anymore,,,, its the same 45.00 stand but now with a web strap which we know eventually breaks especially a strap form china.. so now I have to have a chain welded on this cheapo and then have ALL the joints welded too ( no squeaks and easy to carry) and have this all done and hung in a week.

[misfire]

Sorry to read about these thefts Ted. This kind of thing makes my blood boil.

I just hung my stands yesterday. So far I've been lucky but I do fully expect to one day find them missing...sucks!

I will keep an eye out in this area for anyone selling stands on c-list or other advertisments. Maybe we'll get lucky.

A Gorilla Kong with probably a replacement chain or strap?

Good luck this season!

[Roger Norris]

I hate a thief. sorry for your troubles.

[tuscarawasbowman]

I don't have much experience with screw in steps but why not remove the last few on the way down and take them with you? My dad used to do that all the time with steps he made himself. Most thieves wont go through the extra effort to steal it that way. Hope you find your stand regardless.

[KentuckyTJ]

Setup a trap stand and a hidden trail camera and then you'll know what to do.

If you don't have a camera I would buy one of these covert black 60's. If they are stealing them in the dark they will never see this camera go off. Money well spent to catch a crook.

 http://dlccovert.com/product-extremeseries.html

[Tajue17]

thanks for the tips and posts everyone,, Mark I hope you made it online this morning to get any extra doe tags,, that website was sloooowwwwww..

but TJ your absoulutely right!  somneone else was telling me that nowadays everyone has to set their cameras up across from the stands, high up maybe sitting on the first branch and then use a rubber door stop to wedge down into the top so it moves the camera angle down towards the base of the tree where the stand is... also make sure the stand itself is not in view so you don't keep setting the camera off.  finally use a couple tree steps in the camera tree to get it height about 7-8 feet and then unscrew the steps and hide them.  this gives good angles on animal pictures and the thieves are busted big time!!

just stinks that I have to use the cheapest stands money can buy, and then chain them because anything decent gets stolen..  also here on the local forum theres other posts of this happening,, its getting out of hand and seriously I think its the same people over and over and I bet its not just to steal the stand but also to deter whoever hung the stand on coming back. around here hunters have lost so much land that its became kinda cutthroat out there so to hang a stand and kinda claim the area pisses people off I guess.  

I have a note I took off another one of my stands a few years back that I can take a picture of for you guys but the guy wrote

"I have been hunting this area for 4yrs and you have til tuesday to get your stand out of here or I will put a broadhead up your A$$"    
signed T.S.  

which I think was a guy named Smitty based on the initials and what people told me BUT someone can be putting down someone elses name trying to instigate fightss between other hunters so who knows,, I had a 410. derringer with the 3-ball buckshot I carried whenever I was in those woods after that just in case but soon they tore all the woods there down and made some huge tracker trailer storage depot and then posted everything.

[Mint]

buy a chippewa wedge lock and the wood pecker drill system and they won't even know you are there. I use mine in areas were i have problems.

[wingnut]

Are these stands being left on private or public ground?

If private you may have some more leverage with trespassing and theft.

Mike

[Sockrsblur]

I cary in and out each hunt. Sweat more but I lost to many stands... ground hunt when I can set it up right. Not the answer you ate looking for i'm sure but maybe something for thought. Till I was on my knees behind a small 3 sided blind with a buck clueless buck I at 4the Yds... I would've believed it...

[LookMomNoSights]

Sorry to hear about this.....makes me sick for ya.  Ive had stands stolen....with zero closure as they didnt leave me a note (an invitation!)  I'm guessing the crimal is not so inteligent,  leaving a paper trail like that.  Im getting away from using stands,  but still have them and may use them hear and there depending on the situation....and if I do I may use a camera....we'll see.  If Im in someones area and encrouching,  let me know.....Ill surely leave.  If someone just wants to be an a**hole about a hunting spot,  let me know....I will most likely leave still.   Steal a stand, damage my vehicle that sort of thing and let me catch you....you better hope you are simply young and stupid and can be dragged to your parents by your ear.  You think a Kodiak bear makes your hair stand up before it does what it was created to do?!  

[landman]

I use a Dremel tool and engrave:  "Stolen from __________".  I also add my telephone number.

I engrave the stands in 2-3 places and chain them, as you have done.   The bastards have taken my tree steps but they usually pass on the stand when they see my name and phone number.

[Lowrider]

I read about a new camera they have that you can set up that has another part to it that you can set up 40 or 50 feet away and the camera will send a signal to that unit. That way if someone steals the camera, you can go and get the hidden unit and still have pictures of them. This way you can get the camera back that they probably stole because there picture will be on the hidden unit. They are rather expensive but may be worth it. Every year someone duck hunts on our property and we are thinking of getting one of these. We leave  our decoys back in the brush and when we get there they have shot our hole and just left the decoys out along with there empty shell casings. I have had the pump running since Sept. 26th and lack about 2 more weeks haveing the 80acres flooded. Paying electric bills, paying land taxes, and all the work to keep the land up, and this happens every year. We live 70 miles from the property and never know when they will be there. Can't even find out where they are comming into it. Very disturbing. Check out the camera. May work for you.

[wapitirod]

This is one of the reasons I'm hesitant to start using tree stands.  I recently posted about rattling for blacktails and a couple guys mentioned using tree stands but out here in the West everything I hunt is either BLM or National Forest and I know someone would steal it most likely sooner than later.

[KSdan]

Sorry to hear. Nothing ruins hunting more. . . been there.  Even had a gun pulled on me once. . .  Will never hunt like that again.

Like Mint and others said- there are far better options.

After 20 years the typical way of setting stands and coming back, I have now hunted for 17 years completely portable and never leave a stand- setting up and back down every hunt. One stand system is all you need (20# on your back), you never educate deer-nor hunters, and you can hunt whenever/wherever you need to when weather/ animals/hunter sign changes.

Every guy that hunts with me has had to learn to hunt like this-  I have taught/encouraged many.  Once they do they rarely hunt any other way again.

Not sure why more guys don't do this- with modern equipment it is the most efficient, economical, and effective way I know.

Hope you resolve it.  

Dan

[Rick Richard]

Had a Lone Wolf and Sticks stolen from my PRIVATE land a couple of weeks ago.  I think I know who did it, but unless caught in the act it is very difficult to prove.

[joe ashton]

Look for a pinko, commi, thumb sucking bed wetter, because that is who stole your stand.

[Scarne]

Originally posted by KSdan:
Not sure why more guys don't do this- with modern equipment it is the most efficient, economical, and effective way I know.

Let me answer that for you..."FAT" AND/OR "LAZY".  Peeps have gotten real fat over the last 25 years and they need the big heavy stands that double as recliners to get through a hunt these days.

I hunt the same way you do.  But I have two full set-ups so I can alternate between them if I need to. I use climbing sticks and an old Loc on "limits".  It all weighs nothing and takes literally 10 minutes to set up in a tree I am familiar with.

As an aside, if you are going to leave stands up on public ground...consider it a Forest Gump moment.

If peeps are stealing your gear on your own property it is only because you allow it.  They don't take you seriously.  But that's a discussion for another thread.

[BigBucksnTrucks]

My dad attempted to hunt some public land last year. He carried a stand 3 miles on his back and hung it, locked it with chains.  The very next day he went in and it was gone.  Only way someone could have found it is if they saw him go in and followed him and took it shortly after he left.  Some people can be real scumbags.

[Adam S. Daugherty]

When you have the welding shop weld on your chains have them braze some razor blades on the chain.  This might hopefully make them loose their footing when they get cut.  Then place 2x4's with pole barn nails driven through them under the leaves at the base of the tree.  Hopefully when they fall they will fall on the spikes.  This hopefully will leave a blood trail to follow.  If blood trail present call the cops and follow it.  If you find the culprits ask the cop to have them lay flat on ground with hands out in front of them.  Then take your shotgun loaded with #4 turkey loads and blow off their hands.  A stolen tree stand is not worth killing someone over.

seriously if you can warn folks around the property about what you are doing, booby traps are a good way to catch or detour theives.  I was having a little problem on a place and knew who was doing it.  Done caught him once, gave him a good woopin and got stands back.  It started again so I took a sawzall to the 5th and 6th step up and left enough meat where it wouldnt break with pulling on your hand but thought it would give way when stepped on, sure enough found steps broke and person doing the stealing with a broke leg a week later in town.  Just told the thief everybody likes to play games, you like to steal stands I like to catch folks stealing stands, you done know my last trick so I will have to come up with something new.  

Just got to be careful and use extreme caution that no one innocent will be in the area and risk injury.  Also I did this prior to having wife and kids that I worried about, so I probably wouldnt do these antics anymore in fear of retaliation that could harm my loved ones.

[Tyler C. Moore]

It is so unfortunate we cannot trust in our fellow sportsmen, let alone other bowhunters. I have found it to be the worst here in Mass, and have often found my stolen stands re set up within a mile from where they took it from me. I have lost over $2000 worth of stands and cameras in the last 5-6 years, all chained, all on private property. It makes me sick each and every time.