Ever had your treestand stolen?

[Gunlawyer]

You guys ever had a stand stolen?

Had my first one stolen late last season and I just ordered a replacement for it an hour ago and it got me thinking about it again.

My wife and I bought our first house, an ancient and small farm house in kinda sorta Western Maryland and it came with 5 acres of woods that are full of deer a lot of the time. Surrounded by croplands and farms. The woods have many old wooden stands present, in varying stages of decay, as well as an old forgotten climber at the base of a big oak that the tree has now split in half and has grown around to some degree. Bottom line, lots of people hunted here for many years and the property was vacant and undefended for the last 5 years.

Then I show up and set stands and put up no-tresspassing signs (at the suggestion of a neighbor who warned me there would be lots of folks in there if I did not, and some would probably still be there anyway, even with signs).

Anyway, so I set up a Lone Wolf lock-on stand above thick cover in a good spot near the edge of a field in a big pine tree and I cable it to the tree and use one of those sort of weather resistant Master locks. To get to the stand, some 30 feet up, you have to use those aluminum hang on steps that attach to the lag bolts I screwed in. I wanted it hard to get into and to steal. Nothing worse than finding someone sitting in your tree when you show up to climb it!

Then late last season I noticed that the stand was gone! What the heck! I guess they had a ladder and bolt cutters or a Sawzall and a carbide blade or something. I got pretty hot about it when I found that it was gone!

This time around, I am using a Kryptonite New York Fahgettaboudit U-Loc to prevent theft and 5 foot Kryptonite chain They will need a cutting torch to cut through it. Here it is, no more messing around!:

We did not live there last season as we were fixing the place up on weekends but we now live there so I will be around all the time pretty much from now on. Hopefully there won't be a repeat this year. Tough to keep people out of there it seems. Saw occasional boot tracks in there in the snow last shotgun season.

Any of you guys had a stand stolen? Ever catch the thief? Any advice for me?

These are the new, more forceful signs I put up, I am hopeful.

Probably need to set up a couple carefully hidden trail cams to see whats going on.

Chris

 

[teratos]

I haven't had any stolen, but I have acquired a few that were on my grandfathers land which is posted "no hunting". They were pretty nice ones. I gave them to friends. Maybe if I get one next year I'll give them away as a karma.

 

[BlackBart]

Steal never, I've used other peoples when they weren't using them on public property.

Unfortunately if someone wants it they're going to steal it no matter the lock. Your chain won't withstand a 06 or greater bullet, that's a guarantee. The game camera idea........

 

[lx1x]

Not mine.. i have setup a ladder stand at our hunting ground my club lease... but not too far away.. another members stand got stolen.

I use climber most of the time now.. more comfy.

 

[Franklin]

grandma told me once, you put locks on stuff to keep the honest honest, everone else comes back with tools.

 

[Gunlawyer]

grandma told me once, you put locks on stuff to keep the honest honest, everone else comes back with tools.

Ain't that the truth!

 

[SOMDSHOOT]

I have 7 ladder stands and not a single one is chained. I always double my straps though. I am on private property also. You'd have to trek a distance from outside the property line to get to them. I don't recall every hearing of anyone having their stand stolen.

 

[Franklin]

Ain't that the truth!

take your last sections of sticks when you go out. they are easy enought to hang back to climb.

 

[mtel]

grandma told me once, you put locks on stuff to keep the honest honest, everone else comes back with tools.

Good stuff.

 

[Paperpounder]

Patrol the property opening day of bow, and rifle and keep a close eye on it all through the season. When you catch someone trespassing take the no BS route prosecute them. Word will get out. People won't trespass.

You'll soon be known as a Richard in this case it is a good thing.

 

[dontpanic]

No tree stands, but two game cameras.

I thought about putting up a camera to watch my camera

 

[crowmd]

first time was year before last the only time in 27 years anything was ever bothered but trespassers are aways around till last year shotgun season when dnr was there every day so far so good but i bought bike cable locks and put on my stands

 

[Goldslammer]

My hunting buddy had his stolen in Cambridge a few years ago.
Mine was so deep in the woods nobody bothered it.

If you have time, I think it's better to build wooden stands.
Get a few wooden pallets (usually free) and a stack of 2x4's and you can build several for less than the cost of a new one, and there's nothing worth stealing.

 

[Franklin]

My hunting buddy had his stolen in Cambridge a few years ago.
Mine was so deep in the woods nobody bothered it.

If you have time, I think it's better to build wooden stands.
Get a few wooden pallets (usually free) and a stack of 2x4's and you can build several for less than the cost of a new one, and there's nothing worth stealing.

a guy i work with at a different building had that same contraption built a couple years ago. wind kicked up good and the trees split and the whole thing came down with him still on it. ended up with 20 penny nails in his right kidney and ass cheek and to salt the wound he scratched the dipping on his muzzleloader.

 

[engineerbrian]

My hunting buddy had his stolen in Cambridge a few years ago.
Mine was so deep in the woods nobody bothered it.

If you have time, I think it's better to build wooden stands.
Get a few wooden pallets (usually free) and a stack of 2x4's and you can build several for less than the cost of a new one, and there's nothing worth stealing.

My brother (summitcnty) and I had our 2x4 home depot specials stolen way back in the day on our property in West Virginia. We didn't realize they were gone until 5am of opening day while we were searching the woods for the tree stands

 

[engineerbrian]

a guy i work with at a different building had that same contraption built a couple years ago. wind kicked up good and the trees split and the whole thing came down with him still on it. ended up with 20 penny nails in his right kidney and ass cheek and to salt the wound he scratched the dipping on his muzzleloader.

Who was that? PM me.

 

[Wolff]

I had one taken . Sucks when you head out only to find out its gone.

 

[Bisleyfan44]

Had 2 stolen years apart from different locations. Surrounded by other properties and some public land and nobody really seems to care where they wander during season or whose land they wander onto UNLESS somebody wanders on THEIR land. Yay!!

Be careful with your camera placement and concealment....don't wanna lose them too. (don't use flash cameras!!)

 

[44man]

yep, a tree lounge. had it locked to a tree. apparently a survey crew on the next farm got a few on the farm they were surveying and came a few hundred yards on our side and got mine also. couldn't prove it though.

 

[CharlieFoxtrot]

A concealed game camera sounds like a good idea.