VERY ANGRY Hunter......

[FullCurlHunter]

It was the last weekend here in MN for the 2006 bear season. My father and I opened the day with some unbelievable hunting! We managed to get 6 woodcock and 3 grouse and a couple of snowshoe hares inthe morning to mid afternoon. After changing modes, my father and I headed out that evening to bait and sit in two of our most heavily hit bear stands....

When I got to my stand the ladder was there but my stand was missing. At the base of the tree was the snipped chain and padlock that I thought would surely deter anyone from trying to take my stand. I cussed for a good while and returned home where suprisingly I found my dad sitting on his fourwheeler with ths same disgusted look on his face. Someone had stole his too.

What kind of person would steal the stands of two fellow hunters...He had to go out of his way even, He had to have some sort of chain cutter. Just goes to show you that you can't trust anybody these days. I cant even count the number of times I have come across treestands while hunting...not once have I thought about stealing them.

Its guys like that which gives honest hardworking hunters a bad name.

Dont steal,

One pissed of hunter

 

[couesbitten]

You should put up another tree stand, and then hide where you can watch it. Maybe he'll come back thinking that he could get a second "freebie" from you. And if he did come back, IMAGINE the things you could do! Or, you could just turn him into the authorities. Scott/couesbitten

 

[caelkhnter]

I always hate to hear stories like this. In my experience hunters generally are good to each other. Yes you can have disputes in the heat of the moment when you feel some unwelcome interference happens, but at the end of the day hunters generally get along. And in this day and age it is not good for hunters to have serioius disputes becasue it only adds fuel to the anti hunter movement. In fact how does anyone know for certain that this was casued by a fellow hunter? Maybe it was some anti who happened to come across the tree stands?

 

[FullCurlHunter]

I believe that it was done by the fellows that deer hunt the land during the rifle season. I was up north 2 weeks ago hunting and baiting and the stands were fine. I came up this weekend and there was blaze orange ribbon hung along the trails leading to their deer stands.

I dont know if they thought we were going to encroach on their annual hunting land (public land) or what but you would think that they scould see the baiot station and the required baiting sign by the tree stand that you have to have in MN to bait bears.

I doubt it was anti-hunters there is no reason they would be up there and out in the woods in the first place.

I may put up a sign when entering that part of the woods that reads...

"I cam here to bear hunt, some person stole two of my stands. If it is you, please consult your conscience and return my treestands that are very valuable to me I will revisit this sight periodically to pick them up." Thank you

Doubt it will work but you never know. Some people change.

If I ever see anyone carrying or sitting in one of my stands that are one of a kind...I will surely be getting them back!

 

[sremim]

"I doubt it was anti-hunters there is no reason they would be up there and out in the woods in the first place."

That's what anti-hunters do. Go into the woods to screw up hunts. It sucks that you lost your stands. What are the laws about leaving stands up on public land? I know it is becoming more and more common for laws to disallow stands being in place for more than the day you are going to hunt. If this is the case, then maybe someone turned the info over to authorities. If not, then the lowlifes should be shot. I agree with caelk, it could very easily be anti-hunters. That is their goal, to screw up any hunt possilbe, any way possible. There seems to be an abundance of such topics lately of people's hunts being screwed up by someone else, things being stolen, etc. It could very easily be anti-hunters. And it could easily be other hunters.

 

[FullCurlHunter]

I have never heard of this anti-hunters messing with hunts in my area of hunting but I guess it gives me another hypothesis. Either way, Im out two stands and my father and I have lost the opportunity each to take a bear. It really stinks to have a hunt come to an end because of someone else's greed.

Please don't steal.

 

[NMHUNTNUTT1]

Man I'm sorry to hear of that. Its amazing how people steal with no hesitation, nothing worse than a thief or a liar , one in the same. Also kind of sounds like someone who knew your area and stand sites, hate to think it could be a would-be friend , hope not..

 

[Pre64]

You might consider filing a police report and perhaps notifing the local fish and game. If the stands are unique, then you might have a better chance of prosecuting the thieves or at least getting your property returned. Depends on your laws.

Too bad.

 

[300WSM]

Man that pisses me off just reading about it! I've run into a few stands hunting also and its just like, oh, cool, another hunter and move on. Sorry to hear that man. Hope you catch that guy! meanwhile good hunting......

 

[oilcan]

If you hang another stand you could put up a trail cam. Nothing like getting the thief on film.

 

[Cornhusker]

I'd be a little careful about putting up a trail cam he's likely to steal it. Last year a school was having security problems so they put up security cameras, they stole all 5 and all the locked tape recorder got was 3 guys with black hoods stealing their cameras.

 

[RELH]

FullCurlHunter;

Whoever it was that took your treestands, he or they went into the stand site at lease twice. First time and saw the tree stands, the second time to come back with bolt cutters to remove the stands. I would determine where the deer hunters are from, and if close by, I would so some snooping around to see if anyone can put them in possesion of tree stands that they did not have before their hunting trip. If you do locate them, what you do next is up to you, just use good judgement whatever you do.

RELH

 

[Lien2]

Sorry to hear about this. Where in MN were you hunting? They should have known you weren't deer hunting as the bait bile would've been a dead giveaway.
BUT, what goes around comes around and they will get their's in due time!

Lien2

 

[FullCurlHunter]

I hunt in Crow Wing County just north of Cross Lake, MN. My stands are indeed one of a kind. I had a problem climbing up the tree while hangin on to the stand and trying to swing the strap around the tree so I modified the stands. I made two prongs that extended downwards on the back side of the seat post. I bought a chain and drilled two holes in hockey pucks and strung the chain through. I climbed up the tree holding the chain wrapped it around the tree. The two pucks acted as a spacer where I cuold climb up the tree and simply hang the two prongs between the two pucks in between the chain and the tree. It worked great and it was a heck of a lot safer!

Needless to say, I will know when I see someone sitting in or carrying in one of my treestands!

I may just switch to climbers....that way I dont have to leave them in the woods...

 

[dryflyelk]

Man, I've heard of a lot of this crap lately. A lot of game cameras are being swiped as well. I know that a few years ago a lot of fly rods were being stolen out of cars along the Provo River, so the local authorities put some kind of homing device or gps thing inside a few of the rods, and then put them in a car as bait. From what I heard, the rods were stolen, and they found the ones who were causing all the problems.
I wonder if it would be possible for us to do something like that, or maybe to have a unique number that registered each tree stand to its owner.
I'd check on ebay for a while for your specific tree stand. Chances are the arse will try and sell them somewhere and maybe you can catch him that way, especially with a unique stand.

 

[usa]

A while back we had put about 6 homemade tree stands on property we had permission to hunt on, opening morning when I started to climb into my stand I luckily noticed that someone had cut about 3/4 of the way thru the rope holding up the stand, so thats what you are dealing with today people who don't respect each other and don't care if you get killed falling out of your stand.