Stand Stealers!

[Ben1022]

Exactly! Well said!

[ricqik]

Have a good hunting season and be polite.

[This message has been edited by ricqik (edited 09-02-2004).]

[This message has been edited by ricqik (edited 09-02-2004).]

[FOOT]

Just a quick little story about stealing.
My 2 brothers used to duck hunt the Weaver area of the Mississippi and for years chained their boat to a tree the weekend before opening. Then on opening they would walk in, unchain their boat and go hunting.
One opening 25 years ago they walked in to find someone had cut the lock and stole their boat. Needless to say it ruined a good day and season of hunting.
Two years later they are walk back in to the same area but don't go by the tree where they used to chain their boat. About 3pm my younger brother sails a duck. While trying to retreive it he finds a bost just like the one they lost tied to the same tree. You guessed it. When he checked with my older brother it was the same boat. He still had the license card in his billfold and it matched the license numbers perfectly. They went back to their truck, got a bolt cutters and stoel back their own boat. They no longer chain up their boat.

p.s. I agree trying to reserve a hunting spot by leaving a portable or permanent stand, blind or other such device, on public land, is wrong and it is just as wrong for someone to steal them. Like the previous note there is plenty of space for all hunters to enjoy their sport and not have to worry about these things.

[Hossienda]

I have been following this thread and finally felt the urge to chime in. I do almost all of my bow hunting on public land. I put up and take down my portable stand each and every time I hunt because I do not want to have to spend the money to replace it. If you don't mind spending the money to buy a new stand, leave it out there. I am sure not everybody is conscientious enough to walk away from it.

I have also bumped in to other hunters in the parking area, while on stand, and while leaving. All of these encounters have been with, in my opinion, good guys. One in particular time we both told where we were planning on going so as not to mess up the others hunt with our routes in. Another told me the story of a guy taking a nice buck in the area, which happened to be a buddy of mine.

While it is a bummer to find that someone has arrived at your spot earlier than you, it has also made me hunt in different ways and areas that I otherwise would not have, and I feel that has made me a better hunter.

I don't know where I am going with this, but maybe we just need to remember that public land is for everybody and if it is going to bother you if someone takes your stand/spot, maybe you should consider only hunting private land.

-Hossienda

[10 poyntr]

Blackjack, When I say claiming , I mean legally. No one has the legal right to stake a claim on public land. I understand this. So when a stand is put up, it simply tells me someone wants to hunt there, and I can certainly appreciate that. It actually helps in determining where other hunters will be. I hunt around a lot of other hunters, and use them as wisely as I can to help in deer patterns. Plus I love to talk to other hunters and swap stories!

[Deputy Grizz]

From what I have read (haven't read ALL the comments) Bogsucker is the most correct in his comments. Were I the fellow who "lost" his stand, I would check with the local DNR officer or sheriff. I myself have confiscated several stands that were left overnight in a management area.They may be picked up, after paying a fine. In this case, being on tax forfeited land,the stand would indeed become property of the state, as the owner "abandoned" his property on state land one week after the season.

[EXTREME]

I guarantee you that it was not taken by the conservation officer or sheriff. Up here they have alot better things to do than look around for "abandoned property". I totally agree with the management land, it is illegal to leave them overnight; but what I don't understand is that on non-mgmt land how can it be seen as property of the state? Are permanent stands property of the state as well? If so, why don't you tear them all down a "week after the season." I am not trying to deny that I screwed up by leaving the stand in the woods. Actually I was pretty much over it until that last comment. If the stand is left in a legal area; leave it alone. I know the DNR up here does. What are they going to do with a bunch of portables?

[Deputy Grizz]

"Extreme" Sorry man, I don't make the rules, just enforce them. Get a copy of the mn rules and regs from any sporting good store, they're free.Then turn to page 129 and read the "personal property" paragraph. Any property left longer than 14 days becomes property of the state. This includes "permanant" stands as well.
As for what will the state do with them? Each year the dnr holds a public auction of confiscated items not reclaimed by the original owners.

[Ely Lake Expert]

Well I have read most of this thread, I am just gonna say that I am glad that the public land I hunt on is way out there an you have to drive right past my hunting shack driveway to get to this expansive area of great land. It is considered public road to get to where I hunt, but it is more like public fourwheeler trail to get to my stands. Oh I love the northwoods. Good luck to everyone else with all your stand troubles.

Ely lake expert