Just got a call from a fellow hunter saying his blind and chairs are gone. We have had a problem over the past few years of trespassers which we believe are hopping the fence of a property line just to our west about 150 yards. We find stuff in our tree stands, feeder batteries disconnected, shooting stick stolen and now a popup blind and two chairs.

We have security chains and locks on all the access roads so we believe it is the young worthless 20 somethings that we know live just on the other side of the fence. One year on opening weekend they wake up just before sunrise and race their 4 wheelers and down the fence lines and then spend a good 5 minutes firing off shotguns and rifles. Nice guys.

We have set out cameras in some areas trying to catch them but haven't caught anyone yet. Not sure what to do. They live there and can go out in the middle of the night, hop the fence and do whatever they want. We live almost 2hrs out and can only hunt on weekends or when we take time off from work.

This kind of stuff just makes me sick. We work very hard to have a place to go to and relax and enjoy our brief hunting season and these idiots just ruin it.

Anybody have any 'tricks' or suggestions on stopping thieves and poachers?

Just sucks,sucks, sucks!!!

I would suggest you find another place to hunt. Doubt the situation will improve any time soon.

Keep some game cam's well hidden. Until you catch some pic's of them, I don't know what else you can do.

And yes it does suck. Bigtime.

Ditto on this. You gotta know when to fold em, and it sounds like it's time. If they live there, it's going to be a losing battle. Sounds like you're dealing with some real yahoo's that aren't going to be reasoned with.

Throw in the towel, and start looking for a place that you can enjoy without the headaches.

That sucks. If you go that route, be sure the land-owner knows why. It might give him some incentive to get involved.

That really sucks man, try zero lights type of game cams at different locations,you will eventually get pic of them,good luck

If it's been an ongoing occurrence, it ain't going to get better. I would move.

Have you contacted the game warden?

Time to move on.

^^^^^ that's what I was thinking too, what have you done to get the Sheriff or GW involved?? Thats where I'd be headed before I pulled stakes. For all you know, they have been working a case already involving the punks.

In any case, good luck in what you decide.

run an electric fence on your side the fence

Does your landowner know what is going on? He should be getting involved before contacting the Sheriff and GW.

I'd find a new place....life's too short to put up with that crap and if its the neighbors doing it....its not going to change

What county? Never know might be some members here that live in the neighborhood that might want to help you out! I am thinking covert operation with night vision and baseball bats?

That says it all..

Or..

You could nuke them til they glow then shoot'em in the dark!! LMAO..

crappy situation

Probably time to go but I'd let the LO know as a courtesy that your contacting the GW and Sheriff. That way he's not surprised when there is more attention than usual from the two agencies.
Good luck

I had a buddy who put homemade spike strips on the steps of his blinds when he wasn't around. Could easily prompt more trouble though.

Setup another pop up you know they will go after and setup some cameras all around it. Make sure and cover up the indicator lights so they don't see them go off.

C4,trip wire... um no.. Yes, I would talk with land owner, LEO, and game warden. Sorry man that's just wrong! I left a lease near Marshall because of a crazy guy next door. Great lease, but not worth dealing with the village idiot.

Just do it the old fashioned way. It's how I solved my problem. I'm poacher free now.

Thanks for the good ideas guys, just found out from another guy that has feeders on the same land that both of his timers were gutted. He is so mad he couldn't talk about it, said he would call me back later.

The company I work for owns the land, between Sunset and Forestburg off FM1749 in Montague county. My family and I lived there several years ago and didn't have any trouble. Now there are some young trailer turds living at the back section of their folks property and they evidently have nothing better to do than to steal and destroy other people's property.

The guy who had his blind ripped off moved on into a tree stand and took two doe! I told him his new name is 'Lucas', cause he racked that bolt like The Rifleman! He said he was still pretty jacked up from the theft, but caught a pack of does coming around a bend and after he popped one another one made the mistake of running right towards his position. So, at least his day wasn't a total bunch of crap.

Hunter No. 2 went up to check on his feeders because of what happened earlier in the day. That's when he found both of his feeder mechs had been gutted and a game camera ripped off. He said in all his years of hunting he has never had this degree of trouble at any property.

Because of the location of the feeders and blinds there is only one area they could be coming in from, a fence line just across a dry creek about 300 yards away. They come in after we leave and figure if they hear anyone coming they can just rabbit back through the woods and over the fence they go.

Hunter No.1 talked to the GW at Hunter's Choice today when he dropped off the doe. She said she would make contact the warden over that area and make sure he is aware of the problem.

I set my stuff up on other side (eastern border) and have not (yet) had anyone mess with it. But knowing what is going on with my friend's gear just 40 acres away makes me both sick and angry.

I told them I would like to buy a dozen or so full body silhouette targets, tack them to trees just 5 yards inside the fence line and just around 2 A.M. some morning... blast the hell out of them with shotguns, pistols and rifles. Just let the sound of gunfire rip right through that thin walled trailer of theirs. And leave the targets up so they can get a good look at them come daylight. Better than just a purple pole!

This will probably be our last deer season there, so I don't want to get into a huge hairy bloodletting scenario. But, having said that, I absolutely detest thieves and the imagery of baseball bats does warm my heart.

We may get creative with some cameras. If we get pics then a GW would be able to make some positive I.D.s. Just ruins everything when you have to start dealing with the bottom of the gene pool....just nasty little turds.

It does suck big time. I've been having this same problem with a friends property that I "TRY" to manage. The young PUNK, he knows who he is, and I hope he reads this, has been screwing up my feeders for the past 8-9 years. This is in Somervell county BTW. I'd love to name the perp but won't. I've even let him come to our place to hunt hogs in the past, yet he does this to a neighbor. Worthless piece of garbage.