BigGameHunt.net Hunting Forums

cancy · Joined: 16 Nov 2002 Posts: 2

Hello Everybody..I'm new on your forum and this is the first time for me posting. I'm a girl but I come from a hunting family and know the ups and downs of this sport. My brother is a whitetail hunter and has been all his life. My dad taught him when he was just a little boy. Our Mom died when we were very little and my dad was left with 2 little ones to raise. He used to take us hunting with him all the time. We come from Michigan. Friday Nov.15th was our opening day. My brother hunts the exact same spot for almost 40yrs now. This Friday a new hunter appears on the spot where my brother hunts. My brother said hello to him and was very polite. This hunter appeared rude and would not offer conversation. Well the hunter disappears and at the end of the day my brother goes to get in his truck and his fan belt is slit in half. No other cars in sight but my brothers and the mysterious hunter. Needless to say..my brother spends the next day driving all over to get a new fan belt and stands out in the cold to put it on. Half his day was wasted. I know one can't accuse but the odds are the mysterious hunter did it. Now my brother has to stay close to his truck and watch. He is not used to this because his spot is deep in the woods. Naturally I feel bad for my brother. He wouldn't hurt a fly...just loves to hunt.

moderator · Joined: 27 Jan 2002 Posts: 6680

Hi Cancy welcome to the board!

I'm sorry to hear about your brother. It sounds like he really enjoys this particular patch of hunting land and he shouldn't have to avoid it.

I have a suggestion, perhaps get a motion detecting camera, a camera that only takes pictures when it senses movement. When your brother arrives at his typical spot and this other hunter is there, first have him write down the license plate number of the vehicle. Then lock the vehicle and mount the camera inside so it takes photos when it notices movement outside. While your brother is away the camera should record any crime being committed. If it happens again, take all evidence to the police. Also would be good to take a set of belts. I'm glad to hear that he made it home ok. I assume it must have been a cold day, on a warm day he could have been stranded....

That is the best I can think of right now, perhaps somebody else will have a better suggestion.

[ This Message was edited by: moderator on 2002-11-17 20:48 ]

expatriate · Joined: 26 Oct 2002 Posts: 1520 Location: Alaska

Check local laws on motion detecting cameras before doing that. Some states don't allow them. For example, Montana's regs say:

"It is unlawful for a person to possess, while hunting, any motion tracking device that is designed to track the motion of a game animal and relay information on the animal's movement to the hunter. This includes, but is not limited to:
remote operated camera or video devices
seismic devices
electronic trip wires, photo beam, or laser devices used to activate tracking or recording devices
thermal imaging devices
satellite and radio-telemetry tracking devices"

Source: http://www.fwp.state.mt.us/hun.....ON%20OF%20"MOTION%20TRACKING%20DEVICES"

If your state doesn't allow them for hunting purposes, it might be tough to argue that you were using it to watch the car.

On another note, a motion detecting camera may have a hard time working from inside the vehicle. Infrared doesn't go through glass as well as visible light -- that's why the inside of your car gets so hot in the sun.

[ This Message was edited by: expatriate on 2002-11-17 23:33 ]

moderator · Joined: 27 Jan 2002 Posts: 6680

That is a good point on the infra-red and the legal issues. Maybe Cancy's brother can just bring a local game officer next time....

cob · Joined: 28 Oct 2002 Posts: 65 Location: Texas panhandle

I would think that if you're not using the camera to track game but to catch a criminal, they would understand. Ya never know though.
ps. your brother might want to take a distibutor cap, spark plug wires,radiator hoses and maybe some other things that would be easy for somebody to get to next time.

bitmasher · Joined: 27 Feb 2002 Posts: 2652 Location: Colorado

That is an excellent point Cob and one that seems to baffle me.

-If you get caught shooting a decoy, you are prosecuted as having shot a real deer.

-If you video tape somebody shooting a real deer out of season, your evidence may not be admissable in a court of law.

Irony...

I'm sorry to hear about your brother Cancy. Unfortunately there are bad apples everywhere.

maineguide · Joined: 03 Sep 2002 Posts: 250 Location: Downeast, ME USA

If it was this person that did damage to your brothers truck. It sounds like this person needs a class in Ethics.

I would get some kind of proof and take it to the cops or a DNR warden. There is no need of this kind of action.

But like the old saying goes "What goes around comes around"

expatriate · Joined: 26 Oct 2002 Posts: 1520 Location: Alaska

I'd say the person needs a class in class, too.

eajohnston1969 · Joined: 04 Oct 2002 Posts: 35 Location: Portland, OR

oh man. what a bummer. it's a shame that people like that breathe the same air as the rest of us on this earth.

Chuck · Joined: 09 Sep 2002 Posts: 34

I bet money the deer mercs did it!
They crawled under the truck and chewed the belt in two! (Sorry joke from another thread)

Your brother should take someone with him, they could alternate who watches the vehicle, and who gets the "good spot".
That way either one could get a deer.

Deer can be surprising, they can end up places you would never think to look for them.

If revenge is the "want" in this case, he could go out there walking around yelling everywhere, then the guy would see what it's like! hehe

I'm not a revenge seeker myself, but I done this once because someone was being a serious hassle to me. I think they got the hint, because they haven't came back.

cob · Joined: 28 Oct 2002 Posts: 65 Location: Texas panhandle

just don't forget that priceless advice, what goes around comes around. a few years ago we were hunting and there were some non-locals hunting on some land that we and only we had permission to hunt on. my dad, being a reasonable guy kindly let them know where the land they were hunting on ended. it was no big deal, they made small talk for a while and left. when we got back in the truck my dad told me that 19 years earlier he ran into those same guys about 30 miles from there. they chewed him up one side and down the other because they thought he was hunting in the wrong spot, he said he showed them where their land ended but they refused to believe him and just stewed over it and let it ruin their day. My dad being a local and knowing all the land owners asked the guy they got permission to hunt from about them and he said he told them not to come back. then when my dad told the landowner his story he was even more confident he made the right decision. anyway it being a small town word got around and the next year nobody let those guys come back. when i was there those guys were very nice and friendly so i guess they learned their lesson but it just goes to show, ya never know when you're going to meet somebody down the road.

bitmasher · Joined: 27 Feb 2002 Posts: 2652 Location: Colorado

That's a good connection Chuck. Given this new view of the crime Cancy's brother should also watch out for fat men dressed in red, flying dwarves (rumor has it the elfs are now sprinkling flydium on themselves), and Kevin Bacon look alikes.

No, I am not smoking crack.

12ga. mag. · Joined: 04 Nov 2002 Posts: 6 Location: upstate N.Y.

Was the trk locked? How did the person get the hood open?, or did they lay on the ground and somehow reach up and do the cutting, mount the camera in the cab so it can't be seen or reconized by passer bys.