Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Sorry SOB's took Their Beds!

Whenever I've camped in a hunting area, I hike off trail for 400-500 yards and pitch my tent. I've never had a problem, but am always expecting to return sometime and find all taken.

I have a temt that is blue and OD and wish that I could find a lightweight camoflage tent so it will be less conspicous.

Ever eat at a place I think is called "Esmerelda's" or something like that? Located in the middle of a trailer park? Went there on a trip through on my way to Chama area. Walked in and someone was speaking Navajo in the corner. Best sopapillas I've ever eaten. The "Christmas Tree" on my food wasn't bad, either!

"Esmereldas" sounds kind of familiar. I haven't been in Espanola in over 10 years, since my mother died. Speaking of Chama, and Northern NM antics though, I do recall deer hunting on some public land west of Chama a LONG time ago. We were up kind of high doing some glassing and heard shooting off to our left. There was a guy with an orange (maybe red?) vest and cap running through a meadow with dust boiling up around him from somebody shooting at him. I recall several shots being fired. My dad and I just went back to the camp trailer, hooked it up and never hunted that area again.

Angelina's

Speaking of northern NM two of us were hunting west of Cebolla, just south of the Jicarilla. I thought I heard my pard walking all around camp on the crunching snow in the middle of the night. I drifted back to sleep and the next morning I mentioned to him that maybe the coffee was keeping him pacing around. He said it wasn't him!
We didn't see anything missing, but that could be a potentially dangerous situation having strangers pilfering around a camp at night.

years ago I had a weatherby 300 stolen from a locked trunk of a car, that was parked with several other cars at a trail head parking lot, while I was hunting, they drilled the trunks of all the cars there, and took a good deal of equipment....a few weeks later in a totally un-related incident, about 5 miles away they found a guy stuffed in a car trunk and burned to death in his own car,Ive always wondered if the incidents were related, the thiefts stopped, from guys cars after that, and it always seemed like the two things might be related to me.

That is a tough place. I grew up in central NM, and we used to go up to northern NM to backpack etc, and also in high school to play against the other schools. Tough place. You do NOT want to get in a bar fight in some of those little towns!!

-jeff

There were some folks going around in SW Wyoming near Cokeville stealing hunter's camping tents and gear back in the 90's. My camp never got hit but I was concerned.

I quit buying high end sleeping bags for camping near the road. The cheap army surplus bag gets the nod if camping near any roads. I also use a cheap cot and stove.

MtnHtr

Things like this kind of make a fella sort of wish that sniping was legal.

I once saw a bumper sticker that said "the only reason some people live is that it is illegal to shoot them"!

Dober

I have learned more of the incident since the original post. There were camped well off the road, but in a fairly well traveled area. "Nearly invisible from the road". But we WILL be camping in a much more remote area, and thus shouldn't have hardly any passersby. And camp WILL be invisible from the road. I feel much better knowing we'll be more remote anyway. Still thinking about getting a trail camera to cover the road into camp though. It'd take a little bit of the sting off, if we could provide info about a would be thief. Not to mention getting our gear back, if it were taken.

Last time up there, unit 6c, we camped right on St Peters dome road. Even had some locals use our parking area to unload their horses (they were rounding up cattle). And never had an issue. I never even gave it much thought.

Thanks for the advice, and the warnings. We'll be much more vigilant this time.

Jay

"we camped right on St Peters dome road"

I saw a huge black bear cross that road last year after he failed a stalk on a 3-point muley. It was the week before bear season, and I was sitting just below the tower. Made me think twice about camping in that area. What year were you there? Did you have any problems with bears around your camp?

I'd second what others here have already said: 5b is adjacent to some rough towns. Better to keep your guard up.

Incidents like this will only get more and more common if the FS has their way with their "Travel Management Plan". They will be doing away with dispersed camping according to the plan, and you'll legally only be able to camp within 2 vehicle lenths of the road....one of the few roads they'll be leaving open.

My main camp in AZ is just 100 or so yards off the road, and has never been bothered. Completely hidden from view, and we take a new way in each time to make sure there are no tracks. Year after year, I only know of one person that wandered into it during elk season. I always leave it stocked for the next visit with a good amount of firewood, and even that has never been touched. The day will likely come, but so far, we've been lucky I guess.

I had an acquaintance who hunted in the back country of Alaska along one of the rivers tell of having natives come into his camp via boat during the day and "stick-up" their camp sitter and took everything that wasn't nailed down. The cops wouldn't do anything since the perps were natives. Unless you want to shoot and kill somebody there is not much you can do.

Rolly, It's not necessarily a case of "want to". Being from Tx, it's bred into us that it is not only our right to use deadly force to protect ourselves, property, or loved ones. It's our duty! But we do have to reign in that mentality when in other states, especially liberal states where the criminals have more rights than the citizens.


Mozey, We were there in 2005. Never saw a bear. But did see some tracks. They were well away from our camp though.


Jay

That is the best solution that I have heard.

Funny you say this. Between 1974 and 1999, I traveled to Texas twice monthly to manage R&D contracts (Dallas, Ft. Worth, Houston, Austin, San Antonio and College Station). Several times I returned to my rental car and found it broken into. One police officer actually told me to not waste my time filing reports since many Texans feel it's their right to take anything they want from out of staters!

I did not file any more complaints, rather I just gave contracts to companies in other states.

I'm not sure how to respond to that. I'm not sure if your implying we're all theives? Or that we "defenders of our property" should be out in vigilante mobs shooting crackheads by the dozen? Or that our cops hate out-of-staters? Or all of us hate out-of-staters? Or all of the above? Maybe none of the above?

But the cop's statment was just stupid, if you really think about it. Since when does a drug addict descriminate? Does anyone really think they care where their victims are from? Or that any law abiding person would commit a felony just because your from out of state? While stranger things happen, I'd have rejected that statment for the stupidity that it is, as soon as I heard it.


Jay

Snares and trip wires. I've hunted many states and 3 provinces and never had a problem with theft.

I moved back to Ky. and had our day camp robbed twice in one season. The next year I had 4-$300.00 tree stands stolen in 5 weeks.

After about 125 years the gates were locked and will stay that way till I die.

Friggin' thieves cost several dozen hunters unlimited access to our land.

That hurts. You might consider granting some limited access again at some point... the vast majority of those hunters were good guys, just a couple bad apples who are probably in prison by now...

-jeff

During hunting season I used to leave a note on my seat that said, "Unless you're sure that I'm more than 800yds away, it's not worth it."

In my neck of the woods, more thefts occur during archery season than rifle season. I attribute it to the thiefs' knowlege of ballistics. It might also have something to do with felons being able to hunt with a bow, so there are more of 'em out and about.