Well it happened. Some worthless POS stole 3 traps from my son and I today. Pretty sure the set on land had a mink in it, not sure of the water traps. We trap in a state forest area, and with the snow we get, the trails we use to check traps are quite evident. Kid's pretty upset, I will call the ranger tomorrow to report it as a teaching experience for him.

Would love to “cheek” that clown with a dove load during the act.

Low life maggots rarely see any consequences

We are probably better off not catching them, but sure is nice to think about if we did.

Baloni s___ like that. A lot of worthless around any more.

I lost 3 cage traps in a drainage off the snake river for mink.I used earth anchors but he had cutter and cut my cable.

Need a nice oak tree and about 5’ of rope.

My son asked me to open my old duffel bag and dust off my ghillie suit and go wait for the thief. I convinced him it wasnt worth it, but I understand his frustration.

Nothing any worse then a thief

That sucks. Unfortunately it happens to all of us eventually. That’s one reason I use a lot of chained super stakes, they can get my catch but very rarely do they get my trap. But someone tried to take one two years ago, and when they couldn’t pull the stake they took a big rock and smashed my mb550 all to heck. Must have really been mad cause it was totally junk when he was done. That was a bad day. Three stolen coyotes and a smashed up trap. The landowner told me he’d let a friend of a friend hunt coyotes and he got four. He was not happy when I told him that three of em came out of my traps.

Very True

Unfortunately it happens.

A couple years ago a duck hunter picked up 50 footholds (and fiberglass stakes) and a dozen colony traps off a rat slough on me. I've lost a lot of traps to duck hunters over the years.

It does seem to sting the kids worse though. I lost many when I was a kid as well.

I've had scouting cameras, tree stands and traps stolen over the years. There are a lot of thieves in the ranks.

I learned a long time ago you shouldn't take anything on state land that you can't take out when you leave. I would love to trap some of the state land around me but won't even consider it. There are lot more people out & about these days and a lot of them will pick your pockets if you aren't looking.
Forrest Rangers and Conservation officers are spread thin and only react to things they have a good chance of resolving. I have had a complaint in since Oct. complete with pictures and have not heard back yet.
People know they can't respond like they did in the past and take full advantage of the opportunity. Seems like not to many respect the outdoors anymore.
I wish you luck and hope they catch him or her but don't be surprised if nothing gets done.

[/b][b]

I HAD TWO TRAPS STOLEN THIS YEAR AND IM ONLY 15

Trus me
Thieves and low lives don't care how old or young any of us are.

There's a Clint Eastwood movie titled , that used to be a quick fix for thieves.

Hang em high....too bad we've become Over civilized

Why isn’t it worth it? Are you saying you don’t mind people stealing from you?
Heck, my sons bike got stolen many many years ago and I moved mountains until I found it. I had one family that offered to buy my son another because they didn’t know if their little darling had done it.
If you have a chance to catch a thief, you catch him and give him the option of calling the police on himself or face your consequences. That’s a lesson every child should learn and see. Don’t teach a child it’s ok when someone takes what you’ve worked hard for.

Put up a camera and put 1 trap back. 2 cameras if possible, one on the trap and one on the parking lot. Good chance they'll check again in a week or 2.
Just make sure your cams don't get stolen

This is when you put cams 10'-12' high, covered a bit, since folks tend to look "around" but not up.

If you let them get away with it , they will do it to others, as opposed to learning their lesson after a fine, embarrassment, etc.

A good time to set this example for your son.

my Dad set this example when I was about 8 and 12 and again when I was 15.

Im glad he did, then I knew, once an adult, how to catch trespassers on our farm.

make sure to take pix of boot tracks and tire tracks whenever possible.

the more data you give the GW, the easier it is for his success.

Our guy had pix of perps AND and tire tracks and told us that as he approached the house, he looked at the truck tires for positive ID.

hope this helps and good luck