Protect your gear from being stolen?

[JeffRaines]

You can't totally stop it, but minimizing it to me is:
-Don't bring anything extra/high value you have to leave in your vehicle. For me personally, then I think about it too much.
-Bring stuff into the field and stash it way off the trail if I do need to bring extras.
-I try to have everything I need on my person or in my pack when I leave home.

My vehicles have no window tinting, are kind of old and don't have advertisements all over them that state "Please look in this vehicle for these brands of highly expensive gear you can easily sell for pennies on the dollar"

I do think trail cams are a good idea, but to step it up a notch you'd need to have signs inside, visible through the windows that state "under surveillance by multiple trail cameras" - plus a trail cam that picks up every vehicle coming up the road to help LE out if the worst happens.

Agreed on the advertisements. People rolling around in vehicles with every conceivable hunting brand sticker on the back are just a target for tweakers. It’s not like you may have all that stuff in your truck, but even a couple of things would make breaking into your rig in a sea of cars worthwhile. I don’t like my rig to stand out.

After years I finally broke down and put a tiny stone glacier sticker(we’re talking 3”x1.5”) on the back of my truck - not so I could “show off” but as an indicator to other hunters at trailheads. At least if someone rolls up they can look at my truck(and the one lonely sticker) and make a reasonable assumption that I’m hunting.

 

[Wumbo]

A few things I do: Camper shell to lock things in the back, Keep truck tidy and items out of sight, Cover items in truck bed with a cheap moving blanket, no stickers to advertise, and honestly now that I'm getting into backpack hunting it's making me realize how much unnecessary crap I was bringing...and bringing less means less can get taken

 

[Brendan]

Not practical for me to never leave a firearm in the car. If I'm driving across country on a hunting trip (Rifle this year), I'm bringing at least two rifles. One will get left in a case, the case locked, and the case padlocked to something metal in the car, and then cover everything to keep it out of sight.

Homeowners and Renters' Insurance can cover vehicle contents, but you should double check. Some things to pay attention to are:

* Verify coverage with your insurer to make sure belongings in your car are covered while away from home on vacation
* Verify limits on personal property as our gear gets expensive fast
* Is your coverage ACV (Actual Cash Value) or Replacement Cost? ACV covers the depreciated value, Replacement Cost covers the new replacement cost, and you need to pay more for that coverage.
* There's usually a separate policy limit on things like Firearms. Verify this, or get a rider to cover them separately.

 

[seand]

When we go on rifle elk hunts (not pack in) we always have a spare rifle stashed in the rig behind or under a seat. Just try and make it look empty/uninviting and lock the doors.

I have a new truck this year andwas pretty happy to find that a tundra double cab has sort of a hidden space the rear seat that normally you can’t access. But you can with modifications. Will be a good hidden and basically unaccessable to stash a rifle.

 

[jyoung1901]

Ive got a campershell that locks and I will be keeping stuff out of sight, but you cant really hide coolers and what not. However, depending on what kind of truck you have there may be some secret storage. it sounds like Sean D has a tundra that does. I know most F150s behind the rear seat you can modify to access easily but is totally hidden and inaccessible unless you know to pull a random piece of paracord behind and below the headrest. this is where i usually keep shotguns/rifles if i need to stash them. Not sure about other brands of trucks.

 

[JohnnyDesert]

Keep the Swarovski stickers off of the back window. lol

 

[String&stick]

I find the best way is to keep your stickers and take them to the trailhead, then put them on the back window of other trucks in order to throw the thieves off the scent!

People will rarely notice this, and you can even contact most providers and you don't even have to buy a product to get the stickers. . . They will mail them to you!

(Yes I'm kidding)

 

[SteveCNJ]

This is no big deal on a backpack hunt, just throw on your pack, weapon case in one hand and a small bag in the other hand. However, kitchen sink style hunting makes this super cumbersome and logistically consumptive unless you can park directly in front of your hotel room door.

Had the biggest Ford Excursion packed to the ceiling and back doors. Unloaded the whole thing.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

[Squamch]

I leave my gun case open across the front seat, with the empty box of 30-06 ammo on it.
Last season, or maybe the one before, we came across a car in the back of beyond, doors unlocked, bag of weed in the center console, and a rifle in each front seat. No one around. Very peculiar. You would have to have really wanted that little car to get back there too.

 

[orionsbrother]

Just collect and keep a bunch of food wrappers and disposable cups and cans that you “decorate” with some paint and stain. Any time you need to park for an extended timeframe, scatter them around the interior of your vehicle and dash with a generous helping of unrolled, dried and wrinkled condoms.

 

[DOESLAYER]

If we cut off the arm of a thief there be a lot of people with one hand, a bunch of politicians too...