Claim jumpers!!! Swindlers!!

[MIdigger]

So I go back to my secretive dump site which only I have been working. I had some bottles clustered and covered with brush for a return trip (couldnt carry them all out yesterday). I return at the break of light and start working the area......remembering Id dug a metal toy truck and a few other items I wanted to pick up. GONE............... wait a minute..I know I didnt take them. Then I cast a glance at a log and notice broken bottles sitting on top in a row....
Hmmm, have I been swindled? hornswaggled? I tromp over to the secret hidey-hole....my...my...my goods have been swiped!!. The brush is piled but underneath their all gone!!. Now in the old days I mightve gone into a fire and brimstone tirade and said some words not printable. Today, I sat down and dug some more and got a few finds including a nice hunk of copper $$. Im sure those swiped bottles will show up at a rummage sale in the near future.
Then to top it off, they (whomever the culprits were) leave behind their empty pink bottle of sissy juice (use that because I probably cant pronounce what its really called).....
Then I left for a walk through another area....an old car was spotted (well found is a better definition, but it did have a lot of bullet holes in it)...not one to pass opportunity up (and having the wire cutters in my back pack) I set about inspecting the old car for wire/change/etc. Found some aluminum pcs, crawl inside no change but plenty of wiring.........more $$$....
So I know a lot of folks have had the above problems of those types of people. But all in all, it wasnt to bad of day. BUT----------I WANT THAT METAL TRUCK BACK!! Hope you all enjoyed my story of grief...lol.

 

[Bottles r LEET]

That sucks![] If I were you I would go back and hide nearby and see if they ever came back.

 

[cyberdigger]

So I go back to my secretive dump site which only I have been working

.."Papers, please".. []

 

[MIdigger]

Its so secretive there are no papers!....I even ate the map it was drawn on. Wont be long and they show up they will be carried off by mosquito swarms. I did ok there. Maybe go back in Fall.

 

[tigue710]

Yup, that sucks... There's a lot of em out there... Real diggers leave other peoples spots or holes alone, but there's plenty of tools out there who will dig someones hole... Some even take other people there and dig the whole area up even where there's no bottles cause some were found close by and they don't know why...

 

[Bottles r LEET]

[]

 

[MIdigger]

I wouldnt have to leave the house with that. Get a few marker rounds and swindlers beware! I was wondering when or if someone was going to post a tiger tank or similar, in camo in the woods. That photo made my day, Thanks.

 

[RICKJJ59W]

You need to booby trap your spots.

 

[randgrithr]

OK so what would you do if you actually FOUND someone digging in a spot you'd been working at? Has anyone ever had that happen?

Here's a funny one - I had some people (not diggers, just local jerks) trying to mess with me, and I'd mentioned somewhere they could hear about it that finding seashells in the woods was "sign". So they put a bunch of shells in a part of the woods where they figured I'd be sure to notice it. The thing was, they were the wrong kind of shells, so I knew right away what was going on. []

Eileen

 

[MIdigger]

Rick--excellent right down to the "Victor" brand. Thats a good one.

Rand---if I came upon them digging? Well, I usually approach a digging spot quiet and a bit steathy just for that purpose. If someones there Id hold back and observe them for a while. Now, If I knew Id have exclusive rights to the area, I might go straight to them and inform them of this. But, many times family shows up, wants to paw through what you have and such. Or they do it while your gone. Not much I can do about that. I think thats probably what happened at the site. I saw the bottles lined up along a log and my first thought was great, theyre taking target practice at the bottles.

But, I didnt observe any shell casings or glass blown behind the log indicating shots were fired. So they probably just stuck some broken ones up maybe to let me know they were there. (also they left their empty bottle container there). Whats frustrating is we try and clean the area and leave it better than when we started (speaking for most decent diggers here) and these people come in, leave broken bottles in sight, leave their trash (which presumably a landowner may come upon and they figure said digger is a slob leaving behind his trash and then gets the boot for something he didnt do.)

I try my best to bury all glass and sharp objects so as to not cause injury. I know Id be mighty Po`d if my lab came up with a sliced paw or worse because someone didnt back fill and clean up. whats really driving me nuts is knowing I have targeted areas there that i would love to jump into and work, but Im not going to do the work for those folks only to have things snitched away. Who knows, maybe they were watching me and when I left they swooped in and cleaned it out. Not worth getting upset about. Just have to locate a new area. Dont want to educate those people even if they are "family" related to the owner.

Ive had a few run ins with some of these yahoo family guys. I dont think its the 2 Ive dealt with but while hunting and cleaning a nice 6 pt buck I shot on the farm these two yokels tell me Iam trespassing and leave the deer and hit the road. I pulled out the cell, called the landowner and said you best speak to Mr....... he owns the land. Said 2 goofballs realized Id known owner for years, they just figured theyd run anyone off. They just left without saying anymore. You just never know.