Remote Cabin lessons learned

[Polishrifleman]

So my wife and I purchased some land about 2hrs outside Seattle for nature, hunting, letting the kids be kids etc... about 3 yrs ago.

Well the inevitable happened and the little dry cabin was broken into sometime between July 28th and August 12th. A picnic table was used to gain access to a window that was broken then opened from the inside. Then a sledge hammer was used to try to get out the door from the inside (unsuccessfully). From what I can tell is missing; A dutch oven, Daisy NRA BB gun, rayovac headlamps, a winchester spotting scope, a brand new never used camo bibs and jacket combo and a 7 point elk shed.

What I learned:

It will get broken into but do your best not to help the process. (chain the picnic table to a tree so the perps have to make a ladder or fall off a log trying)
Have a sheet of plywood and a minimal amount of tools to plug the hole(s) until a new window can come in.
Squirrels and pack rats move in quick so have traps and bait handy.
Things will get taken so keep up there only what you can afford to lose.
Game camera's are cool for things other than the watering hole.
Get a good group of friends to use it randomly, too many places like this go unused for long periods of time.
Pack heat always, and as I have mentioned before, I worry more about the two legged variety of critter when I am out there.

My nearest neighbor about a mile away was also broken into for a frying pan, some talk about radios and other random stuff.

Would you sweep the area each time you arrive?
I normaly only have a loaded handgun when showing up, the rifle is in the trunk. I'm thinking I want a little more range than my 642 will give me but access and readiness are tough.

 

[Thefabulousfink]

That far out in the boonies there is not much you can do to prevent a breakin. They have nearly unlimited time to work at bypassing all your secureity measures. Your ideas are good and you definately should do them, but out in the woods they could knock a wall down with a tracktor and no one would notice.

The best thing is to make it not worth the effort. This is a cabin, not the Ritz. Fill it with old dishes, old furniture, and old clothes. Don't leave fancy expensive things like new spotting scopes and camo overalls there, take them home with you. This way if/when you get broken into nothing gets taken that can't be replaced by a trip to Goodwill.

You could spend a lot of $$ and instal a security system, CC cameras, lights, and all that jazz; but from the way you describe it, the Cabin isn't worth what you would spend on security. Unless you have lots of cash to throw at the problem, better to make less valuables available to theives.

 

[Essex County]

I never locked my small camp.........

Just used a hasp and a fingersnap. The most valuable things were the airtight stove and a couple of old sleeping bags. One year we left most of a fifth of good whiskey on the table. Next spring it was obvious someone had built a fire or two, but the bottle was untouched......Essex

 

[Nio]

One word: Boobytraps

In Louisiana, you can booby-trap your own property as long as you post a sign. That gave me the bright idea to make up some signs:

THIS HOUSE IS BOOBY TRAPPED!

IF YOU COME IN, YOU WILL BE KILLED!

We never had trouble after that...

Nio

 

[Roadwild17]

Nio, never hurd of this, and sources?


Polish - it could have been worse, they could have burnt the camp down after going through all the trouble to break in for nothing.

 

[Leanwolf]

ROADWILD17 - "Polish - it could have been worse, they could have burnt the camp down after going through all the trouble to break in for nothing."

Yep. Today, that type of severe vandalism is not at all unusual.

As morals, honesty, and self responsibility have deteriorated over the years, it seems to me that people who break in to other people's homes, etc., have such a vicious streak in them that they will destroy as much as they can, just for the sheer joy (and spite) of it.

As other here have said, best not to leave anything there in your cabin that is of any real value.

Too bad that is the way it is... but that is the way it is.

JMHO.

L.W.

 

[Devonai]

My friend has a cabin up north, right on the Appalachian Trail where it intersects a dead-end logging road. It has only been broken into once in the 25 years that his family has owned it, and since nothing of significant value is there (as Fink pointed out), nothing of value was lost. The exceptions are theft-resistant by nature, namely the natural gas tank and the iron woodstove.

My friend's parents discovered the break-in, and they're not the type to do a sweep. If my friend and I had showed up first, it would have been a different story.

Good luck cleaning up the mess.

 

[Roadwild17]

Forgot about the sweep, I think I would atleast walk around the outside and look for any signs of a break-in.

 

[Nio]

Nio, never hurd of this, and sources?

I did some research years ago, and Louisiana law says that if the place is booby-trapped, you have to post signs. I've never actually built the booby-traps. The signs are enough to discourage the teenagers that do this kind of thing.

Nio

 

[Polishrifleman]

Don't get me wrong, I know it could have been much worse, everything up there is expendable. I was surprised at the random items taken because this happened on foot with a vehicle parked down at the gate.

I guess the deck will have to wait as a new window and shutter installation is in order.

I don't know about booby traps in Washington and I thought about something along those lines, but with my kids running around I don't need to forget about anything so not an option at this point.

 

[TallPine]

My mom and stepdad's cabin in southern CO was broken into and burned down about 20 years ago. They knew it was broken into first because all the bolts that held the handmade door together were lying at right angles to the threshold, so the door was open.

Local mexican sheriff's office of course would do nothing to investigate


A lot of people leave remote cabins unlocked just to prevent the damage caused by a break in, which is usually worse than the loss of anything stolen. You can always use some sort of tell-tale (like a piece of scotch tape) to tell if someone has been through the door while you were gone.

 

[cordex]

I have two close friends with remote cabins. Both have been buglarized and anything even remotely of value stolen. They even went so far as to take the big wood-burning stove one time.

Sucks.

 

[El Barto]

Then there was the case in California where the theives had enough time to take everything...including the underground well pump and the cabin itself.

 

[Cosmoline]

You were lucky. I know of properties in the Mat-Su where entire cabins have been stolen. My old neighbor out there stole the roof off of an absentee landowner's cabin! And copper wire you can pretty much forget about--it's going to be gone. The best bet is either to be there all the time or keep it minimum and leave nothing of real value. Man-traps are a terrible idea for an array of reasons, though nothing stops you from posting a sign saying you have them when you don't. One neighbor's warning sign was a target set up at the driveway edge. An arrow pointed to the tight group with a note that it was made from the cabin.

 

[redneckdan]

if you find the cabin forcefully opened but nothing taken, there is a chance that a stranded hunter used it in an emergency. A couple of my friends at university are from alaska and during conversation they mentioned that cabins are left latched but not locked incase of emergencies, the only requirement is that you leave the cabin in better shape then when you got there. Ie sweep up and replenish the fire wood.

 

[rwc]

FYI to WA residents - see 1(c).
---
RCW 9.41.230
Aiming or discharging firearms, dangerous weapons.
(1) For conduct not amounting to a violation of chapter 9A.36 RCW, any person who:

(a) Aims any firearm, whether loaded or not, at or towards any human being;

(b) Willfully discharges any firearm, air gun, or other weapon, or throws any deadly missile in a public place, or in any place where any person might be endangered thereby. A public place shall not include any location at which firearms are authorized to be lawfully discharged; or

(c) Except as provided in RCW 9.41.185, sets a so-called trap, spring pistol, rifle, or other dangerous weapon, although no injury results, is guilty of a gross misdemeanor punishable under chapter 9A.20 RCW.

(2) If an injury results from a violation of subsection (1) of this section, the person violating subsection (1) of this section shall be subject to the applicable provisions of chapters 9A.32 and 9A.36 RCW.


[1994 sp.s. c 7 ß 422; 1909 c 249 ß 307; 1888 p 100 ßß 2, 3; RRS ß 2559.]

 

[FireBreather01]

I have a friend who built a small A-frame in the northern woods of WI who boasted about his 'castle' in the woods. All windows were covered by solid wooden shutters locked and hinged from inside, doors were thick and solid with no glass and had bars over them to further frustrate the frequent visits by northern ne'er-do-wells. A couple of years go by and as he drives up to his cabin late one night he senses something's not right.

As he walked around the cabin he noticed a large black spot on the one side of the 'A' - it seems one of the n-d-w's thought about something my friend had not, it's called a chain-saw. A big hole right through the wall, out with some valuable equipment. If they want in badly enough.............

 

[Leanwolf]

FIREBREATHER01 - "... If they want in badly enough............."


That is the operative phrase, right there.

If the fecesheads want in badly enough, they'll break in, one way or another.

As the old saying goes, "Good locks just keep the honest people out."

As stated by previous posters, if you have a remote cabin, one where it can't be watched by a nearby neighbor(s), do not leave anything there you'd hate to lose.

L.W.

 

[cyanide]

The break in you describe is done by kids

it should not be hard for the local law to catch them.

Unless they are real lazy and just don't care ?

 

[answerguy]

And copper wire you can pretty much forget about--it's going to be gone.

It's kinda inconvenient to take the wiring home with you isn't it?

 

[pete f]

The LEO's dont care usually as it is probably their kids or friends and you are an out of towner....just my experience.


We used a game camera to post the road in on our property. Amazing when we found out how many people were using out place. Some one was actually coming in and out with our boat, using it and then putting it back.


When we brought the pics to the sheriffs, we were told, just live with it, you never want the locals pissed off they may burn it.... we filed a compliant the same day. on Weds a week later, our place burned...


We now have a different place, in another county and $300 bucks a year donation to the local sheriffs reelection campaigns.... have not had a problem yet.

 

[DWARREN123]

Some would do it just to be destructive.

 

[TallPine]

The break in you describe is done by kids

it should not be hard for the local law to catch them.

Unless they are real lazy and just don't care ?

The LEO's dont care usually as it is probably their kids or friends and you are an out of towner....just my experience.

My experience as well when my camper trailer (logging camp) was broken into in northern NM, and when my parents' cabin burned in extreme southern CO. I dunno if the sheriffs ever do anything else, but they don't seem to investigate crimes against gringos.

OTOH, the folks I met down there at the post office and buying propane, etc were always real nice. Most or all of them trace their families back 300+ years right there in the same valley.

 

[cgraham]

Booby Traps

Nio: "In Louisiana, you can booby-trap your own property as long as you post a sign."

Nio, I can't contradict you, but I would be extremely surprised if this is true. Can you cite the statute? (I lived in LA for 9 years and never heard of such a thing). In any other state, if an interloper were killed by a booby trap, the trapper would be prosecuted for murder (partly because if absent, he has no defence of being in fear of his life; additionally, innocent people, incuding LEOs and firemen could be killed).

Maybe he would get away with negligent homicide.

I actually recall reading of a successful murder case against a person who killed an interloper with a shotgun booby trap; unfortunately it was a long time ago and I can't remember further details.

I did several Google searches and found no information on the subject for Louisiana, althoug several other states make it a serious misdemeanor or crime to set one.

C

 

[cgraham]

Buyoff?

Pete F: "We now have a different place, in another county and $300 bucks a year donation to the local sheriffs reelection campaigns.... have not had a problem yet."

Isn't that called The Protection Racket?

C