Elk Stolen in Billings

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

Took rack and meat into the hotel (nice) in Great Falls, MT, last fall. I'm not a trusting guy by nature, and I sure as heck wasn't going to lose my BOAL and meat we worked so hard for overnight. Based on all the legitimate thumbs up and well wishes from dozens of folks in Great Falls, I gotta figure there were some envious/jealous a-holes that noticed it too and would've taken it given the opportunity.

 

[william schmaltz]

I left a smelly moose head on the side of my house for a night a few weeks ago. Couldn't see it from the road and I have a long driveway. I woke up twice that night to noises and checked on it. I'm extremely paranoid about theft. I can't even get myself to run into a gas station quick with camping gear in my closed (unloacked) topper without making someone stay in the pickup. In this case, my tight ass would've been sleeping in my tent in a campground with the antlers tied to a guy line and the gear in the cab!

I hope he recovers his stuff. I'm not calling him stupid, but he would probably be the first to admit that leaving stuff in the open in a parking lot was stupid. We all do stupid stuff from time to time so I feel for him. And we all have to pay a stupid tax for it.

 

[MuleyFever]

These stories are why I am extremely paranoid people will steal my stuff. I hate leaving my camp set up.

 

[KHNC]

My best bull slept on the extra bed beside me in the motel room. I was in Texas on my way back from New Mexico hunt.

 

[grfox92]

I live in Wyoming but frequent Billings often for the shopping and amenities we don't have in WY.

I really can't relate to all the hateful comments about how much of a dump Billings is. It's a city. There are going to be some poor people. There is going to be more crime then rural areas. That doesn't make a place a dump. It makes it a city.

I've never had a bad experience there and go with my family with little kids all the time.

I think alot of people are very fortunate to have grown up where they grew up. I think those same people are very nervous when they expience a little bit of diversity from their normal life.

If you guys think Billings is a crappy place, try LA, Chicago, Milwaukee, Baltimore, The Bronx or Poughkeepsie NY or about 1000 other cities in the lower 48 that make Billings look like Disney world.

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[FLATHEAD]

We all come from diff parts of the country - I can't leave the car doors unlocked overnight cause some transient or lowlife is gonna get in there.

You gotta at least make it difficult to see and access. A $10 driveway alarm will let you know if someone is messing with your stuff. Put it under a tarp, where when they lift up the tarp, it goes off. No mistakes that way.

But if you come from a place where you can leave your house unlocked and feel safe, you don't think like that and I'm jealous. Hate having to worry about stuff walking off all the time.

I had 2 boats stolen while I lived in Central FL.
One was under the carport while we were home.
Lessons learned:
Trailer tongue locks are useless.
Low lifes are everywhere.
Hide your stuff.

 

[Rich M]

I had 2 boats stolen while I lived in Central FL.
One was under the carport while we were home.
Lessons learned:
Trailer tongue locks are useless.
Low lifes are everywhere.
Hide your stuff.

Dang!

I lost a trolling motor in side yard. Two guys tried to swipe a 25 merc in my dad’s back yard, was bolted and locked on so they gave up.

Crazy how brazen these guys can be.

 

[el_jefe_pescado]

I stopped at the Town Pump to fuel up on the south side of I-90 out where it splits with I-94 in Billings two days ago after bird hunting in central Montana for 2 weeks. Place was a pisshole. I was the only guy fueling up that didn't have neck tattoos merging into face tattoos covering half their heads. Approx. 1 PM on Friday. Yes, they all had Montana license plates. I made sure I had my Glock 22 on hand while going inside. Traffic on I-90 from Livingston to Billings was comparable to I-70 in Colorado on a ski weekend. Up on the Hi-line was nice, but some places in Montana sure have changed! I wouldn't leave my ex-wife in my truck in some places in Montana anymore. Bird hunting was awesome though!

Phew sounds like a close call…


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[Sadler]

I stopped at the Town Pump to fuel up on the south side of I-90 out where it splits with I-94 in Billings two days ago after bird hunting in central Montana for 2 weeks. Place was a pisshole. I was the only guy fueling up that didn't have neck tattoos merging into face tattoos covering half their heads. Approx. 1 PM on Friday. Yes, they all had Montana license plates. I made sure I had my Glock 22 on hand while going inside. Traffic on I-90 from Livingston to Billings was comparable to I-70 in Colorado on a ski weekend. Up on the Hi-line was nice, but some places in Montana sure have changed! I wouldn't leave my ex-wife in my truck in some places in Montana anymore. Bird hunting was awesome though!

Glad you made it out safe. Seeing guys with face and neck tatts on a Friday afternoon at a gas station is no joke! Especially if they're from Montana!

 

[sr80]

Seems weird, stolen rack, and all his gear. Doesn't make sense to leave that all in the box of a truck unattended.

 

[Preston]

I live in Wyoming but frequent Billings often for the shopping and amenities we don't have in WY.

I really can't relate to all the hateful comments about how much of a dump Billings is. It's a city. There are going to be some poor people. There is going to be more crime then rural areas. That doesn't make a place a dump. It makes it a city.

I've never had a bad experience there and go with my family with little kids all the time.

I think alot of people are very fortunate to have grown up where they grew up. I think those same people are very nervous when they expience a little bit of diversity from their normal life.

If you guys think Billings is a crappy place, try LA, Chicago, Milwaukee, Baltimore, The Bronx or Poughkeepsie NY or about 1000 other cities in the lower 48 that make Billings look like Disney world.

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Yeah, maybe I’m strange too, but I’ve traveled through and stayed in Billings for the last 15 years or so and never had any issues. I do usually carry my guns in inside. Hopefully they find his elk rack.

 

[LostArra]

Thieves are a universal blight.
I'm surprised they just didn't steal the entire truck.

 

[Steven.Elmore]

Thieves are a universal blight.
I'm surprised they just didn't steal the entire truck.

In Albuquerque they would have...

 

[hobbes]

The stolen rack sucks, but no way in heck I'd leave that in the open bed of a truck overnight at any hotel. However, it's still not the owners fault, but the jackass thief.

As far as Billings goes......if you've been no farther than the interstate interchanges, you don't know much about Billings. In fact, you've not seen enough of it to know anything about it. I don't know where you guys have been but if Billings scares you, you really haven't been many places.

The C'mon Inns are actually nice hotels that can be found in a few places here in MT, ND, and WY. I've stayed in them multiple times. They are far from being a "sh... h..." if I read that correctly.

If you are dragging around an elk head that stinks, learn to at least completely remove the cape, lower jaw, tongue, eyes, and as much meat as possible to limit the stink. The brain is the biggest problem in the field but can be dealt with when you get home.


Let me take that all back. Montana sucks, full of meth heads and folks with tattoos. I'd recommend going to another state to hunt, retire, or work remotely. I don't recall when the last time was anyone made it home with a set of antlers, they are almost always stolen. I'd recommend hunting somewhere else.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

Every town that size (100k or so) is going to have a gritty side, but that doesn't mean it's full of bad people. Spent many days in the major cities in MT and WY back in the early 2000s working on KG convenience stores fuel controllers and point of sale systems. The "bad" areas we had stores in these towns were indeed much better than other cities in the Midwest. Omaha, Wichita, and Des Moines all had locations in neighborhoods where the doors were locked after dark. Some only had pass through bullet proof external windows for business after dark.

 

[trophyhill]

I left an elk rack on my camper for a few days in 2012 and was told by another hunter passerby that I am lucky someone didn’t steel it. I guess I was naive about that. I can’t marine why someone would do that to someone else no matter what is being stolen. I just don’t get that……

 

[Trr15]

I stopped at the Town Pump to fuel up on the south side of I-90 out where it splits with I-94 in Billings two days ago after bird hunting in central Montana for 2 weeks. Place was a pisshole. I was the only guy fueling up that didn't have neck tattoos merging into face tattoos covering half their heads. Approx. 1 PM on Friday. Yes, they all had Montana license plates. I made sure I had my Glock 22 on hand while going inside. Traffic on I-90 from Livingston to Billings was comparable to I-70 in Colorado on a ski weekend. Up on the Hi-line was nice, but some places in Montana sure have changed! I wouldn't leave my ex-wife in my truck in some places in Montana anymore. Bird hunting was awesome though!

“Town pump” must mean something different in MT than it does where I come from.

 

[JEck]

That’s a huge elk. Sorry about it getting stolen and hope you find it!


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[long hunter]

I left an elk rack on my camper for a few days in 2012 and was told by another hunter passerby that I am lucky someone didn’t steel it. I guess I was naive about that. I can’t marine why someone would do that to someone else no matter what is being stolen. I just don’t get that……

Checked the price on antlers latley.

 

[kwackkillncrew]

i had a carbiou rack wired to the grill of my truck and drove it around for a year or so like that and no one ever stole it. Sucks for this guy for sure. Think he lives up in king salmon or dillingham and slays monster moose.