Stolen High Seat

[Mr. Gain]

Good morning, gentlemen,

I'm posting this in case anyone on here is offered this for sale.

Last week - Between Sunday 16th and Friday 21st October - one of my high seats was stolen from the vicinity of Weatheroak, in north Worcestershire.

It's a Bushwear Panther and was fitted with a Cub extension. The seat was secured to a tree with a camo ratchet strap and a heavy-duty security cable fastened with a padlock (this last was probably the weakest link so it's possible the thief may offer the intact strap and cable along with the seat).

The Panther itself is quite shabby, with greyed, weather-worn paint and a shooting rail marked by the talons of every buzzard and sparrowhawk in the area. The sprung hook that locks the top section of the ladder at an angle to the rest is broken, both rivets are missing from the join between the tree mounting plate and the ladder strut on the r/h side, and the instruction label on the mounting plate itself is mostly rubbed away and less than legible.

The Cub extension is newer and therefore shows less wear and tear.

Anyway, though I suspect there's zero chance of ever seeing my dear old Panther again, if you should chance to see it for sale, at least now you'll know that the chap selling it is a rascal!

Safe shooting and happy hunting.

 

[Cougar]

Sorry to hear that, there are scumball's everywhere.

 

[Steyer 6.5]

sorry to hear that but i reckon the seat will have been cut up for scrap. Metal thefts are at an all time high. Last week on the farm local to me where i shoot they climbed electric pole cut the cable and stole about 200 feet of electric cable that was live. Poor farmer has a genny outside his house now. ill keep me ears open though.

 

[Cougar]

Last week on the farm local to me where i shoot they climbed electric pole cut the cable and stole about 200 feet of electric cable that was live.

Thats unreal!

 

[Mick9abf]

Check the local scrap metal dealers mate, if its alloy it makes good money. If your quick enough it might not have not been cut up yet!!

 

[flytie]

They are replacing the underground cable from the main Evesham road to Little Comberton. Two full drums of the heavy duty cable went missing @ £15,000 a drum!

I hope this means that they leave my highseats alone.

Simon

 

[tom]

where abouts in weatheroak ? i useded to fish a pond there callded brockhill ,what deer are you stalking ?

 

[Mr. Gain]

Thanks for the replies and empathy, chaps.

I hadn't thought of scrap, but I fear you're likely to be right. Does anyone know any scrapyards near Weatheroak?

On a brighter note, I was pleased and relieved to find that they'd missed a second seat I'd put up 70 yards away to cover much the same ground when the wind is from the other quarter. I'm probably flattering myself but I like to think that the camo paint job I'd given it had something to do with its survival.
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If I get a new Panther I'll give it the same treatment, just in case, but won't be putting it or any other seats back up down there in a hurry!

Tom, Brockill Pond is about 1/2 mile away. At present I'm not shooting deer on this patch, just foxes, until I get a better idea what's about. From the slots I'd say there are a few muntjac and possibly some roe, nothing bigger, but the dry weather has meant the marks are comparatively shallow and indistinct, so that's probably not the whole story. Did you see any deer while fishing?

 

[tom]

Yes about 15 years ago my father was the head forester fot the main land owner around there and we used to see muntjac aroung there ,i spent my childhood fishing on that little pond !v
cheers

 

[User00003]

build them out of wood, avoid theft, support the timber industry

 

[Mr. Gain]

Yes, about 15 years ago my father was the head forester for the main land owner around there and we used to see muntjac around there, I spent my childhood fishing on that little pond!

Thanks for that: made me smile. It's still a lovely little spot and I can easily imagine the pleasure it gave you as a lad.

 

[Mr. Gain]

Well, I didn't expect this story to have a happy ending, but I was stalking on foot this morning and took a new route when the wind shifted so as to keep it in my face. I didn't see any deer, but near the end of my stalk I spotted something unexpected in a ditch: my Bushwear Panther, still extended and with the Cub extension still attached. The ratchet strap was there too, albeit cut through.

Whoever removed it from the tree had carried it about 200 yards through the wood before dumping it, and had then left it there for weeks, so presumably the motive was an intolerance of shooting rather than the pursuit of a fast buck.

Anyway, I'm happy to have it back - it'll keep the replacement company!

 

[jimbo123p]

Well done. Made your day I bet.

 

[Cry Havoc]

Mr. Gain, at the top of the hill turn right, there's 2 in Earlswood, 1st exit off Junc 3 and there's one on the A435 by Cross and Bowling Green, then another at portway (along with a Pickie camp...!