recovery of stolen archery gear

rod

The American
Ironman
American Shoot
sadly i see another archer has had their gear stolen. mine was stolen 5 years ago and never did get it back.
has any one or any club managed to recover their stolen gear?
 

erratic

New member
Rod,

yes, the local Police found some stolen bows when searching a house for something else
The bows were stolen from the local leisure centre some while previously

Steve
 

Bird_2112

Member
Back in '84 I loaned a Greenhorn recurve to a friend of mine who had just finished his beginners course. It was only when his car was stolen that I found out he was leaving it in the boot. Turned up in a second hand shop with a twisted limb. Obviously not happy with him and the fact he was going out with my ex girlfriend also a club member it didn't take much for me to get rather angry with him at any time.

G.
 

WideBoy

New member
Before I joined my club, a few members were shooting on our field. The border of the field is a hedgerow with a very small, very quiet country lane the other side around 50 yards between the shooting line and the road - obviously shooting in the opposite direction!). While everyone was up at the targets retrieving their arrows, some little oik bunked over from the road and nicked a couple of compounds and ran for a car further down the road. Needless to say a couple of members gave chase and I think one of the bows was recovered when he dropped it, though I think he may have got away with another.

Clearly this theft was pre-meditated (given the remoteness of our location), but a word to the wise: If you're shooting in view of a public space or highway and equipment is going to be left in the open, make sure you have someone stay behind while arrows are collected; like burglaries, some tea leaves only need seconds to seize an opportunity presented to them. Be aware of bystanders who don't look like your typical interested parties, or people trying to remain out of sight, and who have a car standing by... :grumpy:
 

roytherecurve

New member
I can see how, if pre-planned, that our own club field could be vulnerable to thefts though this is more likely to be during the night as a break-in of our club portakabin, where the beginners equipment is stored along with bosses, stands and faces etc...... However, We are fortunate enough to be situated on an old cricket field which is within a village and is gated and overlooked by nearby houses.
We minimise the risk during the winter season by moving the beginners equipment up to our indoor range which we are also very fortunate to have located on a disused air base which is owned by a local development company. It still retains some operational importance and is still an MOD concern with the security still in place (civilian not military) requiring the production of a pass to gain access to the site.

Having a remote club field is always going to be a headache for security but there are things that can be done to minimise the risk. Using strong locks and shackles on containers, huts, buildings etc. removal of valuable equipment to a safer location during the winter months (not always practical if alternative storage cannot be found, I know!)
Regular patrols by members that live nearby if practical.

Most importantly, let the local police know that you have archery equipment secured at the site. I'm pretty sure that there will be more patrols if they knew that there was something worth protecting as I'm sure that they would not want such things falling into the hands of the local criminal fraternity!

If, Even after all this, the unthinkable should still occur, then measures like the use of U.V. marker pens and smart water will go a long way to help aid recovery.
 

magic Squares

New member
Wideboy We also had simular happen with a longbow being stolen, we then always left a person back with the kit. we have moved feild since.

Back in the early 90's we used to shoot in Leics and a load of kit was stolen from a car, which turned up in a second hand shop couple months later.

Somethings will turn up on ebay months later.

We retrieved a lot of kit about 2 years ago. A lot of accessories were stolen from a car, without the riser, sight block etc.Approx 5 sets arrows, scope, quivers sights etc.
Whilst looking on ebay 18 months later the sight Scope and arrows still complete with intials turned up. The police after a few days pestering them and showing proof that it was stolen eventually raided the house and retrieved most of the kit back, which was good because most of it wasn't insured.

Whilst the Junior GB team was in Prague, a kit box fell of the bus.....Long story. about 6 months later it was recieved back.

So some kit does get recovered.
 
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