Some hunters will do just about anything to keep people off their land. Old-timers may have rigged plenty of booby traps to scare people away, but now there’s a modern nuisance to contend with and that’s the stealing of game cameras — those trusty bits of hardware that are indispensable these days for hunters.
These expensive devices are often put out in the woods for months at a time, quite tempting to a thief. Well now some hunters are going to extremes to protect them, by rigging game cameras with explosives.
Federal officials warned residents in eastern Kentucky recently about the potential for game cameras loaded with explosives after they identified a man who had set them up. That man was later killed in a shoot out while apparently showing investigators where the booby trapped cameras were located, according to the Associated Press.
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Officials with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives believe there could be more trail cameras out there rigged with explosive devices. Three confirmed incidents occurred where the devices went off and injured people and nine were dismantled.
“Some of the trail cameras were found abandoned on paths in rural areas… These IEDs were designed to explode when a person inserted batteries into the trail camera. Other IEDs were designed to be detonated by a trip wire leading to the trail cameras. In some instances, containers such as milk jugs, protein powder containers, or paint cans were placed nearby the explosive device. In addition, there is information that a tree stand had been placed in the woods with an explosive device attached,” the advisory states.
This is not the first time trail cameras were rigged with explosives in Kentucky. In June, state police in Harlan county investigated a similar incident.
Best thing is just not to touch a camera that isn’t yours.
Photo credit: Photolenta
