OB - I won't make this political so let's just leave it at my signs keep getting stolen. My ring camera is so so at night especially since I have bigger lot. Any suggestions of game cameras for capturing license plates and faces at night? Not sure law enforcement will care but worth a shot. I could at least post it for neighbors to see.

FYI - I will use these cameras at my ranchito afterwards.

Stealth Cam Deceptor Max

TX_COWDOC said:

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Stealth Cam Deceptor Max

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That looks like a great option. Thanks Cowdoc!

If you turned in a crystal clear picture of a license plate with another crystal clear picture if someone getting in the truck with that plate with your sign in his hand into the cops, I still bet they wouldn't do anything. They don't do anything for car theft, much less political signs

I wouldn't expect cops to do anything. The issue can be solved without cops and not a single hair harmed. After all, it's probably some purple hair confused gender tweaker

Electric fence charger and post the game cam video

Put the sign closer to the road with a board of nails in the grass under it

Getting a pic of the person will probably be easier than the vehicle. Just so many options for where the person will park. Unless you happen to know the person identifying them will be difficult.

Several years ago someone in my area got in trouble for this. They were taking all of one local candidates signs. The candidates campaign people figured out someone was targeting their signs because so many people were talking about their signs being stolen. Police set up on some signs and caught them. When they searched the persons house the garage was filled with the same candidates campaign signs. Can't remember what happened to the sign stealer.

Came here to post this.

This guy is running for Bexar Co. sheriff and caught a woman in a Harris Walz shirt stealing one of his yard signs.

https://www.currentrevolt.com/p/video-democrat-caught-stealing-sign

4 weeks ago our rancher neighbor's wife had her six week old Ford Bronco stolen. Our local sheriff department handle the case and found her truck at a rural farm building along with multiple other vehicles. They had been working on the theft ring for almost a year.

When my dad ran for office all his yard signs were 1 ft by 4 ft and we put them up with 1x2" stakes.. one on each side.
One man's yard kept having some jerks driving onto his lawn and running the signs over. We kept replacing them and ended using 2x4" for the stakes and they still ran them over.
So the landowner took his skid steer and drove two 4" drill stem pipes into the ground but put 1x4" to hide the drill stem.
On the 2nd night they were up…. about 2:00am he heard a god awful noise in his front yard….. he went out and about 100 yards down his street was an abandoned
Chevy pick up with the front bumper, grill, and radiator and fan shoved into the block.
Cops investigated and the dudes admitted that my dad's opponent had hired them to drive around and tear his signs down.
Local newspapers did a story on it…. Of course his opponent denied everything.
My dad won that election by almost getting 70% of the counties votes.

Sad - should we load our first shot with rock salt? I don't want to cause long term problems, but hey deserve to feel the consequences.

Sometimes ya have to deter em the best way you can.

gringogambler said:

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Sad - should we load our first shot with rock salt? I don't want to cause long term problems, but hey deserve to feel the consequences.

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Probably not, gives them plausible deniability if they shoot back. "Hey, we wasn't doing nothing and he shot at us".

Gunny456 said:

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When my dad ran for office all his yard signs were 1 ft by 4 ft and we put them up with 1x2" stakes.. one on each side.
One man's yard kept having some jerks driving onto his lawn and running the signs over. We kept replacing them and ended using 2x4" for the stakes and they still ran them over.
So the landowner took his skid steer and drove two 4" drill stem pipes into the ground but put 1x4" to hide the drill stem.
On the 2nd night they were up…. about 2:00am he heard a god awful noise in his front yard….. he went out and about 100 yards down his street was an abandoned
Chevy pick up with the front bumper, grill, and radiator and fan shoved into the block.
Cops investigated and the dudes admitted that my dad's opponent had hired them to drive around and tear his signs down.
Local newspapers did a story on it…. Of course his opponent denied everything.
My dad won that election by almost getting 70% of the counties votes.

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This is the way to handle this … great job

air tag a sign and go get it back?

Gunny456 said:

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When my dad ran for office all his yard signs were 1 ft by 4 ft and we put them up with 1x2" stakes.. one on each side.
One man's yard kept having some jerks driving onto his lawn and running the signs over. We kept replacing them and ended using 2x4" for the stakes and they still ran them over.
So the landowner took his skid steer and drove two 4" drill stem pipes into the ground but put 1x4" to hide the drill stem.
On the 2nd night they were up…. about 2:00am he heard a god awful noise in his front yard….. he went out and about 100 yards down his street was an abandoned
Chevy pick up with the front bumper, grill, and radiator and fan shoved into the block.
Cops investigated and the dudes admitted that my dad's opponent had hired them to drive around and tear his signs down.
Local newspapers did a story on it…. Of course his opponent denied everything.
My dad won that election by almost getting 70% of the counties votes.

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I had a similar situation with my first house. I was located on an odd turn and had my brick mailbox run over several times. The last two times the vehicle kept driving and I was stuck with the bill to rebuild. So the last time I took matters into my own hands. Buried two 4" schedule 80 pipes a couple feet into the ground extending 3 feet into the air, poured a 6" concrete footer and filled the entire inside of the new brick mailbox with cinderblocks and pieces of the old shattered bricks. I unfortunately moved away from the house before an unlucky person hit it again. I still periodically check google street view to see if its still there.

As much as I sympathize with building a strong sign or mailbox to destroy the offender's car, I don't think I'd do it in today's world.

Sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen

So if a car/truck goes off the road and hits my 2 7/8" 4 rail pipe and cable pasture fence I can be sued for it being there?
It would not surprise me though.

Gunny456 said:

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So if a car/truck goes off the road and hits my 2 7/8" 4 rail pipe and cable pasture fence I can be sued for it being there?
It would not surprise me though.

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The fence, as long as it is not in the right of away no they could not, a mailbox on the other hand yes they can sue you and will. It is not legal to build a structure that is not designed to break away in the right away of a public street. Technically the driver should replace the box if they damage it, but as we all know, hit and run is the most common cause of death for all mailboxes regardless of color, gender, or any other factor. However, building it so that it does not readily breakaway is an actual crime. Sucks but that is way it is and has been for as long as I can remember.

Gunny456 said:

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So if a car/truck goes off the road and hits my 2 7/8" 4 rail pipe and cable pasture fence I can be sued for it being there?
It would not surprise me though.

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As just mentioned, it's the difference in a legitimate structure being built off the right of way for a legitimate purpose, and building something on the right of way, intending for it to be hit.

A mailbox has to be built in the right of way, and it isn't smart to build it, expecting to damage anything that hits it.

Would be smarter, less trouble, to build it on a swing arm or other system where it would give when hit, return after the hit, and not do much damage to the car or the mailbox.

Y'all have noticed that we live in a world where few take responsibility, and most are looking for someone else to blame or sue for their own mistakes.

I was once in a deposition with a group of lawyers and was on the defendant side of the suit.
It was a frivolous type of deal and one of the guys asked the plaintiff attorney if he would sue God if a person got hurt if a tree blew over in storm.
Attorney smirkly answered.."You're damn right…. if I could get him to come down into a court room!"
I moved to the other end of the room…. I didn't want to take the chance of being hit by the lightning bolt!!

My dad did something like that many years ago. Put a 2 big heavy deep set 12x8" post sections as the footer for the mailbox stand, only came up about 12-18". The mail box crasher finally hit it while we were away and we came back to a run over mail box but also a large puddle and heavy trail of oil going around the cul Dec sac. I think the idiot got the message.


As for the political sign, I'd get one of those pull string fire cracker party popper things and tie the string to the sign base and set a fresh wet dog turd or cow pie on it. Might have to enhance the pop a bit.

My did the same thing with our mailbox after it being taken out 3 or 4 times.

With the exception of this was used as the footer for the mail box pole.
The results were the same… It literally stripped the oil pan off the 1976 f150.

Best part, the owner was the starting QB from my rival high school… lets just say he did not finish his senior year as a member of the football team.

Only 1 political sign in my neighborhood this year.

Gunny456 said:

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When my dad ran for office all his yard signs were 1 ft by 4 ft and we put them up with 1x2" stakes.. one on each side.
One man's yard kept having some jerks driving onto his lawn and running the signs over. We kept replacing them and ended using 2x4" for the stakes and they still ran them over.
So the landowner took his skid steer and drove two 4" drill stem pipes into the ground but put 1x4" to hide the drill stem.
On the 2nd night they were up…. about 2:00am he heard a god awful noise in his front yard….. he went out and about 100 yards down his street was an abandoned
Chevy pick up with the front bumper, grill, and radiator and fan shoved into the block.
Cops investigated and the dudes admitted that my dad's opponent had hired them to drive around and tear his signs down.
Local newspapers did a story on it…. Of course his opponent denied everything.
My dad won that election by almost getting 70% of the counties votes.

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Neat urban legend.
Since the local newspaper did a story on it, I'd love to read it. Can you provide a source?

In the 1960's dude.

Microfiche the S A Light newspaper. Lolz.

They had a Marvin Zindler type guy who wrote a political type of column. Think his name was Paul something. Just remember he wore a black patch over one eye.
He always was stirring something up.

Capt. Augustus McCrae said:

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If you turned in a crystal clear picture of a license plate with another crystal clear picture if someone getting in the truck with that plate with your sign in his hand into the cops, I still bet they wouldn't do anything. They don't do anything for car theft, much less political signs

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The cops might not do anything, but I bet his/her employer would like to know.

So how about the guy with the sign well within his yard and 25-30 ft from street right of way?
I know anybody can be sued for anything but could that person be sued for damages if it was well within his yard and the vehicle had to go completely on his property to hit it?

Gunny456 said:

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In the 1960's dude.

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Lot of newspapers put their archives online now.

…but that's only for events that really happened.