How to make baskets thief proof.

[kmelton]

We have a new course in Sumter SC that is only 3 months old and already someone has tried to steal 13 of the more secluded baskets in the woods. I went out there today and found them dug out of the ground, laying on their side, sleeve, concrete and all. The ones they couldn't get out they broke off at the sleeve bending the tongue and holding on by the lock. I want to just permanently place them in. What are some cheaper ways we could really secure these baskets?

 

[Aim For The Chains]

fill in with rocks so its very hard to dig out.

Cement the hell out of the bases making too heavy to steal (but can still be cut off)

So, wrap chain around the bottom of the baskets if you are that concerned and lock that tight too over the collars. The chains will also add strength to the overall pole when weaved along tightly. doesn't get much cheaper.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

If going with a solid pole that won't be moved, put a few pieces of rebar inside the pole, then fill post with concrete ...ain't no one gonna cut through that. As far as digging them outta the ground, all I can think of is securing the collar in a large enough piece of cement as to not be practical to deal with for thievery.

If you have collars, as far as I know, you have to padlock the poles to the collars.. which is likely to be a weak point.

 

[jeffmonty]

Sounds strange that they were just dug up and left there. Almost sounds like straight vandalism. Was there some strong opposition to the course being installed at that location by some of the neighbors? Could be a neighborhood vigilante at work.

 

[djschnabel]

Putting in a course later this fall/early next spring, curious to see what others say...

 

[THUGNIFICENT763]

Bury explosives at the base of the baskets, rigged with photocell trigger switches. Anyone who tries to dig one up will get a nasty surprise!

 

[freestateflyer]

Over sized hole with a tripod of rebar driven in the bottom, concrete and a piece of chain link fence buried 6 inches deep will make em hard to get out.

 

[sidewinder22]

I think the woods just regurgitated the baskets.

 

[Noill]

Bury explosives at the base of the baskets, rigged with photocell trigger switches. Anyone who tries to dig one up will get a nasty surprise!

do not do this!!!

anyway, nothing is 100% thief proof...
you can only make something hard to get and the harder to get and the less rewarding the better... so, look for ways to make it as hard to do as possible and layer the defenses so even if 1 or 2 methods are defeated you still have something else preventing this from getting stolen...

I had my catalytic converter stolen from my car... apparently, they can get them out in less than a minute or thereabouts... so I put a cat clamp on there which makes it like a 10 minute procedure to steal... at that point, most thieves will just look for another car... so something like that is the way to go... make it take longer and be more difficult

 

[THUGNIFICENT763]

To chime in on your catalytic converter issue, the goons around here use plasma cutters rofl. Apparently there is enough platinum in those things to offset the cost of a $700 piece of equipment.

 

[Dan S]

Sounds strange that they were just dug up and left there. Almost sounds like straight vandalism. Was there some strong opposition to the course being installed at that location by some of the neighbors? Could be a neighborhood vigilante at work.

Exactly what i was thinking

 

[DavidSauls]

Incredible. For those who don't know, this is the first course in a town that's fairly distant from any other disc golf populations. It makes you wonder, Why? Disc golfers stealing practice baskets? Thieves who think they can sell the baskets? Or take them to metal recyclers for cash? Or just plain vandalism? Seems like a lot of work for any of this.

Any chance it's a NIMBY who just doesn't want disc golf in that park? Still seems like a lot of work.

One thought is to buy a game camera to get an idea who's doing it. Of course, you risk the camera being stolen, as well.

 

[THUGNIFICENT763]

The trail cam idea is actually a good one, more feasible than my booby trap idea too. There are some inconspicuous ones on the market, as well as some cheap ones.

 

[treysonagras]

Almost any time a metal object is stolen it is a meth head taking it for the scrap value. Has nothing to do with disc golf and has everything to do with needing drug money.

 

[DiscJunkie]

The answer is rebar, lots and lots of rebar.
Relatively cheap and very effective.

 

[brutalbrutus]

Castration? It would only seem fitting to punish someone that cuts a pole to steal a basket, by having his pole cut off...

..Sorry if that was crude but there is a special place in my heart for the scumbags who do this kind of thing. This is why we cant have nice things.

 

[4th Rock]

If the baskets are truly permanent, cement the tar out if the base and for added overkill, cement the inside of the pipe up to the top. No one is getting that basket up without anything short of a small crane

 

[PWaggoner]

To chime in on your catalytic converter issue, the goons around here use plasma cutters rofl. Apparently there is enough platinum in those things to offset the cost of a $700 piece of equipment.

I thought only licensed peeps were allowed to scrap catalytic convertors anymore?

 

[Mr. Butlertron]

If going with a solid pole that won't be moved, put a few pieces of rebar inside the pole, then fill post with concrete ...ain't no one gonna cut through that. As far as digging them outta the ground, all I can think of is securing the collar in a large enough piece of cement as to not be practical to deal with for thievery.

If you have collars, as far as I know, you have to padlock the poles to the collars.. which is likely to be a weak point.

You sir, are an evil genius. I almost spit out my adult beverage when I read the pouring concrete in the poll part :clap:

How about instead or in addition to making it vandal-proof you focus on caching the jerks responsible? Maybe setting up a hunting tree stand camera or something, ect?

 

[scarpfish]

Almost any time a metal object is stolen it is a meth head taking it for the scrap value. Has nothing to do with disc golf and has everything to do with needing drug money.

The thing is, I don't think most meth heads would put in this much effort for that much failure.

That and the metal that baskets are made of aren't all that valuable at a scrapyard. They're worth far more as baskets than they are as scrap.