A simple question.......

[Sim_Player]

When do ya not ask permission?

I know the circumstances in which I may not,
but under conditions do you take a chance?

BTW, I do see most things in black and white...lol.

If the house is vacant and boarded up with no neighbors to ask and very little risk of getting shot at, I might take a chance.

I'm not asking for advice, I'm just trying to get a good discussion going.


My policy is always ask permission whenever you can.

~Sim

 

[themartaman]

If you do not have permission and do not own it I was told by an attorney it can be considered vandalism. Anything you dig does not belong to you. Check deeds in local courthouse to see who owns property or is paying taxes on it. Lot cheaper than getting bailed out of jail. I came close once and now do not even take a chance. Out in the middle of nowhere when a sherrif drives up and ask what I am doing. Land was owned by his sister. He said do not come back. Being a good ole boy thats what I did.

 

[Elton]

Any time you hunt Private property without permission your asking for problems. No matter if occupied or not.

 

[Jeb NWR]

My take on it is...You cannot just walk on some ones land & because they are not about to be asked , take it upon yourself to simply walk onto their land and detect it.
You could apply that sort of thinking to anything. Like walk onto a Farmers field and because no one about to ask, take the cattle .
If i came home one day and found some one digging my field or lawn up , i wouldn`t be a Happy chappie at all.
"Oh i see, i wasn`t in ,so you decided to go ahead and dig anyway huh ?". Yeah right.
Absence, is no excuse for tresspass.

 

[marcomo]

All private property is owned by somebody. A house that is "vacant and boarded up" is still someone's property.

Detecting it without permission is both legally and ethically wrong.

Sim, I know you're not asking advice but I'm going to give some anyway.

Instead of taking the lazy and illegal route by just detecting there without permission, take the initiative to do some research and find out who owns the property.

If the property is vacant and boarded up the property probably has its' share of trash. The property owner may very well let you detect in exchange for picking up the litter and trash. Especially if the owner is local and you can contact him or her personally. It also doesn't hurt to suggest to the owner that you'll be an extra set of eyes keeping an eye on the property.

 

[Sim_Player]

I once got what I considered to be pretty bad advice from a
local deputy. He recommended grabbing a brochure of houses on the market that weren't occupied. He wasn't implying asking for any permission and I kind of gave him a funny look.

When I first started detecting I was detecting the front yard of a place I had permission only to have a neighbor call the police (I never heard or saw the neighbor.)
When the officer showed up he said, that I was "disturbing the peace" and offered to show me to an empty field on the outskirts of town where I wouldn't be "bothering" anyone.

Another time I received permission to hunt a yard on the condition that I wouldn't make any holes.
What she really meant was that I could look but not dig. She came out screaming at me when she saw my finger in the 1x1" wide hole I had opened up with my probe (go figure).
She refused to hear any apology so I left.

I've never had any problems except these two instances in my 16 years of detecting.
I'm always polite leave no signs of having been there and pack out the trash that I find
in or on top of the ground.

It was stories like this I hoping to hear from you guys.

Not what kind of ski mask you pack with your detector.

~Sim