across the green came the Borough Manager....

[GoVidGo]

I was hunting the nice fall day in a central park in the next county over in a small little town. The town that has been around sicne the early 1800's and everyone knows everyone. It was about my 6th hunt there, since finding it, and totalled hundreds of coins, the oldest a 1865.

I took my GF (AKA: DiggerBee) there once with her using my AT Pro, but every other time it was just me. There is always people walking thru the park, some stop to talk and inquire about my activities, but mostly they just walk by. I am always careful to avoid the people parked on the benches, playing in the leaves with their kids, and filling in all V-cuts I make.

I was in the park for about 2 hours and hit a dime target, about 1-2" down, with my ETrac. I had just got down on one knee, put my Etrac on the fallen leaves, and looked up to see a gentleman in dress pants and a button down dress shirt making a bee-line toward me across the park. The first thing to go through my head was 'uh oh!' Something about the way he walked towards me with a laser focus and a sense of urgency made me pretty sure I just didn't win the key to the city.

I just waited on one knee, not digging, just waiting for what would happen. He came over, stopped about 2 feet in front of me and said 'no digging in the park!'. I replied 'Sorry. I started coming here about 2-3 weeks ago. I didn't know it was an issue. I don't even have a shovel'. He responded, 'I am the Borough Manager and there was a few people out here a few weeks ago with metal detectors and spades. They were digging holes and not filling them in. The leaves filled them in and we have been getting complaints from people almost twisting ankles from not seeing the holes.'

I just kept it positive, kept on one knee, put my hand put and introduced myself. It actually caught him off guard a little bit, but he shook my hand and introduced himself back with his first and last name.

I asked, 'if you want me to leave the park, just tell me. I won't come back again. It's a nice fall day, I am just here for fun, and if you look around, you won't see one single hole or anything else from me from the past 2 hours or any other time I was here. With your permission, may I show you how I dig something out of the ground? I use this'. I pulled out my Lesche digger and showed him.

He replied, 'uh, yeah...ok... go ahead.'

So I showed him my Etrac. How the 2 double digit numbers work and the other features like depth and how accurate the pinpoint is. I then showed him, how I make a V-cut in the turf, flip it up, and use a pin-pointer to help find the coin. I then show him that after I flip the turf back down, and after a few pats, you can't even notice I was there.

I think he was pretty impressed at the respect for the park, the technique of no big hole with a shovel, the technology used to find a coin and pin-point it, and my... maybe call it... efficiency ... which comes from hour after hour of detecting and digging everything from pop tabs, to coins, to everything else over... and over...and over...

We got talking about the town and it's history. He was very proud of it, and I had done some research (looking for good spots) and it impressed him. We talked about a few bad apples ruining hobbies for everyone. He asked 'what's the oldest thing you have ever found?', 'How much does all the stuff cost?', 'what's the oldest thing you found in this park?'.... etc...etc...etc...

He took my info down after I told him, 'If you or anyone from the borough ever needs anything found, including the police department, let me know. Free of charge. I'd be glad to help out. If I am not working or sleeping I am out metal detecting.

In the end, he tried thinking of some more good old spots for me to go metal detecting within the borough. He said he had to be going back to the office, and I told him I was heading home. We shook hands and he wished me luck finding some good stuff the next time I came down to the park and told me a good place to eat down the street.

Sometime... diplomacy, courtesy, respect, patience, and just listening goes a long way. I not only got out of what looked to be a 'bad situation', by I got a few new hot metal detecting spots! I am gonna make sure I pick them up some coffee when I am down there next... one of the early morning park hunts.

I never really give out my 'hunt-spots', except to friends, BUT.... the town is very famous.... and with the whole 'FrankenStorm' thing.... let's just say....

The town is known as 'The Weather Capital Of The World'....

 

[abingo]

This was a very nice approach to a critical situation.
Could you explain the difference between V-cut and Plug-cut? I make a round Plug cut, but how do you make a V-cut?

 

[mudpuppy]

Very cool GVG! Like how you handled that, Bravo!
Mud

 

[MNCoinhunter]

So you are saying we should avoid that park on Groundhog Day ?

Glad to hear that this turned out to be a positive experience ..

 

[Tom_in_CA]

As your situation showed, detecting access is 99% psychology, and very little ever has anything to do with actual rules or codes. You know, like small talk and a big smile, completely turn situations around. Most of the time, the md'r slinks away, and tells all his friends "such & such park is off-limits", or starts petitions now, blah blah blah. But your story shows that most of the time, it's just something that can be handled as isolated incidents, and in no way means "there's a rule", etc.... Good job.

 

[JimmyCT]

Nice job and super save on a great park to hunt. Glad it all worked out for you. - Jim

 

[Neita SC]

Viddy, Extremely well done! I hope people pick up the tact used in this situation. It's all about how you treat people and more importantly, how you listen to people. Sometimes people just want to get fired up, huff and puff, and then they will calm down enough that you can talk to them. It's all about giving them a sense of importance. You made this guy feel important and respected. And in return, he gave you respect.

Say Hi to Phil

 

[bootyhoundpa]

smooth....

 

[Critterhunter]

Excellent job taking care of one end of the situation.

Now for the other loose end...You've got to track down who the yokels are using shovels in that park, because if they keep doing that then it's lights out for everybody.

Man, if only there was some way to require anybody buying a detector to learn proper digging techniques, proper tools, and proper ethics. I'm not in favor of something like that in any official government capacity, as we all know what that leads to, but it would be nice if all the detector manufacturers banded together and simply refused to let any of their dealers sell you a machine until you showed you had the proper hand tools and the proper techniques to recovery a target, along with an apron to pick up your trash.

I think dealers should have to do that in order to keep their license. It would be in the best interest of both us and of that of the detector makers, because the less places we are allowed to hunt the less machines they are going to sell. Something like when the buyer fills out his warranty card, among the boxes he checks off, is one that says "Did the dealer show you proper recovery techniques and ethics for our great hobby?" If they get enough warranty cards turned in that don't show that box checked off then the dealer has a little explaining to do.

You know, these threads always seem to pop up. I'm wondering if it would be a good idea to have a new Findmall forum called "Ethics In Detecting Discussions- Protect Our Great Hobby!" Think I'll shoot off a PM and see if that kind of idea would float.

 

[Goldstrike]

The last time this happened to me, I was detecting in England on an old park. After finding some awesome targets including a nice gold ring and over a hundred old coins, 2 Park Rangers approached me and informed me that there was a City ordinance against metal detecting covering all the parks. They had observed me digging, but also filling in the holes afterwards so they commended me for that. I was respectful and what could have been a possible citation, worked out that we parted company on a very good note.
I ended up getting a very nice letter from the City Council explaining that "because of the actions of a few, they had to impose a ban City wide on all the parks". Boy was I angry at those idiots or it might just have been 1 idiot that ruined metal detecting in the parks perhaps forever. All those fine coins, gold and silver relics are locked up in the ground now for who knows how long because of the laziness of a few idiots.
My hat is off to you GoVidGo for an exemplary way you approached this situation you found yourself in.! GL&HH!!

 

[Roscue2]

n/t

 

[marcomo]

GoVidGo, major kudos to you for turning a negative into a positive and making a friend (a very influential friend) of someone who started out with no intention of being friendly.

Critterhunter, beyond even considering the big-brotherish aspect, what you suggest about buyers demonstrating proper recovery techniques before being allowed to buy a metal detector would never work in the real world. First of all consider how many sales are made over the internet, not in person. Also think about the detectors that are sold at the big box stores and other outlets that are not specifically metal detector dealers. Can't really imagine a Walmart employee giving a metal detecting proficiency test...

Critter, I know I'm shooting down your idea without offering one of my own. I wish there was a miracle solution. Unfortunately, a very small percentage of morons makes things bad for the rest of us. And it only takes one idiot leaving divots in a park to get a whole lot of detecting area put off limits. Discussion on the forums is a good thing that will no doubt reach a lot of newbies and wannabes, but it won't reach the yahoos who don't go on the forums but instead watch the brain dead detecting "reality" shows and decide they are going to go out with their shovel and detector and watch the riches jump out of the ground.


.

 

[abingo]

My Owners Manual has a Treasure Hunters (Code of ethics) but in very small letters, most people probably don

 

[Critterhunter]

I'm not in the big brother camp, that's why I said some form of private effort and not via government, because that's a slippery slope IMO. Just feel it would be in the best interest of both us in the hobby and the manufacturers to try to push the ethical recovery methods more in some way.

As it is right now I don't see much in the way of informational stuff being put out to school new detector owners on how to treat public land if they plan to have future places to hunt. I would even go so far as to stick a pamplet in with coils, diggers, or other metal detector related products to get the word out. Put something sensational on the front like "If you don't read this pamplet then you won't be able to use this very long."

No easy answers though. Just saying more of an effort needs to be made to inform people that abuse of our "rights" in this hobby will soon end them. With freedom comes responsibility is the way I look at it. Or, a better way to put it, is that if we don't police ourselves in the private sector we all know government is more than willing to step in and "correct" the situation, which almost always is a huge over reach and over reaction...

 

[abingo]

Some one should come up with a catchy slogan, and have the manufacturer stick it on every coil.
Example: (Fill in the Hole or quit the Hobby)

 

[Dodqe]

Like 'Plug What You Dug'?

 

[Critterhunter]

How about "Only Skunks Leave Holes"...

 

[Robert2300]

Glad to hear you could save the situation. I can't believe there are so many stupid people out there with detectors.
If metal detectors were guns they would probably end up killing someone.

 

[GoVidGo]

How about 'fill your holes or be buried in one'....?

 

[Critterhunter]

Here's another..."If you leave holes then it must match the one in your head."