Anyone getting ran off from city or county parks???

[Kydigger4949]

This does not apply to state parks here in ky its off limits ..but iv heard some report's of guys getting ran out of city or county parks ..now digging holes not filling in or not leaving grass way it was before dig i can see why..i dig and no one can tell i was there after im done ...if i see park employees in new park mowing or anything else, i go straight to them ..tell them who i am and that i am hunting coins and jewerly and any 1965 to date clad will be donated to shop with a cop for xmas toys ..one day city cop pulled up across park and sit and watched me ..he pulled up in bit ask if i was finding anything..with relief i found out he detects too..lol ..told him what i was doing ...last week i turned in $98.34 clad in to police station..ill get itback on my taxes for donation and starting this next year im getting shirt and jacket printed on back ..detecting for shop with a cop ... city officials will look like a fool telling you to leave and bystanders may not look at me like im a bum looking for change ...plus get to keep any old coins and any jewerly for my effort to sponsor the cause ...i hunt 7 diff parks in 3 county's and have not had first problem ....ron

 

[Larry (IL)]

A great idea Ron.........

 

[Dingo Darnell]

In California (and maybe other states, I don't know) we have a Non-Profit organization called 'Public Lands For The People'.

If somebody harasses us on public land, we politely ask them for their Name, Badge #, Position,Agency and District then we submit the Date,Time and Location to http://plp1.org/home.html

They are written a letter (with teeth in it) from the legal team and they get straightened out real quick about the laws allowing us to metal detect on public land.

 

[Kydigger4949]

n/t

 

[Kydigger4949]

Now if kids in tot lot or players on fields i stay clear ...i dont hunt them areas as much as areas around these areas in grass ..i wouldnt expect people to stop using area it was designed for so i could hunt lol ...i like hunting parks when gets cooler and nobody is around ....i know here that police and people look at detecting a whole lot different now when clad going for great cause for kids ..i dont hunt to keep clad anyways i want the old stuff

 

[Rob (IL)]

I wish I had them in my town.

 

[Ward]

I am a Police officer, and have never ran anyone off of a city park, or any other place that we pay TAXES to support.

Let Your local officials know that its Your TAX dollars that keep these facilities running, and properly done metal detecting hurts nothing.

Some People think were worse than Crack Dealers, Always ask before You go, helps keep down the Flack from idiots.

 

[Rob (IL)]

Once the ordinance is in place it doesn't make much difference. That's my situation.

 

[Kydigger4949]

Yea true if signs posted or law set for your town its over ...but may get into more private land if they know its going for a good cause..iv found if owner thinks your gonna gain something even low value or something they will never find. They still dont want you to have it ....one thing about it, it dont hurt to ask,, all they can say is no ..very few times i get turned down ..i also carry waivers to protect land owner if i get hurt ...makes them feel more at ease..if i get hurt its my own fault ...but gew cases people sue someone thats good enough to let you on their land ..and thats not right ...only in some crooked lawyer and the shyster sueing the person

 

[Kydigger4949]

Ward,, what state you police officer??? Do you guys have shop with a cop at xmas time.??? Might try get your buddies that detect to sponsor it ...

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Sounds like a noble idea you have, to donate all the value of the clad to some noble purpose. Thus when and/or if you ever got booted (in the absence of any real rule or law specific to the issue) then the cop would look like a real meanie kill-joy for denying someone the opportunity to do a public good.

However, I have a suspicion, that this would just fall on deaf ears 99% of the time. Because let's face it: The reason some busy-body like that comes up to boot you or I, is because they perceive you are about to leave a mess, right? So do you *really* think that your donation-thing idea is going to, somehow in their minds, allow you to "dig and leave a mess"? No, of course not. If you tried to publicize (to their superior or whatever) that you just got denied your charitable cause, the beat cop would cite the evil word "digging" (even if you were only probing for surface clad, mind you, you will still loose the mental perception debate).

Sure a booting now and then, in this hobby, is bound to happen. And no, asking permission in advance (for places with no actual specific prohibition on detectors) does not solve this problem. In fact, most often that only EXPOUNDS the problem, as you end up getting more "no's", in places, parks, schools, etc... that in all reality, no one would ever have cared (ie.: a "no" to your "pressing question", simply because you asked).

Let's face it: we're in an odd hobby that draws the stares of the curious. And no matter how you slice it, you can't take away the connotation that some people are going to infer, that you are going to be a nuisance and leave marks. If this really bothers someone (that fact that not everyone will love you), then you've probably chosen the wrong hobby. So for me, I've just learned to use a little more discretion, and avoid the busy-bodies to begin with. Ie.: go at low traffic times, etc.. Heck, it's even gotten to where I do a lot of my park hunting at night. And for example if I arrive at a park where there is the mowing going on that day, well then I just choose another park. I mean, a little discretion can go a long ways. Kind of like nose-picking: If you're discreet, no one notices. But if you start asking people around you "can I pick my nose if I donate to charity afterwards?" they're gonna tell you "no'.

 

[Kydigger4949]

Thats true tom ..i guess here in small town its little better..parks here they have car shows out in grass ..yearly fair equipment parks in grass ..always ruts and grass torn up lol ..i really make sure even in these areas to leave it way it was ...bigger towns and cities i can see be bigger problem,, in fact louisville is about hour south of me and iv heard rumor's that ordinance is past on all parks against detecting ....most time its like fishing and hunting ..someone has left holes open ..trashed area or cut fences to stop it for all ...only takes one to do this

 

[Schultzie]

I always have a healthy supply of trash that I've dug in my pouch to show them if they ask what I'm digging. They usually are quite surprised when they see the trash I've dug out of the ground.

In fact, our club detected a fair ground parking lot (for a fee to the fair ground association). It is located outside the fair ground fence. The fair association does not allow detecting inside the fence area which is over 150 years old. We kept all the trash we dug and presented it to them in a garbage bag. They were so impressed that we cleaned that out of their parking lot, they invited us back (at no charge) to do the same inside the fence.