Critterhunter
New member
A group of 5 among our circle of hunting friends went out for a beach hunt yesterday and I wanted to relate some very bad behaviour by a detectorist we experienced. It all started when a guy we didn't know showed up and walked right up to within about 3 or 4 feet in front of my one friend and started detecting. It was obvious to anybody that my friend was gridding straight lines and yet with this huge beach this guy decided he wanted to hunt right in front of him from the start and block his progress, in a way to send a message I would guess.
We let that pass but later I started noticing a few unfilled holes as I moved down the beach. I asked my circle of friends if anybody forgot to fill a few holes by accident and they all said no, of course, since we don't pull those kinds of stunts. So I filled them as I found them and by the time between all 5 of us had maybe filled about 15 or so holes between us that we found, I knew then that it must have been the guy with the bad behaviour of hunting right up in front of my friend like he did. I looked around and saw he was way down the beach, so I turned to my friends and said if that guy comes back this way I'm going to give him a piece of my mind.
Well, I didn't have to wait long, because about a half hour later I looked up and he once again came back our way and once again walked right up in front of my same friend again that he cut off before and stopped right in front of him, once again by only maybe 3 or 4 feet, and started scooping a huge hole. So I figured, I better just watch and see what this guy does to be sure he's the one leaving holes open. Sure enough, believe it or not, the guy dug an unusually wide and deep hole right in front of my friend, and then turned around without filling it and started to walk away!
That was enough for me...
I pulled my headphones off and yelled "Hey!", and the guy turned around and I said "You don't leave unfilled holes like that for people to trip in." He responded with "Oh, I'm sorry...", and started to walk back to fill it and I just told him "I got it", as I kicked all his sand back into the hole. My point was made, and I kept an eye on him and watched him walk down the beach and leave.
People like this are what gives a black eye to our hobby, and the reason why we continue to hear of new spots being banned to metal detecting. If one person walking on the beach twists an ankle in one of those holes he's leaving then it'd be lights out from everybody maybe. We even noticed that this yokel was leaving trash right on top of the ground next to his open holes with some of them.
Pretty steamed about it. And the worst part was that later after he left I was thinking that he probably left a ton of open holes at the other end of the beach we hadn't been hunting, and sure enough a lady walks by that came from that end of the beach and she gave me a rather dirty look. I'm sure she saw all the holes that guy was probably leaving down at that end of the beach and thought me and my hunting friends were the ones leaving all of them.
I only wish I had my pocket camcorder with me, because I was thinking I'd catch him on film in the act to maybe shame him into submission in the future, not knowing if he's being filmed again by some other detectorist with the advent of cell phones that do video that everybody carries on them these days.
I headed back down there today and this time the camera came with me. If he was there again he was about to become a youtube sensation, but he didn't show up. I ain't going to let that kind of unethical behaviour slide, and in the future the camera always comes with me, because anybody I find pulling stunts like that getting caught once on video will probably make them think twice in the future.
We let that pass but later I started noticing a few unfilled holes as I moved down the beach. I asked my circle of friends if anybody forgot to fill a few holes by accident and they all said no, of course, since we don't pull those kinds of stunts. So I filled them as I found them and by the time between all 5 of us had maybe filled about 15 or so holes between us that we found, I knew then that it must have been the guy with the bad behaviour of hunting right up in front of my friend like he did. I looked around and saw he was way down the beach, so I turned to my friends and said if that guy comes back this way I'm going to give him a piece of my mind.
Well, I didn't have to wait long, because about a half hour later I looked up and he once again came back our way and once again walked right up in front of my same friend again that he cut off before and stopped right in front of him, once again by only maybe 3 or 4 feet, and started scooping a huge hole. So I figured, I better just watch and see what this guy does to be sure he's the one leaving holes open. Sure enough, believe it or not, the guy dug an unusually wide and deep hole right in front of my friend, and then turned around without filling it and started to walk away!
That was enough for me...
I pulled my headphones off and yelled "Hey!", and the guy turned around and I said "You don't leave unfilled holes like that for people to trip in." He responded with "Oh, I'm sorry...", and started to walk back to fill it and I just told him "I got it", as I kicked all his sand back into the hole. My point was made, and I kept an eye on him and watched him walk down the beach and leave.People like this are what gives a black eye to our hobby, and the reason why we continue to hear of new spots being banned to metal detecting. If one person walking on the beach twists an ankle in one of those holes he's leaving then it'd be lights out from everybody maybe. We even noticed that this yokel was leaving trash right on top of the ground next to his open holes with some of them.
Pretty steamed about it. And the worst part was that later after he left I was thinking that he probably left a ton of open holes at the other end of the beach we hadn't been hunting, and sure enough a lady walks by that came from that end of the beach and she gave me a rather dirty look. I'm sure she saw all the holes that guy was probably leaving down at that end of the beach and thought me and my hunting friends were the ones leaving all of them.
I only wish I had my pocket camcorder with me, because I was thinking I'd catch him on film in the act to maybe shame him into submission in the future, not knowing if he's being filmed again by some other detectorist with the advent of cell phones that do video that everybody carries on them these days.
I headed back down there today and this time the camera came with me. If he was there again he was about to become a youtube sensation, but he didn't show up. I ain't going to let that kind of unethical behaviour slide, and in the future the camera always comes with me, because anybody I find pulling stunts like that getting caught once on video will probably make them think twice in the future.
I made sure everything was neat and clean when I left, picked up the usual trash laying around. I guess someone drove by and saw me detecting around the sheds and thought they'ed make theirself welcome when I left!!! I went back 2 days later to mow and found 32 holes left open where someone metal detected. I filled them in and did my work, I'll be by one day and maybe find out who it was. Maybe a little edicate lesson in metal detecting!!!
lol. (ps, I hope they enjoyed digging all the trash signals I got!!!!)