Can someone in central IL please tell me what this is all about?

[Ken(IL)]

I got a PM and this is what it said. I will leave his name off of this but this is news to me. I have been sick for 2 years and there is NO ONE out there that could've seen hunting in any park other than right here in BLOOMINGTON. This in nonsense I use to hunt in parks all over why was I the one to get them closed? For that matter I know lots of guys that have hunted all over the place so whats the big deal about hunting in other towns parks? Like I said could someone please tell me if this is a joke. This year I have starting feeling better and I have gone out of town on a few hunting trips but not any where near the parks he is talking about. I guess living in central IL I would go and hunt parks as the 1st line of his quote says and why not there closer to home. 2nd do all you guys stay out of other guys parks? Please let me know if I'm in the wrong about this. After what happened a few years ago (which was mostly my fault for those of you that remember) I don't want to have any problems like that again. Last my hunting partner Bob is not able to hunt anymore so whats wrong with finding another one? I do have another one which I've had for many years it's hard to find one you can trust and I have one so I don't see what the big deal is. Thanks in advance for anyone that can shed some light on the quote below. The only parks that I'm aware of that are closed are Decatur which I've hunted in 3 times and was ask to leave and I have no intention of going back, also Weldon springs which I have never ever hunted in my life I could'nt even tell you what the park looks like. And that's the only 2 that I know of. Ken

[quote XXXXXX]Hey Ken how about telling these guys how you went in to parks here in central IL and got them closed to detecting. O well now that you don't have bob to follow you around your looking for some one else. I just hope you are staying in you area and not getting the rest of our parks closed to detecting.
yes you know who this is[/quote]

 

[Keith (Indiana)]

That's right you haven't hunted outside of Bloomington for a long time. I tried to get you to come over to Indiana several times and hunt several good spots with us but you weren't able to. I had to come to Bloomington to hunt with you Of course you cleaned the parks out way before I got there

 

[sangamon]

...and i have no idea what you're talking about.

some idiots have ruined it for everybody else, that's all.

report the abuse.

 

[Larry (IL)]

I live in Eureka, a few miles West of Bloomington. Some treasure hunters several years ago were digging HUGE holes and not doing a very good job filling them back in. Some of these people used a knife cutting large holes at an angle thus killing the grass roots around the edges leaving unsightly brown circles months after they have left town. Others carried shovels into the city parks upsetting the locals who thought the hunters were going to damage their well manicured grass. A few years ago, several hunters came into Eureka, at night, digging holes the size of turkey platters, on the courthouse lawn. Since I have always had a good relationship with the local law and getting permission to hunt, you can guess who got chewed out for someones else's thoughtlessness. I have no idea who this was but members of the Bloomington and Peoria, Illinois clubs seem to think they know who is responsible for the closing of many places to hunt. Another town East of Bloomington, Chenoa, IL, is also off limits to MD'ing for the same reasons. It only takes a few idiots to spoil our hobby for all others.

I don't know if you were part of the group of detectorists who called themselves Minelab locusts or if you are just affected by their actions like the rest of us here in Central IL, BUT please................dig responsible and always get permission to hunt. Give a card with your name on it to the owner/manager of the property so if damage was done, your name is cleared if you are not the guilty party.

 

[DFX-Gregg]

I have been running into some pretty destructive digging as well in Ilinois....I was at a park last week and spent more time covering holes...At first because the destruction was so wide spread in the park I suspected animals. But after i saw a few holes with the trash (bottlecaps etc) left right on top of the damaged areas...I knew it was some smuck that had a metal detector and did not know how to use it... I decided about half way through my hunt to stop...spent 20 minutes covering the holes the best I could...even noticed that by waving my coil over some of the holes...at least 2...that he was in such a hurry he was leaving coins behind... This is not metal detecting...this is what is going to cause more of these>>>>>> No metal detecting signs to be posted. I don't believe in the this is my park crap... In fact one of the parks i have hit the most this month...pulling out a ton of clad...will show pic at end of month trying to hit a certain number....is hit by two guys... I was told they were there... They were/are not friendly and they do not do a bad job of covering their holes...either do I...so there is no problem with us detecting there... Also I pull more coins from this park then anyother...so no one "owns" these parks for detecting...but we all have the same responsibility to leave them as we found them...

 

[therick]

n/t

 

[Mike2]

I am glad we don

 

[jackintexas]

I agree Greg....Jack

 

[BiLL IL]

Ken
Sorry to hear that you have been sick man. I seen your post and those was some awesome finds
. As far as who sent the PM to you, I don't know who it was, and I personally think it was definately out of line. The Parks in Decatur was "Closed by the Chief Park Ranger Mr. Ward Davis" who is since Deceased. His statement to me was that it was "Politically Incorrect" to dig for coins in the City Parks. Even tho he owned a metal detector himself. They are still closed to detecting but not to drinking, selling drugs, or any otherthing you want to do. The only other Parks I know of being closed is Weldon Springs which is a State Park and was only hunted by annual Permit and the City park in Sullivan IL. The sullivan park is hunted by the City Police there so it is closed. I hunt with (2) other Detectorist that you have never met. They don't live in Decatur and we hunt mostly private areas. Keith knows who I hunt with as we hunted with him just a couple of weeks ago.
Anyway Glad to see you posting again.

HH BiLL IL

 

[sangamon]

i've personally been kicked out of Urbana parks, and Champaign spells it out on its website.

private property (with permission) is the final frontier!

 

[Ken(IL)]

many times. Also I've hunted there at night. I hunted with 3 guys and 1 of the guys we hunted with use to cut a plug like a wig and I always got him about that telling him it would kill the grass. For that matter I'm sure I've left a few brown spots along the way I dig a deep plug in order to try and protect the roots. I'm not sure how many guys hunt over there but I did hunt for a while this year and had no problem in fact I talk to many of the officers around there when they're outside. In the past I have hunted with a small shovel I'm not sure what they call it it is only about 2 foot tall with a ball on the end of it. I'm not sure if I ever used in your park? I only hunted a few times in that park any way. As far as Chenoa that has been off limits since before I had a detector although I did hunt there 1 time and got kicked out and haven't gone back. I do the best I can as I'm sure you do but we can't control everyone else. I personally think with Walmart selling detectors don't help us either God only knows how many new detectorist use shovels. Let's just hope that all places don't get shut down. It is never my intention to screw things up for anybody. All I know I'm not going to stand back and take the blame for all the closings in IL as was suggested in the pm sent to me. I like to hunt just as much as all the rest of you guys and stuff like this bothers me too. I have never heard of the "Minelab locusts" so I guess I''m not a part of them unless someone named me that and I don't know about it? I'm sure we'll see out there someday.

 

[Ken(IL)]

I got a call today and did get an apology on this. I just wasn't going to stand back and take the blame for all this nonsense. For the last 2 years that I have'nt hunted outside of Bloomington I know there has been many others out digging up parks. Lesson here I hope everyone is as careful as they can be when out hunting it's pretty much common sense. If you don't have common sense then I don't know what to say because common sense can't be taught. GL & HH everyone Ken

 

[detectorguy]

Larry, I may have been the one to coin the term "Explorer Locusts" as that is what I refered them as back when I was a Fisher CZ user. Several years ago there were several Explorer users that traveled in a band all over central and southern Illinois swooping in to the parks, court houses and town squares, digging up all the silver, indian heads, wheaties and what-not and then off to the next park/town. I "caught" them one time in one of my favorite parks here in Chillicothe and quickly led them to another park that I knew was hard hit as well as full of trash. There were five of them and they did manage three Mercs, but quickly gave it up and moved on to whatever next town they were heading for leaving my little town virtually untouched. I've not seen or heard from that group in quite awhile and they may have "dis-banded" after all the good targets disappeared (and places got closed to detecting). It was bad for awhile.

 

[jbow]

when someone buys the public park then they may have some business telling you not to hunt there. I would not worry about it... they stepped way over the line.

J