Metal Detectors and the Police

[Mat Hastings]

So why is it that people think that we are so suspicious when we're out using our detectors? Last year in the fall when I first got my detector I went to a park in just outside of town and was minding my own business and finding some coins here and there and then I look up and there are two sheriff deputy's walking towards me. I'm going oh oh but then I thought What am I doing wrong I checked with the DNR ato see if there were any rules about the park and they said nope go out and enjoy the outdoors. So anyhow the cops just asked what I was doing and checked my ID all good have a nice day. So what happens the first morning this last weekend yup someone called the cops on me again. Has this happened to anyone else?

 

[jdstawker]

When people get upset or aggravated or just curious they call the cops. I have had cops called on me when I was having a conversation with my girlfriend in a parking lot, when the neighbor lady thought we are taking up too much space on the street at a job site, etc etc etc. Anyway once somebody calls the cops have to make an investigation. They have to say hello and check your id even if they figure out nothing is wrong is the first two seconds they are there. That way if the original caller calls back they can say they checked it out and you aren't an illegal immigrant or an axe murder.

 

[BH-LandStar]

Put yourself in the shoes of someone who has never seen a detector before...When I go out, all my stuff is in a Bounty Hunter Duffel bag. I pull out my detector and put it together (looks like a gun to the unknowing)...I then drag out my utility belt and put that on (Ooooo knives and what looks like a pistol holster)...Then if hunting at night, I wear my LED light on my head (can just imagine what they think I am up to)...So, you see...The unknowing soul is going to think I am some crackpot out to steal their children and eat their dogs or something...
I have had a park ranger come up to me and ask me to hand over my gun...??? I am like, "I have no gun Sir...I am just out looking for coins with my metal detector"
The guy had his gun out on me and all...Talk about scary!! Lucky I did not sue the county for harassment and endangering my life...

HH,

BH-LandStar

 

[GRAY GHOST]

hello all, ive never really had that problem... and i think its because i stay pretty much out of the public eye. i dont like a bunch of people around when im detecting; they ask too many silly questions. and i dont like to go to places[to detect] where people are now. too much trash, and im not a clad hunter. i like to go to places that people were. i really dont mean to sound anti - social, im not, at all. hence the name gray ghost. i realized long ago to go to the obscure and almost forgotten places, a lot of woods, the finds there are 10x better than public places. sure, one could argue the merits of hunting parks, and other public areas. a lot of us hunters prefer such a place, and i respect that. i tried the park hunting thing many, many years ago and soon saw it wasnt for me. im not into this simply to pay for my batteries. i want the good stuff, and im willing to go out and get it. you can believe me when i tell ya brother, when gray ghost goes hunting, gray ghost goes hunting. want to improve your odds of finding the good stuff overnight? go to your states historical society web site and check out the old maps. they will literally make you drool all over your keyboard. now you know where to go...'cause gray ghost knows! hh, and good luck.

 

[nugget]

I was hunting in a local park one day, a few people turned up with their toddlers to play. I stayed out of their way and finished the park and left. When I got home the local police rang me and told me that a lady felt uncomfortable with me detecting the park. I was there first, and was gone within 5 or 6 minutes of them arriving. The police said I was'nt doing any thing illegal, they had to follow up on the call. the lady gave them my numberplate no. I've also been pulled up just as I was leaving a park one night, the police were suspicious of me and asked what I was doing, I said look on the back seat, as my detector was there. I could'nt believe it when the officer said what is that thing? A quick explanation and a quick breath test later I was on my way home. They see me often and don'nt bother me anymore, and I always wave to them. HH regards Nugget.

 

[JoanInCreek]

Same with me, I try to stay out of their way. I aim to hit the playgrounds pretty early to avoid the parents or nannies coming by with their little ones. If they come, I tend to move to another area and stay away so they don't think I am a danger to their tike, and I always say Good Morning and smile as we pass each other. I must look like an oger with my headphones, detector, a small bag and the digger knife dangling by my side! The tots seem to be enamoured with my machine, they always want to 'play' where I am detecting.
Luckily, I am usually in the playground for an hour already by the time anyone shows up so 3/4's of my hunting is done. If a crowd starts coming, I simply leave.

 

[jackintexas]

Tell them that many of us in the metal detector hobby have worked many crime scenes.I have works quite a few. We have a group in our club that is called pretty often to help look for bullets or other items used in usually murder scenes. A movie was made about one murder that we were asked to work. You may have seen the Cadet murder where a couple murdered a girl and then both joined the service. Her the navy him the air force. Both were officer cadets when they were found out.....Jack

 

[jackintexas]

Been detecting for thirty years. I hunt a lot of tot lots. Where there are parents with small children I never use a knife or anything that looks like it could be a threat. I have hunted with people that do.Also I have seen parents grab their children and leave very quickly. They don't know who these people are walking around with big knives. In tot lots or the like I use a small trowel. (like a small garden trowel) The diggings is usually very easy digging. Usually wood chips or sand.Most other places I use a Lesche digger......Jack

 

[dougmoore34]

I have gone out of my way to track down the local police. I am a tax payer and by God I expect them to help. I want locations, tips, names and they are gonna give me advice too if I can get them to stay around. Usually they see me before I see them and all I get to see is a squad car as it makes a speedy get away. But sometimes I still manage to get one. [GRIN]
HH,
Doug in OR

 

[Wayne/TX]

Yep, it's still true that the biggest enemy of Common Sense is
the ignorance of the uneducated.
..W

 

[vlad]

n/t