WTH is this acceptable?????????????

[u2robert]

Went to a local park yesterday an found this left by an amateur/idiot/ lazy ass person
The city lets us detectorist detect local parks
BUT THIS IS THE TYPE OF STUFF THAT GETS THE CITY TO SHUT THAT DOWN.
There are about 20 more I haven't took a photo of.
Is it me or is this unacceptable?

 

[basstrackerman]

My god. Not acceptable at all. Makes us all look horrible.

 

[RLOH]

Unfortunately, this kind of stuff is everywhere. I ran into a guy last fall that was in the front yard of a school with a full sized shovel. I politely advised him that his type of digging would get this place and any other place put off limits to detecting. He told me he had a bad back and could not bend down so this is how he would continue digging targets. Hopefully his back will get worse and he can't swing a detector.

 

[still looking 52]

Not acceptable, no if ands or butts period.
When done right you shouldn't be able to tell that anyone was even there.

 

[bootyhoundpa]

Someone hasn’t mastered pinpointing yet.. well at least they made an attempt to cover the hole..sloppy work..looks like they may have been hunting in the rain..

 

[IDXMonster]

In turf it has to get better than that. Perhaps the ground is a bit frozen? Edges have to be tucked and plugs compressed further.

 

[Ronstar]

I took the time to learn how to cut a good plug and how to replace it. I’ve not mastered the probe “wiggle it out” style but trying. Jkline and I are the only two people with issued permits to detect and recover on University property.....
Awhile back I ran into some pretty crude holes dug on the Administration Building lawn and fixed what I could and reported the damage I found. I even encouraged Campus Security to approach and check permits as often as possible. I kinda think some of this is done in the dead of night and not seen.
As said when you leave it should be damned hard for someone to know you were there.....

 

[IowaRelic]

Night digging leads to messy plugs. Used to do it until I saw my plugs in the daytime. No way to treat public or private ground.

 

[bleeohio]

Hate to say how many holes from someone else I've touched up over the years. I cringe when I see someone in the local parks with a big honkin garden shovel.

 

[u2robert]

No it wasn't frozen (Central Florida) & it was dry as the Mojave desert if you see the plugs are 12" or better.
If this is the best they can do they need to invest in a smaller coil.

 

[Rick(ND)]

Myself I feel too many are using shovels in these area. even the photos of many show using a shovel like the Sampson they cut a bigger plug than needed. I use a Lesche and a narrow tip screwdriver to pop out the ones no very deep.
I see one guy (dealer) that cut a 15 inch plug as he was using a 15 inch WOT so he would get the target, he missed it though as there was a seated dime to the side of the hole my fiend found.
I have 2 Sampson shovels that are only used in farm fields and construction site where neatness isnt required.

Rick

 

[u2robert]

Myself I feel too many are using shovels in these area. even the photos of many show using a shovel like the Sampson they cut a bigger plug than needed. I use a Lesche and a narrow tip screwdriver to pop out the ones no very deep.
I see one guy (dealer) that cut a 15 inch plug as he was using a 15 inch WOT so he would get the target, he missed it though as there was a seated dime to the side of the hole my fiend found.
I have 2 Sampson shovels that are only used in farm fields and construction site where neatness isnt required.

Rick

That's how everyone did it back in the day before shovels were used.
The only time we used anything like a shovel was like you said in farm field or out where it didn't matter.

 

[laplander]

He gets an "F" technique
He gets an "D" for lack of effort
HH Jeff

 

[wildwilly]

Terrible that diggers will do things like this. I don't hunt parks, schools, etc. very much but when I do hopefully you can't tell I've been there.

 

[Hddeuce03]

Myself I feel too many are using shovels in these area. even the photos of many show using a shovel like the Sampson they cut a bigger plug than needed

I used to think this way as well...until my mentor who's been detecting for over 30 years informed me that a larger plug actually is better (than the very small ones I used to cut). He showed me how it's much easier to replace without falling apart, and it recovers much better as well. Just because someone has a shovel, doesn't mean they aren't making great, recoverable plugs! For the most part, you would not know where I had dug...and I use a 36" Lesche Samson T-handle digger.

 

[Rick(ND)]

Been detecting since 1973 and learned that most people dont know or take the time to pinpoint correctly. another thing is using a shovel of any kind in someone yard or parks and playground or ball fields doesn't look good to anyone watching. This causes many places being closed for detecting .
I like to use a hip mount trash bag with a place for my Lesche digger, a place for my narrow probe so it looks good and not carry anything in my hands other than a electronic hand pinpointer that I use with items not too deep so I dont have to dig a plug. When deeper I use my Lesche digger and cut a deeper plug that I can replace with no problem. This looks good to anyone watching me. The only problem I have had is some people come up to ask me if I detected such and such place as someone was there and used a small shovel and really made a mess with big hole everywhere. I have had some problems myself where I dig the small plug and when going in with a good pinpointer I see I am off a bit as the coin must be at a angle so I just widen it out under the hole so it dont have to dig down the top anymore and use my finger to work it out, but learned got to be careful for glass and small piece of meter that can and will cut you.
Next time someone has a video look at the size of plugs they dig, what does that say to those that are new to the hobby. there are some that do a very nice job of doing plugs I am sure with a small shovel, but anyone watching can get a wrong idea.

Rick

 

[#1Leatherneck]

When anyone removes plant life they should always implement the capillary (wick) action/effect. After all, you are removing plant life, and to obtain a much higher success of that plant life transplanting, water it back in. If you have any doubt watch your wife when she transplants her flowers. While you are doing that, explain to her that you just learned something from her! Give her all the credit! Confucius say 'happy wife' happy man! lol Then, go back, and look at your plugs, and the success rate will be significantly higher. When you put a plug back in the ground most likely that plug will set right there! When you water it in you allow the water to pull oxygen back to the roots.

 

[dfmike]

When anyone removes plant life they should always implement the capillary (wick) action/effect. After all, you are removing plant life, and to obtain a much higher success of that plant life transplanting, water it back in. If you have any doubt watch your wife when she transplants her flowers. While you are doing that, explain to her that you just learned something from her! Give her all the credit! Confucius say 'happy wife' happy man! lol Then, go back, and look at your plugs, and the success rate will be significantly higher. When you put a plug back in the ground most likely that plug will set right there! When you water it in you allow the water to pull oxygen back to the roots.

Absolutely right but highly impractical in a few hours of detecting time (carrying extra water bottles). I simply stopped detecting manicured lawns in dry spells. I wait until the forecast calls for rain in the days to follow. No matter how well one does their plugs, they will dry up if the weather stays hot and dry for days and most of the grass gets the midday sun. It's like putting fresh sod down in the sun on bone dry dirt and expecting it to miraculously become lush and verdant in days without a drop of water.

It looks like that's what happened in the shots above. The plugs look like they are drying out. Either that or the detectorist that did the plugs made them too shallow/thin and stripped the roots (hard to say by the pictures).

 

[#1Leatherneck]

Absolutely right but highly impractical in a few hours of detecting time (carrying extra water bottles). I simply stopped detecting manicured lawns in dry spells. I wait until the forecast calls for rain in the days to follow. No matter how well one does their plugs, they will dry up if the weather stays hot and dry for days and most of the grass gets the midday sun. It's like putting fresh sod down in the sun on bone dry dirt and expecting it to miraculously become lush and verdant in days without a drop of water.

It looks like that's what happened in the shots above. The plugs look like they are drying out. Either that or the detectorist that did the plugs made them too shallow/thin and stripped the roots (hard to say by the pictures).

When I responded to that post, I realized that almost no one wanted to go to that much concern. In some areas that have beautiful residential landscaping yards, to detect if there is any animosity drive back by in a few days, and you may see the homeowner out near the sidewalk waving his fist at you; alternatively, the landscaper that has a contract to do lawn care. The landscaper will most likely not be angry with the metal detectorist. They will just simply charge the additional fee! I provided that information to a metal detectorist on a youtube channel I subscribe to. I went back, and seen some of his earlier yards. And, everywhere he had 'winked' a hole, was brown! You could count every hole he had dug. Those expensive residential yards consist of between 25-40% of the price of the residence in landscaping! Irrespective of how they dig their plug, the success rate of 'transplanting' is much higher if they water that plug in. Some of those beautiful lawns would cause me serious concern if I did not take the additional concern, and water that plug in. I love looking at a beautiful landscaped yard. There is much professional work in a beautiful landscaped yard. The 'focal' point is the door! And, without even noticing it the professionalism draws your eye straight to the door! The plant life that is on the side of the home, that compliments the top line of the structure. The plants in front of the home with their height just below the windows, and the coarse plant, gradually progressing to the medium, and then, the fine plant material. Forgive me for digressing.
dfmike thanks for the response.
I have a Certificate in Horticulture.
Thanks

Leatherneck

 

[Old coin hunter]

Leaving plugs like that is a bunch of Bullshit. Jim