Starting out

[Jones Dallas]

I am new to detecting and wanted to ask how do you go about finding areas to venture on. I am assuming that when you find a area you approach the owners for permission. As I understand it you are not allowed to dig on public land. Just looking for alittle clarification how everyone goes about it.

Thanks

 

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[Dwight S]

Simple answer, research. Read history books about your local area. Study old maps looking for sites that could be accessible. Ask family, friends, coworkers. There's plenty of places to hunt. And just because it has a new structure on it, doesn't mean something old isn't there. I've hunted two house sites that are from the 1960s and have found old silver. Both sites had old farm houses on them many years earlier...

As for "public land"... Check with your local city/county governmemt if you are talking about parks. Most local county parks are fine with detecting as long as you don't make a mess. Keep your holes neat and carry out your trash. (WHAT TOM in CA siad... BELOW)




if you are talking about state & federal historic sites such as battlefields, then NO!!! Do not try detecting these areas. You could research these areas and possibly gain permission to adjoining, privately owned property, but stay off the historic site.

There are LOTS of threads on this site regarding research and where to hunt. Make the SEARCH feature your friend.

Good luck and welcome.
Dwight

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Jones-Dallas, as for the 2nd part of your question (about "digging on public land"), it depends on what you mean by "digging" and it depends on what you mean by "public land".

"Digging" goes on at public beaches all the time, does it not? Kids make sand-castles, etc..... Now as for in-land terra-firma, here's where it gets tricky. Because needless to say, I suppose that on ANY public land, anywhere (schools, parks, forests, campgrounds, rivers, street-right-of-ways, etc...) that there is always prohibitions forbidding "destruction", "alterations", "defacement", "vandalism", "digging", etc...... right? And ask yourself, why is that? Well obviously because no entity wants damage to their property. Because to hone it down to the clause "digging" (although other terms like "alter" and "deface" are sometimes also used), WHAT IS THE CONNOTATION? Holes of course. In other words, the verbage distinctly and inherently refers to the END RESULT of holes. But you're not going to leave holes, right? So technically speaking, if you leave no trace of your presence (cover, stomp, fluff back up), then you haven't destructed, altered, defaced, vandalized, or dug anything, now have you? Is that to say that a busy-body lookie-lou might not gripe about the temporary interim evil process of extraction? SURE! Avoid them, and go at low traffic times.

People metal detect in public parks and school yards ALL THE TIME. A simple quick look at an "finds" bragging forums, and you'll see no shortage of people posting their latest finds, that quite often came from various public parks, campgrounds, beaches, school-yards, etc... And I bet you all of which have rules forbidding destruction, alteration, digging, etc....

Example: in my city, I can go to any park or school, presuming I'm not waltzing over people's picnic sites, or going while school is in session, or being an utter nuisance in front of park personell , and no one will pay me any mind. But sure, if I were to walk in to city hall here and say "Hi, can I dig in the park please?" or "Hi, can I alter and deface the park please?" what do you think they would say? Of COURSE they would say "no". And .... heck ... .maybe even have verbage which disallows such things. But as you can see, that's sort of like asking "can I pick my nose?". No one asks that (even though technically you might run afoul of "annoyances" clauses, or be told you need a "parade permit", etc...). No, on the contrary, they just pick discreet times, and don't make a big scene.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

As for what Dwight says:

"..... for "public land"... Check with your local city/county governmemt if you are talking about parks."

I presume he's talking about for whether md'ing is prohibited or not. NOT whether or not they forbid "digging" Assuming that's what he meant, then the way to "check with your local city/county government", is NOT to go walking in to a desk-bound bureaucrat and asking "Hi, can I metal detect in the park?". Instead, if you are skittish and wonder if there's rules specifically forbidding detecting, you can look them up for yourself. Every city has to have their municipal laws and codes viewable by the public SOMEWHERE. Eg.: in binder form on the front desk at city hall, or perhaps they have a website where all this is listed. Eg.: "parks close at sunset, dogs on leash only", etc.... If you see nothing there that says "no metal detectors", well then presto, there's the answer to your question.

Because the problem with going in and asking a desk-bound clerk is, that all too often persons have gotten a "no you can't", simply because they're choosing the easy answer (when perhaps they'd never have given the matter a moment's thought before you came in with your "pressing question"). And sometimes these type "no's" simply become policy from thereafter. Afterall, you asked, as if your hobby was somehow inherently evil, or needed sanction, etc... lest why would you be asking if it were innocuous? This is not subconsciously lost on the person you're asking, and it merely dictates their answer often-time.