Pennsylvania

[Perrycolove]

So this has been talked about a good bit, but it seems it needs some updating.
I see dcnr has posted about metal detecting in state parks, with limitations on the beaches, etc.

So if you've hunted in pa or are so now, What are some places to avoid or places that already have a no detecting clause per say?
I know that the town of Lebanon has a no detectors allowed in there rules for city parks.

And Also, I don't want to reveal secret locations, but what are some good spot for beginners in pa to learn from?

And Does anyone to group outings in pa ?

 

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[nsdq]

Never seen anything to say no dectectng in Lebanon,.

 

[Tedyoh]

Where in PA are you? Good places to avoid are posted areas that say "Private Property, Violators will be shot". I do a lot of hunting and fishing (water and dirt) in mountains of NC PA......it's a very remote area.....I find lots of good spots (on state land) hiking the train tracks, walking up a shallow grade hollow a couple hundred yards or following a larger river in the area looking for flat areas......if you are in the city I can't help you.

There's a detecting club called Dirt Digging PA in Emporium that's close to where our camp is - I'm not a member but I know they do group hunts and have a yearly get together / seeded hunt.

 

[jeff of pa]

So this has been talked about a good bit, but it seems it needs some updating.
I see dcnr has posted about metal detecting in state parks, with limitations on the beaches, etc.

So if you've hunted in pa or are so now, What are some places to avoid or places that already have a no detecting clause per say?
I know that the town of Lebanon has a no detectors allowed in there rules for city parks.

And Also, I don't want to reveal secret locations, but what are some good spot for beginners in pa to learn from?

And Does anyone to group outings in pa ?

Please Provide a Listing where you saw this "No Metal Detecting" rule for Lebanon PA City Parks.

I'm pretty Confident this means Don't take the Picnic Tables or Sliding board home



Just thinking, I hope you are not going by some old lady you asked at Parks & recreation Been a good while & Coleman park is loaded with Iron Ore
But first time there was with a early detector with Permission.( '90's )
2nd. time was with a more Sensitive one & it went Crazy. (Early 21st Century)
But I wasn't Molested by the Powers that be.

I have not been to any of their other City Parks. but We had a Member here who Did Hunt them. almost exclusively.



https://www.colemanmemorialpark.org/linked/lebanonparkrulesandregulations.pdf

 

[Perrycolove]

I called the mayors office in lebanon. There is a strict no metal detecting policy for the parks within city limits.

 

[smokeythecat]

Try private property. Once you have a permission, and make perfect filled holes, you can go and go and go and go.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

I called the mayors office in lebanon. There is a strict no metal detecting policy for the parks within city limits.

Uh, did they cite the "policy" they were referring to ? If so, we would love to see it. If it's something along the lines of "deface" or "alter" or "remove" or "take", then .... welcome to the "no one cared UNTIL you asked" club. Were you sure to mention "holes" and "treasure" and "indian bones" in your question ?

Perhaps there is a true chapter and verse citation that says "no md'ing". If so, you could have looked that up for yourself. But if not, you were the latest victim of the "safe" answer club. Now they will be sure to recall the "pressing question" the next time they're passing the park, and see an md'r whom they previously would never have paid mind to.

 

[jeff of pa]

I called the mayors office in lebanon. There is a strict no metal detecting policy for the parks within city limits.

Sorry ! But that may be the Mayor's Rule, Not the Police, Grounds Keepers if any, or even recreation department rule. if it's not in the code it probably doesn't exist.
yes ! I don't believe in Arguing , But if I wanted to Detect a park in Lebanon, I would ask
a City Worker, or park worker on the Street at or near the Park.
If no one available. I'd ask a Passer By, Person sitting on their porch, or just
Recreate myself by Detecting the recreation Area

For example, Though my Only detector that Worked properly at Coleman's,
was an old "Weaker" Whites 6000-D series 2 in the 80/90's
Yes I asked at the Park by park maintenance & was told Yes.

in the early 21st Century My Sovereign worked somewhat in some areas & was way too sensitive
in the High Iron areas.
Again, No One said No to detecting.

it is now about 10 years after the last time.

but Since then I have heard of others who hunted the Small Street Parks.

Mayors, like anyone else wielding power . can't always be trusted to tell the Truth.

Just saying

 

[3cylbill]

old weaker whites 6000D series 2 , makes me laugh... I found more with that machine than you could imagine .i wish i never sold it ,a factory hip mount lighter most machines today..

 

[civil_war22]

Sorry ! But that may be the Mayor's Rule, Not the Police, Grounds Keepers if any, or even recreation department rule. if it's not in the code it probably doesn't exist.
yes ! I don't believe in Arguing , But if I wanted to Detect a park in Lebanon, I would ask
a City Worker, or park worker on the Street at or near the Park.
If no one available. I'd ask a Passer By, Person sitting on their porch, or just
Recreate myself by Detecting the recreation Area

For example, Though my Only detector that Worked properly at Coleman's,
was an old "Weaker" Whites 6000-D series 2 in the 80/90's
Yes I asked at the Park by park maintenance & was told Yes.

in the early 21st Century My Sovereign worked somewhat in some areas & was way too sensitive
in the High Iron areas.
Again, No One said No to detecting.

it is now about 10 years after the last time.

but Since then I have heard of others who hunted the Small Street Parks.

Mayors, like anyone else wielding power . can't always be trusted to tell the Truth.

Just saying

Jeff of PA so true on the mayor part. Been told many times but the mayors secretary in different towns about no detecting in city owned property only to ask my own mayors secretary the same question and she stated the same thing. I then went straight to my mayor and asked him knowing what his answer would be and lo and behold he said course you can metal detect any city owned property I’ve( mayor ) been doing it now for over 30 years... so if there is no written law, city ordinance, or signs up saying it then who makes those calls? Don’t press the issue but also don’t be pushed around either. You can look a lot of this up on your own and also may hurt yourself reading this on your own and taking a lot of this to heart by reading too far in to it. Unless it specifically states it don’t take it as this is the law..

 

[jeff of pa]

old weaker whites 6000D series 2 , makes me laugh... I found more with that machine than you could imagine .i wish i never sold it ,a factory hip mount lighter most machines today..

same here I used to be able to Crawl under Metal Bleachers & Hunt with my 6000-D.
I wouldn't even attempt that with my Explorer SE

Sold it for $100.00 in the early 21st Century, With the Promise to the Buyer,
I would Buy it back for $100.00 any time.

Don't particularly need to though.
a Hunting Buddy owns one & has offered to let me use it,
if the Need should arise.
It was also good for Hunting extreme Trashed areas. because it ignored Tiny Metal till all the larger stuff was cleared out first.

believe it or not. some of the areas I cleaned out with the 6000-D
still do not produce Keepers with the Explorer SE

 

[3cylbill]

wow , I am getting old ...I have a 6000D series 2 , /not a hip mount . my long time th buddy left me one when he passed . how could I forget that .... now I'm remembering a 6000 series 1 the fast whip model .yup I have both . when i get a few bucks i will send the series 2 back to whites and have them tweak it .thanks for jogging my memory ....jeeesh what else have i forgotten...

 

[Loco-Digger]

I searched the ordinances of Lebanon PA and also the park rules and do not see anything that prohibits metal detecting.

Here is a link to the park rules. https://www.colemanmemorialpark.org/linked/lebanonparkrulesandregulations.pdf

As Tom in CA has stated many times before if you call someone who does not know the correct answer, they almost always default to the answer "NO".

The internet has made it easy to research rules and ordinances from your computer so easy. Take time to use the tools you have at your disposal and not call. I had to go to the town hall of a town a few miles away because they do not have their rules available online and suggested that if you were interested in them to stop by and grab a copy.

 

[against the wind]

I have been challenged, questioned, approached, and asked if my activity of metal detecting is legal.
I have gained legal permission and/or permits from numerous parks departments all over the United States. Prior to making a trip to a certain area, I will almost always contact the local parks and recreation Superintendent by email. I will inquire about the recreational use of a metal detector. If it is permitted, the return email becomes my permit. Now if I am challenged by a law enforcement officer or parks employee, I have proof that I obtained permission first. Most police, be it a sheriff, park ranger, or city cop don't go out of their way to challenge you. They usually ask to see your permit because it is required or because someone has complained.
I will now send an email to the city of Lebanon's Parks and Recreation Superintendent to inquire about the recreational use of a metal detector.
It is a simple process and puts you on the right side of a Park Rule.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

.... I would ask
a City Worker, or park worker on the Street at or near the Park.....

I would simply look it up for myself. Not ask a city work or park worker's whims or mood or "safe answer". (But yes, I totally agree with you that a passer by , or person on their porch, is equally as good as having looked it up for myself . )

Heck, I usually don't bother with any of that, and just "go".

As for the talk about the 6000D ... ahhh, a trip down memory lane !

 

[Tom_in_CA]

...I have gained legal permission and/or permits from numerous parks departments all over the United States. Prior to making a trip to a certain area, I will almost always contact the local parks and recreation Superintendent by email. I will inquire about the recreational use of a metal detector. .... .

Questions for you : In this system of inquiring ahead of time by email:

A) how do you phrase the question ?

B) How often have you received a "no". And/or some silly variation of that, like "yes but you can't dig", or "yes but you can't keep anything you find" ?

C) If you get a "no" (or some variation thereof), do they accompany that with a reason ? Ie.: give you a chapter and verse of what they think results in that "no" ?

D) If so, have you looked to see if it's a true "no md'ing" wording ? Versus something like "disturb/alter", or "take/remove" ?

E) If you see that it's a "no" with zero comment (no reference to where they got that answer), do you ever personally follow it up to see where they got that "no" from ? Or do you accept personal whim as constituting "law" now ?

F) if they cite ancillary lost & found, or alter and deface verbiage, why wouldn't the same verbiage apply to the places you got the "yes" from elsewhere ? After all, it appears in every single park's wording across the USA ?

G) Why couldn't you look up the law/rules, to see if that town's park's dept. has a rule that says "no md'ing", to avoid the "safe answer" trap ?

[But sure, if you only ever always get "yes", and or if you get "no's", they are accompanied by chapter and verse that truly spells out "no md'ing", then the above questions don't apply]

 

[Tom_in_CA]

I called the mayors office in lebanon. There is a strict no metal detecting policy for the parks within city limits.

I searched the ordinances of Lebanon PA and also the park rules and do not see anything that prohibits metal detecting.

Here is a link to the park rules. https://www.colemanmemorialpark.org/linked/lebanonparkrulesandregulations.pdf ....

I searched the link too. Nothing there that says "no md'ing" for that city's parks. And this then, is the perfect example, of someone calling and getting the "safe answer". Because whomever you're talking to envisions geeks with shovels.

 

[fuzzy535]

https://www.knoebels.com/

this place always intrigued me. Its an awesome park. free to get in and park. so that being said they have like a 20 acre grass parking lot you may be able to search. though id ask first, imagine years of people pulling their keys out of their pockets and losing stuff. Plus since it is free to get in, they have a museum towards the back of a lot of local history including some swim holes near by. Grab a bite to eat and do some research there. its been family run for many many many years. we travel up from Cleveland every 2 years and camp there. My mom and dad come from New Hampshire with thier camper and just meet up with them and 3-4 days in the area. Its a great place and very spread out. lots of shade and dog friendly.