Am I asking for trouble?

[sideshowbob]

Found a early 1800's town I'm interested in running my coil through. It's one of those small Midwest towns with a nice town square right dab snap in the middle. There are no ordinances against detecting or even recovering items from the dirt. I'm thinking of testing the waters there. If I do try, I would go at day break and not stay too long in the first place. Ya know, stay outa the line of fire and such. Any thoughts, or even previous experience, on the likelihood of getting some flak for it?

 

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[BigWaveDave]

Go for it!

 

[sideshowbob]

I think it would be too hard not to. It's full of ginormous trees, short grass, and I hope a pot of gold coins that fell out of a leprechauns a$$

 

[cudamark]

If you've looked up the rules and there is nothing prohibiting metal detecting, I'd hunt it! Always a good idea to do stand-out areas like that in the off hours. Just because it isn't illegal to hunt doesn't mean you want to draw attention to it. There is always someone that will get their nose out of joint, and in a small town, they know everyone. If they know someone important, they may be able to get the law changed in a hurry! Good hunting and let us know what you find!

 

[Boatlode]

I would check in with local law enforcement first. They may not be aware that there is no statute prohibiting it, and getting your detector confiscated until the court case would suck.

 

[Ism]

I would check in with local law enforcement first. They may not be aware that there is no statute prohibiting it, and getting your detector confiscated until the court case would suck.

Doubt it. Most like nothing will happen and worse case Sideshowbob would just get run off.
Go for it Bob.

 

[releventchair]

Act like you belong there and not uncomfortable or shifty,looking around nervously ect. Just doing something you do is all.

 

[CladGrabber]

Like you said bob hit it at daylight and pack up when people start moving around.

 

[Msbeepbeep]

Keep your bag of trash you've dug handy to show anyone that approaches you, just doing a good deed while get'n a little exercise. GL. HH!

 

[chopperdog]

Like some of the others have said, I would not try to hide, just go about your normal detecting routine. If approached by law enforcement, I would claim ignorance, be humble, and apologize. 99% of the time, they will just ask you to leave, no big deal. ---- I would not carry a long handled digger that resembles a shovel, although these are the ones I prefer, they tend to create a defensive attitude with people. A regular Lesche type digger will probably be more acceptable to the public. (and even at that I would not wear it on my belt) ---- Do as little damage as possible, (preferably none), and try to avoid weekends when the public is out and about. Good Luck and HH--

 

[sideshowbob]

Thanks for all the great advice! I'm gonna hit it in mornin'. Sounds like everyone is thinking the same as me. Heck, I'll even bring a throw to put my hole dirt on. I'll take pics for y'all's enjoyment

 

[Jason in Enid]

I would check in with local law enforcement first. They may not be aware that there is no statute prohibiting it, and getting your detector confiscated until the court case would suck.

say WHAT? excuse mister police officer, I noticed there were absolutely no laws in town forbidding metal detecting. Can you please enact some so I know for sure I can't detect here.

Tool

 

[RustyGold]

Get a T-Shirt with the words "Recovery Unit" printed on it! Make it a black one so the people think you're a pro officer recovering evidence!

 

[Tom_in_CA]

I would check in with local law enforcement first. They may not be aware that there is no statute prohibiting it, and getting your detector confiscated until the court case would suck.

boatlode: just curious: Do you have any examples you can cite to us, of any md'r facing "confiscations" and "court-cases" for detecting an innocuous park, to which there is no rule that said "no metal detectors" ? If you can give us any examples of that, I would love to see it.

My hunch is any examples you can give of "confiscations" and such, are someone who can't take a warning, or someone night-sneaking sensitive historic monuments, or places with a distinct "no detecting" rule, etc....

 

[Johnnoh]

Wear some "traffic safety" hi-viz colors or better yet a safety vest. People will think you're working.

 

[CladGrabber]

It sounds crazy but I rarely get approached if I wear my uniform shirt from work.
Had a guy ask me once if I was looking for a buried gas line, I said gawd I hope not

 

[augoldminer]

I have worn a fire department jacket with HazMat Response team on it.

I had people ask if there was any hazardous materials around.

I told then i had not found any and they were happy.

 

[sideshowbob]

Well I showed up at six this morning and o lucky me. The whole square was blocked off for the town carnival. Just my luck I guess. I went to plan b and hit the other spots in town I researched. Got a bunch of junk, my favorite bit o junk is the quarter turned pendant with a swoosh stamped out of it. $5.19 clad. The icing on the cake was my last hole. I had a pocket spill of 3 quarters and 3 dimes...all 19 fricken 65!

 

[sideshowbob]

Forgot the pic.

 

[relicmeister]

Well sideshowbob, you know what you're doing NEXT weekend!