Very new to metal detecting!

[Silver_Coin_Newb]

Ok so I've only owned my detector a week, and had a chance to sweep around the house once.

I really want to spend the afternoon tomorrow detecting, but have no idea where to go or start.

Trying to stay legal and all. I know I've looked at our small town park codes and they say metal detecting in our park is prohibited.

Do you guys just drive around till you find an area that looks safe or should I be making contacts with people first.

Totally new to this! [emoji848][emoji848]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Upgraded Night Vision Monocular Digital Infrared Monocular Telescope for 100% Darkness with 8X Zoom - Grab it through Amazon!

[vpnavy]

Until a member(s) replies - I would start by jumping over to Sub-Forums: Missouri and browsing clubs - you might find one real close to ya.

 

[Loco-Digger]

The internet is a great tool in finding spots, locating owners for permissions, reading rules and ordinances of parks dept.s and towns. Please do not drive by what you believe to be an abandoned property and simply decide it's a place to detect without permission.

 

[cudamark]

Start with your property, your family's, and your friends until you get a little more comfortable using your detector and you hone your digging and plug (U or three sided, right?) skills. Verify your local rules and check out the ones in nearby towns. Get an old map of your area for researching historical areas. Try to gain permission from homeowners of old properties.

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

Do you belong to a church? Socials & picnics, penny hunts, lost jewelry, etc.

Playgrounds, boat ramps, vacant schools, town halls, picnic/public access sites near lakes & rivers, anywhere there is grass or dirt.

 

[TerryC]

Well, I've been doing this since '70. I could spend an hour telling you where to look but you will surely get people here to help. In a phrase, where ever people gather! Also, ask for permission. If, on average, only one in ten says yes... ask ten places. If you ask in 100 places, you now have 10 places! You'll figure out where to go as you pick up experience. TTC

 

[George (MN)]

Does the code for your town say no metal detectors are allowed in the park? Or does it say no *digging*? Or no *disturbing* the soil? No *removing* the soil? If metal detectors are not mentioned specifically, it could just be the ancient law against property damage that has always applied everywhere.

Just note the exact wording for each town under park & rec rules & check the city codes online. Best not to call the desk bound bureaucrats that will just give you a no based on the ancient property damage laws. Besides city parks, there are county parks & state parks, but city parks are least likely to truly prohibit detecting.

In some cities with more than 1 park, 1 could be off limits as a historical or archaeological site. Also, a few large cities could have a privately owned park, like Tower Grove Park in St. Louis. Then there are places listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which tends to emphasize buildings. But sometimes entire neighborhoods are off limits (rare). National Parks all off limits & National Forests are risky, too.

Public schoolyards are generally open to non-damaging detecting. Religious & other private schools are places they can prohibit even neat detecting if you don't have permission. It's hard to get permission to detect private or state universities. State fairgrounds are generally off limits, too.

Missouri had about 3,400 populated places in 1890. Some of these are now ghost towns (permission needed), some are still tiny. Some had steady growth & some are mostly new, like many suburbs. County fairgrounds if not posted are probably detectable & size can be anything from under 15 acres to over 300 acres.

Wikipedia has histories of nearly all towns population 10 & up, plus true ghosts. hometownlocator.com is a good site to tell if a site is totally abandoned and if anything still shows. It lists things like schools, churches & post offices that are no longer there, & cemeteries that may have been part of a town no longer there. Their town populations are all for the last July 1st.

County websites will often have park/school/history info for each town, & have tax assessors info including acreage & year each house was built. historicmapworks.com & other info on maphistory.info can be very helpful. Best wishes, all!

 

[Silver_Coin_Newb]

Does the code for your town say no metal detectors are allowed in the park? Or does it say no *digging*? Or no *disturbing* the soil? No *removing* the soil? If metal detectors are not mentioned specifically, it could just be the ancient law against property damage that has always applied everywhere.

Just note the exact wording for each town under park & rec rules & check the city codes online. Best not to call the desk bound bureaucrats that will just give you a no based on the ancient property damage laws. Besides city parks, there are county parks & state parks, but city parks are least likely to truly prohibit detecting.

First of all, thank you for all your info, it's greatly appreciated!

Our code actually said "metal detecting prohibited" but I believe the next town over is ok to hunt. They have a bill on law that says anything over 100 years old has to be turned into the city tho.

They have around 4-5 city parks that can be detected. They made this law due to a husband and wife were detecting one of the parks and found a mini ball/bullet lodged into an actual human bone. Some major civil war battle went on in this area.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Beezly]

I would keep practicing in your yard for a while. Theres always something your coil didn't pass over, and you need to be really good at making clean plugs before you go out on public land or private property with permission. There's nothing more damaging to this sport than a yard filled with dead plugs or divots. Happy hunting and good luck!

 

[bigscoop]

Locate a farmer who will let you get out in his fields, nothing you can damage in these fields and they are a great place to refine your techniques and to search for all sorts of finds, everything from coins to civil war relics, etc. You might even spot a few arrowheads while you're out there.

 

[enamel7]

First of all, thank you for all your info, it's greatly appreciated!

Our code actually said "metal detecting prohibited" but I believe the next town over is ok to hunt. They have a bill on law that says anything over 100 years old has to be turned into the city tho.

They have around 4-5 city parks that can be detected. They made this law due to a husband and wife were detecting one of the parks and found a mini ball/bullet lodged into an actual human bone. Some major civil war battle went on in this area.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

But yet the city cared so much about their history they built a park on top of it!

 

[Silver_Coin_Newb]

But yet the city cared so much about their history they built a park on top of it!

Haha go figure!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk