Tom_in_CA
Gold Member
- Mar 23, 2007
- 13,837
- 10,360
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- 2
- Detector(s) used
- Explorer II, Compass 77b, Tesoro shadow X2
Back in the early 1980s, Fisher Co. had a monthly or quarterly type periodical published. In it, they had a Q&A type column. In one edition, a question appeared, something to the effect of: "I'm getting ready to vacation in Mexico. Is metal detecting legal there?" The answer they were given was titled: "When travelling to Mexico, leave the detectors at home". The author went on to say that, yes, it was ILLEGAL to detect in Mexico, blah blah.
In the next edition of that same periodical, in that same Q&A column, several readers had written in to take issue with the answer Fisher had given. They were saying things like "Since WHEN are detectors not allowed there?" and "Who gave you that information?" or "We go down there all the time and never have a problem." etc...
Fisher answered the objections by explaining their answer: When they had fielded the question in the previous edition, they simply went to a Mexican consulate or customs person/office, and asked! I mean, who better to ask, than Mexico themselves, right? Doh! Whomever they had asked, might have couched their answer in terms of looting pyramaids, shipwreck salvor laws, federal protected historic sites, exporting gold bars, or .... who knows? I mean, it would be the same if you were to ask some American Bureaucrats: "Can I metal detect in the United states for treasure?" you might be told "no", because they're thinking in terms of ARPA, Mel Fisher legal wars, Shiloh, Ghettysburg, lost-property laws, etc....
In any case, whatever bureaucrat lawyer type Fisher had consulted, had told them "no". But get this: all the major dealers (Whites, Garrett, and yes ... even FISHER) had dealers down in Mexico, and detectors are a common site on the tourist beaches, and I suppose on land. It would be no different than here, that as long as you're not being a nuisance, or hunting obviously sensitive historic sites, you're ok.
I guess it's kind of the same psychology for any public place, be it a park, a school, a vacant lot, etc.... the minute you ask a bureaucrat "can I metal detect here?" you may get a "no", when in fact, no one really cares, or would have noticed (until you asked). I know it sounds like a catch-22, because, "what if there really HAD been a law?" To that I would answer, look it up yourself, to see if something is really in writing (usually available on-line somewhere), rather than asking. Because by asking a live person, they can interpret your question as "can I have permission?" (like, as if you were asking for their OK). I have seen this happen to someone asking at a city hall "is metal detecting legal in the parks here?" The clerk looked and looked, and couldn't find anything at all to address it (ie.: silent on the issue). But she retorted "we don't want people digging in the parks, so I'll have to tell you 'no'". The guy was pulling his hair out, because he realized he had just gotten a "no", when in fact, he'd probably have just been ignored in the field, if he'd just gone. If he had just gone and done his own homework (codes usually available on city websites), he'd have concluded that he was ok, as long as he wasn't making a mess or something. Ie.: just be discreet. I can't help but wonder if it's not the same mentality on a national level. Same for a lot of European countries (France, Spain, etc...), that, if you asked, or looked up written rules, you might conclude that you can't metal detect there. But there are throngs of hobbiests there, dealers, etc... They'll tell you that you can hit farmer's fields with permission, that are outside the scope of public land laws. Or quite frankly, they just hunt so far back in the forests, that there's not a soul around to care a less.
In the next edition of that same periodical, in that same Q&A column, several readers had written in to take issue with the answer Fisher had given. They were saying things like "Since WHEN are detectors not allowed there?" and "Who gave you that information?" or "We go down there all the time and never have a problem." etc...
Fisher answered the objections by explaining their answer: When they had fielded the question in the previous edition, they simply went to a Mexican consulate or customs person/office, and asked! I mean, who better to ask, than Mexico themselves, right? Doh! Whomever they had asked, might have couched their answer in terms of looting pyramaids, shipwreck salvor laws, federal protected historic sites, exporting gold bars, or .... who knows? I mean, it would be the same if you were to ask some American Bureaucrats: "Can I metal detect in the United states for treasure?" you might be told "no", because they're thinking in terms of ARPA, Mel Fisher legal wars, Shiloh, Ghettysburg, lost-property laws, etc....
In any case, whatever bureaucrat lawyer type Fisher had consulted, had told them "no". But get this: all the major dealers (Whites, Garrett, and yes ... even FISHER) had dealers down in Mexico, and detectors are a common site on the tourist beaches, and I suppose on land. It would be no different than here, that as long as you're not being a nuisance, or hunting obviously sensitive historic sites, you're ok.
I guess it's kind of the same psychology for any public place, be it a park, a school, a vacant lot, etc.... the minute you ask a bureaucrat "can I metal detect here?" you may get a "no", when in fact, no one really cares, or would have noticed (until you asked). I know it sounds like a catch-22, because, "what if there really HAD been a law?" To that I would answer, look it up yourself, to see if something is really in writing (usually available on-line somewhere), rather than asking. Because by asking a live person, they can interpret your question as "can I have permission?" (like, as if you were asking for their OK). I have seen this happen to someone asking at a city hall "is metal detecting legal in the parks here?" The clerk looked and looked, and couldn't find anything at all to address it (ie.: silent on the issue). But she retorted "we don't want people digging in the parks, so I'll have to tell you 'no'". The guy was pulling his hair out, because he realized he had just gotten a "no", when in fact, he'd probably have just been ignored in the field, if he'd just gone. If he had just gone and done his own homework (codes usually available on city websites), he'd have concluded that he was ok, as long as he wasn't making a mess or something. Ie.: just be discreet. I can't help but wonder if it's not the same mentality on a national level. Same for a lot of European countries (France, Spain, etc...), that, if you asked, or looked up written rules, you might conclude that you can't metal detect there. But there are throngs of hobbiests there, dealers, etc... They'll tell you that you can hit farmer's fields with permission, that are outside the scope of public land laws. Or quite frankly, they just hunt so far back in the forests, that there's not a soul around to care a less.
