kicked out of the parks

[gunner0341usmc]

Hi
I am new to this fourm but not the sport,i moved to florida from northern michigan and have been kicked out of most of the parks and most do not even post no metal detectors.
so i am all ways serching for someplace to treasure hunt.i have a tesoro bandido II umax and would like to upgrade to a whites mxt-m6-or prizm VI.
ANYONE CARE TO GIVE AN OLD MARINE SOME ADVICE?

 

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[willie d]

Yeah, ain't it great?

You still have the beach.

Have you asked to hunt your neighbors' yards yet?

 

[SHERMANVILLE ILLINOIS]

gunner0341usmc,
sorry about getting kicked out.
More and more of that now and much more
will come.

Welcome to the board.

Don't know your area, but I'm sure you would
be able to find some old marines, (once a marine,
always................), that could give you permission
to hunt their property.

I got permission for a few older locations when I
visited the local VFW. Got to talking over a few
beers and the offers come in. I was not from the area.

Again, welcome, and hope we will be seeing some fo you
finds.

Almost forgot. Welcome home.

have a good un.....
SHERMANVILLE

 

[steve from ohio]

Hi
I am new to this fourm but not the sport,i moved to florida from northern michigan and have been kicked out of most of the parks and most do not even post no metal detectors.
so i am all ways serching for someplace to treasure hunt.i have a tesoro bandido II umax and would like to upgrade to a whites mxt-m6-or prizm VI.
ANYONE CARE TO GIVE AN OLD MARINE SOME ADVICE?

The parks usually require you to go to the park office and get a permit. We have a park here in Ohio that allows surface mining (metal detecting) with a permit. I every once in a while come across a park ranger who says I cannot detect and I pull out my permit and they say " great...just make sure you don't leave any holes."

The best way to attack this is to tell them what you want to do and also let them know you will pick up all the trash you come across and that they will not even know you were there. The state parks are a different situation from the county parks. County parks are more open to detecting and in most states, the state parks are usually off limits. City parks are great areas also. Federal parks are off limits totally. The Feds are like the Nazi's when it comes to metal detecting.

And don't forget the devil strip between the road and the sidewalk especially in older areas. I have found lots of coins in that area. It is owned by the county and it is open for detecting. If someone asks what you are doing, just tell them you are looking for a missing ring that was lost a little while ago. You would not be lying.....you are looking for a ring...or coins.

One other thing I do is just walk up to a door and ask if you could detect on their property. I do that and I usually get an OK. Don't forget to smile !

 

[Michigan Badger]

Like sherm wrote, these are the signs of our time.

A lot of good used metal detectors go cheap because people can't find places to hunt.

Where in northern Michigan were you? Finding places to legally hunt in Michigan isn't easy either. I know lots of THers just go where they please but to do it legally is really tuff.

If I asked at 100 homes in our town not more than 5 would allow me to hunt and 4 of them would want to keep all I dug. Some guys just go around and hunt abandoned houses and hope the owner doesn't happen by. I know a guy who did that and found a $5 gold piece and large cent at such a place.

Almost all of our old parks and school grounds are closed to hunting but some don't enforce that rule very well unless a complaint comes in.

It's difficult in most areas today to gain permission.

This is why many figure it's easier to say I'm sorry that ask permission.

MB

 

[gametalman52]

Gunner, What part of Florida?

 

[gunner0341usmc]

Gunner, What part of Florida?

holiday florida

 

[gunner0341usmc]

Like sherm wrote, these are the signs of our time.

A lot of good used metal detectors go cheap because people can't find places to hunt.

Where in northern Michigan were you? Finding places to legally hunt in Michigan isn't easy either. I know lots of THers just go where they please but to do it legally is really tuff.

If I asked at 100 homes in our town not more than 5 would allow me to hunt and 4 of them would want to keep all I dug. Some guys just go around and hunt abandoned houses and hope the owner doesn't happen by. I know a guy who did that and found a $5 gold piece and large cent at such a place.

Almost all of our old parks and school grounds are closed to hunting but some don't enforce that rule very well unless a complaint comes in.

It's difficult in most areas today to gain permission.

This is why many figure it's easier to say I'm sorry that ask permission.

MB

i lived in northern michigan not far from alpena,i never once was hasseled and i hunted all the state parks in my area.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

gunner, First: did the persons booting you tell you there was an actual rule? It could simply be one particular employee thinks you're going to leave holes. Or who knows, maybe having a bad day, etc.... If I was you, I'd find out if there is any such real rule that specifically, by name, addresses detecting. Because if there really isn't any rule, then I'd just go, but pick more discreet times. Like after 5pm when park's workers are done for the day, on Sundays, etc...

To find out if there's any rules, look it up yourself (usually available on city websites. Do a keyword search under "metal detecting" for instance). The reason to not ask a live person (if you can help it), is you may get someone who interprets your question as if you're asking their permission. And then you risk someone saying "no you can't, simply because I said so," when in fact they'd probably never have given the matter a second thought.

Same for Steve Ohio's advice: to see if a permit exists in your area, do the research on your own. The permit dept, for instance, should have a list of every type permit a person can apply for, so it seems easy enough to see if "metal detecting" is on their alphabetic list. Because once again, asking "can I get a permit?", is akin to asking "can I metal detect?" and you once again risk a "no", where there may not be such a rule.

 

[Ray S ECenFL]

Pasco Conty and Pinellas County have a no detecting policy. Go north to Hernando or south to Hillsboro counties.

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,152461.0.html

Othes have has problems in Pasco County as well.

Ray S

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Ray, wouldn't that be for county-run parks, but not necessarily city parks?

 

[XL-PRO PRO]

I was approached by a local citizen last summer while detecting an old schoolyard.They asked if I had permission and I asked them to write down their name and address so i'd know where to foward my property taxes!They left without saying another word.DBULL

 

[gleaner1]

In NY state, you gotta get a permit to hunt NY state parks. I learned this by getting kicked out of one long ago. So, I buy a state metal detecting permit if I want to hit the NY state park water or beach. I think it's about $20 per year. Yes, the usual rules about finds, "if they are worth more than xx dollars must turn in to the park police" on and on...
In NY state parks, you can't dig turf, only sand or in the water. Period. What this law is saying is that people don't like to see signs of metal detecting, like big holes and ruined landscaping and leaving big hunks of metal on the site.

I have never had a problem hunting my local city parks or public gathering places (sports fields, playgrounds, fire halls).
I did get kicked out of a city school field once, but have hunted them many many times before and many times since. I just don't argue and I leave and be as polite as totally possible. The guy was just a minor employee on a power trip.

I always keep a low profile when hunting non-restricted places. Nowadays, I have better luck in the woods, just off the beaten path. Usually, nobody even knows I'm there. If I'm gonna do the turf in parks, I just go when nobody is around and when its wet to minimize sod damage. Try to keep a goodly amount of trash metal in your pouch just in case. I always-always-always fill in my holes with care. But remember, just because the site is not posted, doesn't mean you wont pi&& off someone that wants you gone (for whatever reason). If this happens, just show him a pile of crappy metal in your pouch and be polite and apologize and just leave. DO NOT ARGUE WITH ANYONE. They don't want to hear it, they just want you gone. If you are nice about it, the only thing he will remember is all the trash you took out and he's gonna think metal detectorists really are not bad people, they are just like everyone else. Anything that we can do to stop anti-detecting should be on all our minds. Learn the rules and the positive aspects of detecting, pass it on, and try fighting the lawmakers the easy way.

 

[Zincoln Miner]

when you show them the junk,ask them can they see were you got it.when they say no,point out that you retrieved all of it here,there,there,there,over there etc.

of course this only works for properly retrieved targets. 8)

 

[gleaner1]

solx nys, excellent point. If you get a chance to show how little damage you leave to get all that crap out of the park, it helps. Tell the guy about the rings you found and returned. Tell him you find lost rings or property markers or keys or anything for a modest fee. He might end up being your friend who knows. It's not hard to show that the hobby is harmless IF you can get the guy to hear your side of the story. Nowadays, it seems like that's a big IF.

 

[Michigan Badger]

i lived in northern Michigan not far from alpena,i never once was hasseled and i hunted all the state parks in my area.

You were very fortunate. In the Gaylord Grayling area the DNR will slam anyone they catch on state land. In fact in one of our papers recently there was a whole article about how the DNR is looking for some people who hunted a ghost town site near Traverse City. I know of 2 people arrested for going on state land in the Grayling area.

Badger

 

[camperlee]

hello being from west central Michigan I have had no problems finding places to detect. I go into a town and go right to the city hall and ask if there is any rules about detecting in the city limits and so far have been very lucky and have gotten some very good tips from city workers so it pays to talk to people that live in the area.

 

[willie d]

Ray, wouldn't that be for county-run parks, but not necessarily city parks?

Nope, unfortunately it's the city parks too. Any digging is considered vandalism.






BTW Gunner, I like the avatar. That wouldn't be the Tilted Kilt would it?

 

[tomclark]

All our parks are open for detecting in Pinellas, All city and county parks except for those on Register Historic Places and Lake Seminole Park - go figure..... Ft. Desoto can hunt the beach but cannot leave the high water mark.
Main city park downtown St. pete can be detected. Shame you are finding all parks closed. And what they let happen in the parks is abominable. In ALL our parks we find crack baggies and crack pipes. I'd have quite a collection if I'd kept them. I always wonder if I was to get searched before I threw the trash in the trash....Ha! We are doing them a favor picking all that trash out of the ground!
If no sign just hunt them til they tell you to get out, LOL.
Happy Hunting

 

[jocap]

Hi
I am new to this fourm but not the sport,i moved to florida from northern michigan and have been kicked out of most of the parks and most do not even post no metal detectors.
so i am all ways serching for someplace to treasure hunt.i have a tesoro bandido II umax and would like to upgrade to a whites mxt-m6-or prizm VI.
ANYONE CARE TO GIVE AN OLD MARINE SOME ADVICE?

If you're in Florida to heck with the parks spend all your time on the beaches. Find a detector more suited for combo beach/water.

I know what you are going through after relocating and looking for places to detect. When I was in Pa. I could go pretty much any where and keep everything. I relocated to Oregon and all local parks are off limits ( heck, they even make folks pay here just to use some of the local parks...walking or whatever) and by law if I find anything over 50 years it's a criminal offense.

So, go for that expensive loot on the beaches...I sure would be!

HH