To all the newbies out there!......

[Mike from MI]

I went digging Saturday with my daughter. After a couple sites we stopped by one more on our way home. This was a small tot lot at an elementary school yard. The play areas were all sand. First thing I noticed was another guy detecting around the play sets. Next thing I noticed was the full size shovel he was using! If you are new or a seasoned pro, DON'T TAKE A SHOVEL IN ANY PUBLIC AREA!!!
Shovels are made for digging a lot of dirt. That is exactly what the public thinks when they see you with it. Don't get places closed for the rest of us! This area was sand, you can use a scoop, or move the sand with you shoe to find your target. Then last night I went to another public school with a large grass area where I dig some silver now and then. I found some 12" diameter plugs where someone else had been. They were sticking up like a cork partly out of a bottle. Come on you guys. Do it right or put the detector back in the closet. We welcome all you newbies into the hobby, but don't want places closed to to poor digging practices.
Can I get an AMEN?

P.S. I did get some keepers!

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Cry Of The Eagle: History And Legends Of The Cherokee Indians And Their Buried Treasure - Grab it through Amazon!

[dig kzoo]

Good call!

 

[Blskypilot]

Amen!!


Seen the same situation out my way. Guy with a bounty hunter and zero pinpoint skills. Where you end up with 4 plugs in one small area all patchwork Frankensteined back together and you know the first time the mower comes over that not only is the crushed can that was left on the surface getting sucked up and slawed but so is all that grass.

 

[treidm]

Good thoughts...
As far as for grass areas:

It's a bit more time consuming but in areas with good grass, I use a skinny kitchen knife initially instead of regular digger to slice my pattern around hole and lay it back, leaving part of the plug still attached to the earth.

Then to insure that all dirt gets back in, you can lay a cloth, bandana etc. on ground to put soil on, that way you can get all soil back in hole, lay plug in and tamp to finish.

If done responsibly, you can't even tell it's been dug, but is more time consuming.

....Reid

 

[davehky]

Agreed and thx for posting this! They can ruin it for all of us. I cover holes back , when i do see some messy holes from careless detectors!!!

 

[davehky]

Agreed and thx for posting this! They can ruin it for all of us. I cover holes back , when i do see some messy holes from careless detectors!!!

Oh,and great finds you dug up!HH

 

[Prospecting P.]

good luck to all and be responsible, hh

 

[Rick (Nova Scotia)]

Funny thing is the person who did that "probably" wouldn't dig in his own yard.

A 12 inch plug is obsene, and the target most likely a couple of inches deep.

As well as NO shovels, it should be mandatory to have a pin pointer to dig on nice grass, schools, and parks. I've seen plugs that were cut with knife into many pieces so the person could wave the right piece in front of coil, ended up looking like something regurgitated. Furthermore many shallower targets can be pin pointed before the dig, and extracted out of a tiny hole. I firmly believe a beginner should practice at home or friends / relatives before going on public spaces.

Treidm, a hinged plug, and a drop cloth are excellent practices.

 

[WHADIFIND]

Unfortunately, you're probably preaching to the choir. I suspect that most newbies don't even know about this site. Hopefully, with enough of us saying something to the ones we see out there causing problems, we can salvage our hobby for the future.

But, ya know, I've found that it's not just newbies. There are some who don't give a hoot about impressions. I've called down a few so called seasoned veterans. They usually ignore me or tell me where to get off. One was so moronic that he told me he didn't care what ANYbody thought and wouldn't be back to the place after he'd hunted it out anyway. He was literally trashing the place and looking at me whilst laughing.

He wasn't laughing though, when the cops showed up. Although I was smiling and humming to myself as I left.
Oh yeah, and I waved to the officer, one of my hunting buddies.

You have an Amen from me!

HH!

 

[Qball]

I had the same thing happen to me Saturday . Big plugs out of the hole and trash on top. sometimes coin still in the hole. What a Jamoke

 

[CoilyGirl]

And also a note,when you find trash instead of throwing it next to a tree for someone else to find throw it away in a trash can.Inhate nothing more than digging an area and seeing smashed Coke cans at the base of a tree you know someone threw there.

 

[Sawyer]

Welcome to the instant gratification generation! People that think it is all about "ME", you owe it to me, I shouldn't have to work for it, and by the way, somebody else can clean up after me!

 

[tinman68]

metal detecting and tv shows don't mix I wish everybody loved the hobby like I do


happy and safe hunting to all

 

[cjon455]

guys this site taught me what to do and not to do when it comes to dececting, private property, pinpointing, sand digging, etc. If we can only get everyone to get on this site this problem would go away on its own. The clown who dug the 12" holes must have been after a can or something of that nature. If he was using a semi decent machine he wouldnt have needed to do that, i cut a flap, lay it on a shirt and search for my target (keeping the roots intact to the dirt). I should add that my recent garrett pinpointer purchase is ridiculous for me being able to use a tiny tiny plug/flap to retrieve.....

 

[ce550av8r]

I'm a newbie and before my detector and pinpointer even came in the mail I was on T-Net and I read a similar post about "learn the right way" so I got on YouTube and searched for videos about correctly digging plugs and keeping good community relations. I practiced digging plugs in my own yard first and I'm proud to say that I had a fellow hunter come up to me in a park yesterday and I asked him if he could pick out any of the 8 or so plugs I'd dug in that area - and he couldn't. I told him and also another hunter about T-net in hopes to eventually get a group together in our area... But one seemed a bit standoffish, almost like he was put out about having other hunters in his town... I introduced myself and he shook my hand, but never mentioned his name in return. =\ Anyhow, I hope others will take the time and have the morals to MD the right way because the bug bit me hard and I would HATE to have people ruin it for those of us that DO take the time to be responsible hunters...

 

[fireford10]

LOL, i was one of those when i started. Fortunatly for me i did it at work (the fire station). By the next tour of shifts i had realized what me and my fellow MD'r (another fireman, lol) had done. So we invested in Garrett pointers, and WOWm what a difference. I rarely have to cut a plug larger than 3-4" on 3 sides. I cut 3 sides and fold it over and use a bandana for the loose soil. Usually a matchbox car or something a lil larger ends up coming out of something like that. But for coins, you cant even tell we were there at all (with the larger holes too). I think the pointer is just as important as the detector in my book. Luckily our Captain just laughed at out mistake, as we only killed a bunch of clover anyhow. Good thread!

 

[rayrayvegas]

When I am at a place where I know I will have a large audience I dont even bring in a shovel just a large flathead screwdriver, you can pinpoint your target and after a lot of practice can bring it to the surface without leaving much if any signs that you were even there. Been doing that at parks for over 20 years and have been allowed to stay when others were asked to leave.

 

[Mzjavert]

I've got three trowels in my truck...including one my Mom got me for 50 cents at a yard sale. If I ever see a detectorist with a shovel in a tot lot. I'll give him one of my spares.

 

[jst1dreamr]

Amen........BUT I have sure seen alot of not so newbies using those 8" wide blade shovels lately. I think some of this thanks to the stupid antics on the TV show "Diggers". I noticed they use shovels in a numbers of shows or the Whites commercial with the guy who thinks he is going to put himself through college md'ing.

 

[Jarl]

Nothing like watching someone take a plug by the grass and shaking all the dirt loose from it, not finding the target(or deserving it for that matter if they do find it)and then putting the grass back over the hole like a toupee. Really??