Reading this thread makes me realize that a lot of you don't get out very much! I have had some of my best hunting days in "ghettos" simply because I think most people who metal detect seem to live in constant fear of inner cities. I would recommend going in the morning if you choose a time. Sun-up until noon is usually pretty quiet anywhere you'll go. People on this forum make it sound like you'll get mugged and beaten as soon as you pull out a detector inside the city limits, but as someone who lived in the city for a long time and still hunts in it regularly its really not as dangerous as they make it seem. As long as you're not a prick, I have found people are generally pretty nice.
I am glad that you have had a positive experience, and hopefully you have made some good finds. There are probably different cultures in different places regarding different types of crime or lack thereof. I would agree with you on the fact that not all poor areas of every town are places where a person will get mugged or beaten just for setting foot on the pavement. Your "ghettoes" local to you might be full of salt of the earth type folk.
We have to be realistic here. Lots of "hoods" have a territorial culture, i.e. locals vs. outsiders, gang affiliations, and race of the respective parties. I can guarantee you that a white guy with a metal detector in certain parts of say Baltimore or Chicago is going to get a lot of attention, and that attention will not be positive if it is coming from resentful and disenfranchised gang members. The metal detector attracts a lot of attention anywhere. The danger of ghettos is not the poor people, or some junkie who can barely walk. The danger comes from GANG MEMBERS who have a time honored tradition of starting beef and committing crimes.
I am not arguing with you, just pointing out that the man seems to have trepidation and asked for honest real world advice on what to expect, and I feel like your advice there is a little bit dismissive of the hard realities. That advice will work until it doesn't work, if you know what I mean.
I hunted in Denver, Colorado, which cannot be the worst there is. But there are some stone cold psychopath killers on those streets and it is a very big deal when they come into your world. You will not smile or talk or reason your way out of anything. I am a reasonable man just enjoying my avocation, and I was like a magnet for s@#t down there. I just wanted to look for exonumia and dig old local glass, and I amassed a volume of stories about mugging and fighting and violent garbage. As you said, I was never being a prick but rather minding my own business and pursuing hobby time when OH MY here are three nut job gang members trying to kick my heiny and saying they are going to kill me. It happens fast, and it happened a lot.
It is probably even worse now with the BLM and Antifa stuff, and the animosity which has been instilled in segments of the population.
So, I cannot speak to your inner city, but in some of them OP needs to have eyes in the back of his head and keep his head on a swivel. I can assure you that I "get out" plenty, and I am giving the man real advice from years of real experience. There is no exaggeration or hyperbole here. He should be extremely tough at a minimum and always on his toes. "Not being a prick" is a very naive way of ensuring his own safety, and will not actually accomplish the goal of keeping him safe.
