Unfortunately, you are coming late to the party so you’re going to have to work really hard to find some good places to hunt. A lot of folks around you have probably been burned badly by trespassers, so many had rather say no to everyone than let anyone hunt. That’s just the way it is, you’re going to have to work through it to be successful. This is how you are going to have to do it… RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH… NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK… Read everything you can find concerning your area; study all the maps; Union and Confederate. Learn to use the Geographic Information System (GIS) to find land owner’s names and addresses. Learn to overlay maps on Google Earth to extract information and find locations. Ask your friends & coworkers if they have any connections to the areas you find that you want to hunt. If some of their family owns farm land, then that may be your ticket in! Also, remember right now there are crops in the fields; they may not be letting anyone hunt. After the crop harvest, come the deer hunters, so there is another possible delay… You have to be patient and ask lots of questions and seek out permission. Don’t short change your own neighborhood, through the research you may find a spot right outside your backdoor that could hold some relics. Being only a mile from the battlefield, you are plenty close to find something.
Let the landowners know that you want to find local relics that pertain to New Market, something you can keep as a memento to your area and its history. Assure them that you will dig everything and remove all the trash; anything you find you’ll take out, leaving the area better than you found it. That’s what I’ve done… I’ll carry a 5 gal bucket into the field and throw all found paper, cans, bottles, nails, and scrap iron that I find into the bucket and when I leave I haul it out. Not to mention it leaves the area cleaner and easier to hunt down the road! After you’ve made your initial contact, received permission and made your first recoveries, be sure to seek out the owner and thank them for the opportunity. Show them what you found and how much you appreciate it, offer up a bullet or something. DO NOT ASK TO RETURN AT THIS TIME! Remember to fill in all your holes, packing them tight. You don’t want the landowner to step in a spongy hole and break an ankle. If you see a maintenance item that should be addressed with the owner, such as a fence wire or post down, let the owner know. If you can fix it, offer to do so. Anything you can do to promote yourself to the landowner, is better for you. After my first hunt I typically send a handwritten thank you note to the landowner letting them know how much I appreciate their allowing me to hunt. I also call later, after they should have received my note, to ask if I may return. Even with this, be patient; give them a week or two between hunts to consider it. Another tip for down the road… Send them another thank you note with a gift card to a local restaurant. It really lets them know you appreciate their generosity. With that kind of respect and service, it may open other doors of opportunity, it has for me.
Like playgrounds, parks, beaches, etc... If you own a house, start ripping up your yard too while you're at it 
