Harassed at my local ball field

[Corey Shadler]

I was hunting at my local ball field last night. A guy came over and was very angry about me being there. I tried to explain to him that I had already checked with the police and our mayor years ago and there are no laws against it. I tried to explain to him and show him how I do not destroy anything by cutting out the plug of grass and filling my holes back in and putting the plug of grass back so you can't even tell I was there. I could understand his point if I was sloppy and not filling in my holes or not putting the grass plug back in. He said he doesn't care . He told me he is a member of the borough council and at the next town meeting he is going to purpose a law outlawing metal detecting in our town. Any suggestions of how I can stop this guy from passing this law?

 

[flgliderpilot]

I dont dig plugs at ball fields, and honestly I try to avoid ball fields all together unless they are not "manicured" and not fenced.

It just looks bad (when people see you do it), and you can usually see the plugs later since they sometimes turn brown. My rule for ball fields is:

1) Go in the evening.. never early morning or day time unless you are NOT going to dig at all. The biggest complainers also get up early and go to bed early.

2) Use a nice digging blade and press blade straight down into the ground ... spread it apart by levering the blade back and forth but do NOT remove any dirt. Reach in and grab object, push it back closed again with both hands. It's not a hole if you don't remove any dirt or leave a depression in the ground. This leaves the "hole" impossible to find again once it's closed up. If you can't get the object without digging, pass on it.

3) When someone complains that you are digging holes, ask them to point out any "holes" that you have dug over the past hour. They won't find any, and neither will the police officer they call.

 

[Corey Shadler]

Thanks for all the good advice everyone. I just got back from the town meeting. He does actually have a seat on the council board along with a couple other people that I know and are friendly with. He never even mentioned metal detecting or noticed me sitting in the crowd. So I kept my mouth shut waited until the end of the meeting and left. I guess he was just blowing smoke.

 

[13dolphins1]

Thanks for all the good advice everyone. I just got back from the town meeting. He does actually have a seat on the council board along with a couple other people that I know and are friendly with. He never even mentioned metal detecting or noticed me sitting in the crowd. So I kept my mouth shut waited until the end of the meeting and left. I guess he was just blowing smoke.

He is probably power hungry and having a bad day....bad mix. If it were me I would hit the next meeting as well....just in case he has another bad day.
Glad to hear and hopefully nothing comes of it.

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[sprailroad]

Good job Corey, you handled it all really well, sorry it ever happened, I think most all of us has had a person like that at one time or another. dolphins1 may have a point, otherwise I'd say good for you, and perhaps a "win" for Milford, PA.

 

[dsdigger]

Glad to hear it went well and he didn't bring it up. I agree that he was throwing his supposed"weight" around and it would be good to be ready and show the next meeting just in case and see what happens. Otherwise, GL HH

 

[Tom_in_CA]

....He never even mentioned metal detecting or noticed me sitting in the crowd. So I kept my mouth shut waited until the end of the meeting and left. I guess he was just blowing smoke.

Corey, thanx for the followup. Made for a good "cliff-hanger" There are some folks who would have "gone to town" with "seeking clarifications" (hence swatting hornet's nests). But your story shows that flukes exist. To which we give lip service ... and... come back when singular busy-body griper isn't present. Rather than thinking we can please every last person on earth.

..... If you can't get the object without digging, pass on it....

Ouch. If my sunray pinpointer is screaming "silver" at just another inch or two, it's going to be mighty hard for me to simply "pass on it", d/t (gasp) it might be defined/construed as "digging". Unless someone was standing right there with a dictionary and ruler and cared-less ?

 

[Davers]

I was hunting at my local ball field last night. A guy came over and was very angry about me being there. I tried to explain to him that I had already checked with the police and our mayor years ago and there are no laws against it. I tried to explain to him and show him how I do not destroy anything by cutting out the plug of grass and filling my holes back in and putting the plug of grass back so you can't even tell I was there. I could understand his point if I was sloppy and not filling in my holes or not putting the grass plug back in. He said he doesn't care . He told me he is a member of the borough council and at the next town meeting he is going to purpose a law outlawing metal detecting in our town. Any suggestions of how I can stop this guy from passing this law?

After the initial 'First read' my suggestion would be illegal. LOL

 

[Davers]

Thanks for the quick and helpful responses. Good thing I saved all the trash and glass. I even have a live bullet I found there. I will definitely be attending that meeting.

You Go Dog, but I would not Mention "Detecting" unless He or someone brings it up first.
Sounds like y'all need a few Bar's , Gangs, to keep the 'Council' 's eye on the important things.

 

[Davers]

You know.
I wonder why , he was at this park at Night , I assume there was nothing going on at the time you were hunting.

 

[Davers]

I had posted this sign last year, but just wanted to say that this is what we are hoping Corey can help prevent. This sign was posted last year in a park I have been detecting for twenty years. The park maintenance supervisor got tired of finding open holes with a piece of trash sitting next to the hole. I had noticed it for a while and spent most of my detecting time picking up the trash and filling in the holes to no avail...

View attachment 1480408

No KITES
WHAT"S this world coming to.

Is this park next to 'Monster Power Lines'? or an Air-port?
&
If I can not Prospect ..."Forget That place".

 

[Davers]

Thanks for all the good advice everyone. I just got back from the town meeting. He does actually have a seat on the council board along with a couple other people that I know and are friendly with. He never even mentioned metal detecting or noticed me sitting in the crowd. So I kept my mouth shut waited until the end of the meeting and left. I guess he was just blowing smoke.

COOL!
Good Job Man.

 

[P.ALLEN]

Dude sounds like a real dingus

 

[Mzjavert]

I would attend the next meeting or two just to be sure he has dropped the issue.

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

If you are digging on the playing surface I am not surprised the grounds-keeper would be pissed.

Same for golf courses.

There is probably no specific law against walking down the lanes of a bowling alley, even in bowling shoes, but you will probably get thrown out by the management. Same reason. They want a smooth playing field.

That's why mders who have gone before and left open or ratty holes have poisoned the well for all of us.

 

[bigscoop]

A plug is still loose ground for a while, no place for loose plugs where people are running and physically exerting themselves while their attention is elsewhere. "Off season" is the best option.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

After the initial 'First read' my suggestion would be illegal. LOL

Brings up an excellent point Davers ! You're right: A lot of md'rs, after an unpleasant meeting like that (who don't want "confrontation" and fear "confiscations, tickets, blah blah blah") would tuck their tail between their legs and leave. Hey, after all it's hard to argue with a duly-appointed voice of authority after all ! Same for if it had been a cop, or gardener, etc...; They are all tasked with the upkeep of the park, the implementation of rules, blah blah . Right ?

So it makes you wonder how many stories like the OP's here could have occurred to a more skittish person. Who takes-it-to-heart and makes the obvious conclusion : "MD'ing not allowed here". And then that skittish person dutifully hops on to forums to spread the word to his friends that "such & such city parks are off-limits". Right ? After all, you don't want your friends to get in trouble either, eh ? And that gets picked up in links. Which lead to links, etc... And before long , it's just taken as gospel fact ! When in reality (as this post shows) it was just a singular fluke by a dude having a bad hair day.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

This series of events actually happened in my area: A certain city had just been rumored to be off-limits for all the parks/schools there. But after 30 yrs., several of us are looking around at each other saying "since when ? Says who ?" And we traced it back to a SINGULAR scram that a single md'r had gotten in the late 1960s at a school. That md'r (bless his little heart) told his buddies, who told their buddies, and .. you get the picture.

That is why when I read on forums of "such & such place is off-limits", I often ask that very question: Says who ? And often-time the person answers by linking you to some old post somewhere, where they're just quoting someone else . And if you were to trace that person back enough, it could be this very psychology at-play.

 

[Msbeepbeep]

Well done Corey! You will just have to keep an eye out for him.
He was probably looking for a dog to kick, didn't find one so took it oit on you.

SD 51. Yikes! The only thing missing from the sign is "no people"

When you come across a hole digger that refuses to fill the holes back in, just widen one a little more, give them a friendly nudge, and quickly fill it back in for them!
Problem solved! [emoji3]

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[Davers]

If you are digging on the playing surface I am not surprised the grounds-keeper would be pissed.

Same for golf courses.

There is probably no specific law against walking down the lanes of a bowling alley, even in bowling shoes, but you will probably get thrown out by the management. Same reason. They want a smooth playing field.

That's why mders who have gone before and left open or ratty holes have poisoned the well for all of us.

Honestly
I don't even waste my time on 'fields of play, that look great'.
Sod is a pain to cut through w/o my big shovel.

Just not worth the time imo.
Unless it;s a Major League Ball Field where players can afford to lose costly Bling.
But
That aint gonna happen .lol

P.S. I the right soil conditions , I dig 'Much Better' but bigger plugs at parks with my big Shovel ( home use type) especially where targets are 6 + inches also these large 'Clam shell' plugs are so large they don't get sucked up by mowers.

It just looks sooooo bad. To the public.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

.... There is probably no specific law against walking down the lanes of a bowling alley, even in bowling shoes, but you will probably get thrown out by the management. ...

Hi Charlie. I think the "average person" would see the evil of someone waltzing down the lanes of a bowling alley (on a busy Saturday night) and .... yes ... get thrown out. Is that how you equate md'ing to ? That an md'r in a park is on that same level of eye-sore-evil-ness ? If so, then the analogy holds true.

But why do you think of md'ing in that light ? Are we really as obnoxious as someone waltzing across the lanes of an open busy bowling alley ??

... They want a smooth playing field....

Same logic: Do YOU leave ruts and uneven ground after retrieving coins ? If so: I would suggest you take "target recovery 101 class" all over again. For most of us, we leave no trace. So .... I don't understand the implied tones of your message here.