How do you md in a city park?

[missmetaldetectingdiva]

I read on here that some of you said to take a screw driver and not a shovel to the park so the park rangers wouldn't freak out. Well, even though I live in Wv I am closer to Maryland. So I went to our local park with my md and screw driver but the dirt was sooo hard to use a screw driver by hand I was like oh forget it. Do any of you take a shovel to local parks?? I feel like I could have gotten alot more accomplished had I taken a shovel.
Your thoughts plez..

 

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[bazinga]

I'm not sure about the how much heat you have been getting in your area, but the heat in the midwest makes detecting in the summer less than enjoyable. And because of this heat, the ground is like concrete. You are doing more harm than good hunting this time of the year in public parks. The coins will still be there in the fall when the ground is nice and soft.

And I would recommend not taking a shovel into a park. When people see a stranger walking around the park and digging holes with a shovel, they usually don't look at it too positively. Get a hand held digger.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

by "shovel", did you mean a little lesche type trowel digger? Or a true "shovel"?

Bazinga is right: if the turfed ground is THAT hard, then any retreival you do (barring coins only an inch deep), is not going to heal or re-compact. I assume you meant turf, and not just hard-pan dirt?

You can certainly hunt when park turf conditions are that dry, and weezle coins out of slits made with screw-drivers, or lesche type gator tools, but the spot will die, since the ground is so dry.

So as Bazinga says, better to save those type manicured lawns till the rainy season, when you can cut plugs (or probe with screwdriver, etc...) in ground that will cut like butter. In that way, when you re-pack and stomp your spot, the grass doesn't die, because the ground is moist.

There are some videos on youtube you can see where people show different turf removal techniques. Screwdriver method would only work for fairly shallow stuff (up to 3 or 4"). If deeper than that, you will probably end up making more of a mess trying to fish out something from that deep (to make the slit wide enough to get your fingers/hand in there). So once you're talking deeper targets, is when you're going to have to revert to a plug method. And for that, there has been plenty written, and multiple youtube videos.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

A small trowel yes, a shovel in a park with nice sod or grass you have a good chance of getting kicked out or worse, especially if you do not know the proper way to dig plugs......

As you have noticed, detecting is not an easy hobby, you get sore muscles, many times it is like work, especially when your dirt fishing......One of the reasons I love water hunting is it is a LOT easier to dig at the beach than hard dirt at a park, but water has drawbacks to it as well. It is no easy matter wading in chest deep water trying to recover a target in between swells or waves rolling in smashing into you............BUT it beats the h3ll out of working 8-5......

 

[mlayers]

This time of year the ground is so hard I don't even attempt to dig in the park or any Public place. I go to the beach and tot lot where the digging is easier.

 

[Swartzie]

If the ground is hard then it's way too dry to dig with a trowel. If you do dig when it's dry then you'll probably leave behind a nasty looking brown spot of dead grass where you dug your plug. Not cool. Wait for some rain to soften up the ground. If you're going to be popping coins with a screwdriver it really helps if you have a handheld pinpointer to let you know exactly where the target is. If you're tired of waiting for some rain then find a site in the woods where you don't have to worry about killing any grass.

-Swartzie

 

[raider rich]

I know what you guys are talking about but if the ground is that hard and that dry the grass is already brown

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

I know what you guys are talking about but if the ground is that hard and that dry the grass is already brown

Not really, I have seen the ground hard as concrete and dry as a desert, but the grass is green......I don't cut plugs because of the tools I use when I hunt land, but people who do cut plugs need to cut 3 sided plugs and should carry water to water the plug after finishing....Most park personel take a grim view of a shovel being used on the manicured grass in a park..........

 

[NOLA_Ken]

Right now you practically need a jackhammer to break the ground here, I've been mainly looking at construction sites and other places where the grass doesn't matter.