Met the cops tonight. Apparently the neighbors think Im a hoodlum

[TrpnBils]

Met the cops tonight. Apparently the neighbors think I'm a hoodlum

I scored a great permission tonight at the site of two former churches (both on the same lot) built in the late 1700s and torn (burned) down by 1831. I'm going to hit it next week, but that conversation took longer than I anticipated, so my park hunt the next county over didn't happen due to the shortening daylight. I went door knocking instead, and found a house for sale that was vacant so I stopped at a few neighbors' houses to track down the owner. Eventually got a number and called the guy but nobody answered so I went to my "last resort" park site down the road. While I was working that area I got a call back from the owner and he gave me permission (while I was talking to him the cops drove past actually so I was able to further my case with "well, I'm here in the park and the cops just drove past without stopping so take that as proof I'm not going to make a mess of your yard"). Turns out the house has been on the market for almost a year but they have a potential buyer working on financing right now so I was told that if I was going to go, to do it ASAP before the deal went through. I only had about 30 minutes of daylight left, so I went back up to the house and got at it.

It has some great potential I think, but around 9:00 I was finishing up and just about ready to go back to my truck when I saw a cop car parked behind me. I haven't had this happen before, so I was curious as to how it would go. He was cool about it though and didn't even take me up on my offer to get him the owner's number so he could verify what I told him. Turns out one of the neighbors called on me... I left then because it was dark, but he told me I could stay as long as I wanted since I had permission and he would just tell anyone else who called that it was cool. I'm going back on Sunday, so I did give him a heads-up on that! Had a long discussion with him about detecting though because I guess another one of his friends does it and it's something he's wanted to get into....nice guy!

Anyway...pulled a nice looking buffalo after about 15 minutes so I'm sure there's more there!

 

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[Bquamb]

That is awesome! I had a police man come up to me and ask question after question about what I find. Where I go. Do people ever bother me. It was a weird but awesome experience! Good luck on your next hunt!

 

[against the wind]

Yep,, had the cops called on me a few times,, never had a problem.
I guess people are looking out for their neighbors or the park property
but some people should make sure their own house is clean before criticizing others.
Nice Buffalo.

 

[TrpnBils]

Yep,, had the cops called on me a few times,, never had a problem.
I guess people are looking out for their neighbors or the park property
but some people should make sure their own house is clean before criticizing others.
Nice Buffalo.

Yeah definitely wasn't a problem. When I'm talking to owners I sometimes use my occupation as a bit of a nudge toward permission. I'm a high school teacher in a very small town, so I know a lot of families....I always tell them (which is the complete truth) with what I do and how many people I know I can't afford to tick somebody off by trespassing or making a mess of their yard so I'm real careful about going by the book.

 

[cjon455]

Honey there's a man robbing the neighbors yard with a wierd wand looking thing, better call the cops!, man sometimes I hate people, at least you got a decent spot and made a good find

 

[stealthycat]

good neighbors to do that - they didn't know you - now go find more before it closes !

 

[treblehunter]

I have quite a few encounters with law enforcement while detecting. Nice Buff with a date no less, amazing soil must be kind there, you should find some good stuff there Sunday.

 

[kingskid1611]

If you find too much good stuff you may have to outbid the current price to own it. Or just get to know the new owners so you can keep your permission. Congrats!

 

[Trezurehunter]

Nice looking Buffalo with a good clear date.

 

[qaela4]

Nice Buffalo with a date. I've had the police called on me as well, he just pulled up, asked if I had found anything good and said "I'll go educate them on the laws".

 

[DashHopes]

If you were not dressed all in black with a black pillow case as your find bag, I"m sure no one would call the cops.

But honestly its good that the neighbors are watching out for each other even, if its a pain in our butts lol.

Nice find!

 

[Davers]

A couple questions & a comment or two.

First off Nice Buff.

I have had encounters with the police many times , only 3 actual "talk to's " while detecting.
2 were parking issues & the other A how ya Doing/ Find anything ?

Have them watch me or Drive by several times on about half my home site hunts.

While hunting a road side lot on Friday ,Had a City-(Acworth) police drive by 9 times out of 10 I can hear them coming (when they 'punch' that Interceptor Engine it makes a Distinct sound) like the other day I heard that sound & said to myself "police" it was. They/he/She did not stop as I was also picking up trash like I Usually do on road side sites.

Actually I have MUCH MORE trouble from Nosy Neighbors. Some of these people

?- What size Shovel Do you use in parks or Non lived in yards.?
Do you dig Every Nickel Signal?
Is your machine super good at ,Telling a Nickel from a Pull Tab or Can Slaw.?
Do you dig only deeper Signals in most house yards?

I ask these Questions For a Reason , but for Time's Sake I won't get into it unless U Or anyone Really wants to know.

Davers

 

[TrpnBils]

I have quite a few encounters with law enforcement while detecting. Nice Buff with a date no less, amazing soil must be kind there, you should find some good stuff there Sunday.

It's not terrible - about half of the buffaloes I've dug have dates. The one in my avatar on here is the best one I've ever dug and is better looking than half the ones I bought when I actively collected coins as a kid. I found that one last week in dirt that was so nice to dig in once you got through the sod you could pretty much just scoop by hand.

 

[TrpnBils]

?- What size Shovel Do you use in parks or Non lived in yards.?
Do you dig Every Nickel Signal?
Is your machine super good at ,Telling a Nickel from a Pull Tab or Can Slaw.?
Do you dig only deeper Signals in most house yards?

I ask these Questions For a Reason , but for Time's Sake I won't get into it unless U Or anyone Really wants to know.

Davers

Now I'm curious.

I use a Lesche digger any time I'm not in a farm field or in the woods and dig small plugs.
I dig most nickel signals, and my Etrac is pretty good at differentiating between nickels and other, similar signals (12-12 most of the time for nickels, but bumps up to 14 ferrous for most pull tabs, etc).
I usually dig any repeatable, good signal and questionable ones if they're deep or mixed with iron. I've done really well this year on coppers in heavy iron, so I'm reluctant to skip things like that. That buffalo there was only about 2" deep though.

 

[gollum]

If you were not dressed all in black with a black pillow case as your find bag, I"m sure no one would call the cops.

But honestly its good that the neighbors are watching out for each other even, if its a pain in our butts lol.

Nice find!

I just pictured a white pillowcase with a big dollar sign on it.

Mike

 

[Erik in NJ]

Oh I have met many cops in the area while detecting over the years . They have always been nice, saw I was doing no damage at all to parks or permissions, and very often tell me to carry on unless they are getting too many calls from nosey "do-gooders." Many are curious about the hobby and what I've found.

 

[Loco-Digger]

Congrats on that Buffalo nickle and how you handled the situation. I have met many a police officer that was called to check up on me. Never ran into a bad police officer in this hobby. They are just doing their job.

 

[Msbeepbeep]

Nice it's got a date! Congrats!

I hunt schools and I can almost count on a police car rolling up and running my truck plate while I'm detecting, then either driving off or stopping to chat if they are curious. They are always nice.

 

[Moonshadow]

Love the patina on the Buffalo.....great find!

 

[TrpnBils]

Thanks - went back for an hour or so today and got a 1926 dog license, a handful of wheats, and a couple of things I would swear were going to be silver but just ended up being miscellaneous junk (including one really beat down pocket watch that's by far the worst looking one I've ever dug)