New to THing. A few questions please

[jeffmajer]

Hi. I am new to THing and live in Chicago. I just have a few questions if you would like to offer me some advice on a few topics I would appreciate it!
-First I would like to know what kind of experiences I can expect from uniformed authority figures. I plan on starting with a little searching around a few spots on parks and other public property I have been eyeballing. Likewise what kind of experience I can expect detecting in state parks. I got a list of the 52 Illinois state parks that allow detecting. I have no intention of vandalizing any property, and will of course make you all proud by filling all my holes and properly disposing of all garbage. Cook County parks are off limits if I am not mistaken? Who knows about other counties?
-I also plan on doing some searching in some rural areas. (Already probobly have one old homestead lined up ) I would like to know what other's experiences are in getting permission from property owners. I posted this topic on the misc. board and got some good replies, but I would like the input of some locals. Do you go through the bother of getting an agreement in writing? What do you feel id the best approach? How about small town authority figures? Once again I have no intention of doing any harm to anyone's property, so of course I would make that perfectly clear. I would of course invite the owner to accompany me. Any other ideas or tricks to get in the door.
-As I mentioned earlier I have one homestead potentially lined up to search. It is the homestead that a friend of mine's family established when they moved to South-Central Illinois in the 19th century. I have not been to the site and can at this point really not say anything more about it because I really know nothing else at this point and my friend is onvacation in theEast, won't be back for a couple weeks. I do believe that there might have been bootlegging or moonshine distilling going on at the site. I would like to know what other people's advice is when I do a preliminary search. I am pretty well familiar with the different types of buildings that would be present on such a property. I know that there a mix of intact and ruined buildings on the property. I plan on at least locating the following if present:
-Wells
-Outhouses
-Animal Stalls
-Trash Dumps
-Root Cellars
-Fence lines
-Big Trees
-Under Rocks
What else do you recomend looking for. I plan on returning to the site if possible so I might be content to do some mapping of the area to better organize the search. This brings me to another question. What kind of planning do you do when you go onto a site like this? How do you organize your time? What kind of special tools do you bring along. I don't plan on doing any sifting the first time out. I'll wait till the weather cools before start moving any quantities of soil!
-Please give me the benefit of your wisdom by answering as many of the points I raised as you feel obliged. Whatever advice you have will be dearly appreciated. Last but not least I'm game to hunt anywhere with just about anyone. I'm self-employed so I can hunt almost anytime. Let me know what kind of hunting you do and I hope to see you out there somewhere.
Thanks,
jeff

 

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[morbiusandneo]

Hi. I am new to THing and live in Chicago. I just have a few questions if you would like to offer me some advice on a few topics I would appreciate it!
-First I would like to know what kind of experiences I can expect from uniformed authority figures. I plan on starting with a little searching around a few spots on parks and other public property I have been eyeballing. Likewise what kind of experience I can expect detecting in state parks. I got a list of the 52 Illinois state parks that allow detecting. I have no intention of vandalizing any property, and will of course make you all proud by filling all my holes and properly disposing of all garbage. Cook County parks are off limits if I am not mistaken? Who knows about other counties?
-I also plan on doing some searching in some rural areas. (Already probobly have one old homestead lined up ) I would like to know what other's experiences are in getting permission from property owners. I posted this topic on the misc. board and got some good replies, but I would like the input of some locals. Do you go through the bother of getting an agreement in writing? What do you feel id the best approach? How about small town authority figures? Once again I have no intention of doing any harm to anyone's property, so of course I would make that perfectly clear. I would of course invite the owner to accompany me. Any other ideas or tricks to get in the door.
-As I mentioned earlier I have one homestead potentially lined up to search. It is the homestead that a friend of mine's family established when they moved to South-Central Illinois in the 19th century. I have not been to the site and can at this point really not say anything more about it because I really know nothing else at this point and my friend is onvacation in theEast, won't be back for a couple weeks. I do believe that there might have been bootlegging or moonshine distilling going on at the site. I would like to know what other people's advice is when I do a preliminary search. I am pretty well familiar with the different types of buildings that would be present on such a property. I know that there a mix of intact and ruined buildings on the property. I plan on at least locating the following if present:
-Wells
-Outhouses
-Animal Stalls
-Trash Dumps
-Root Cellars
-Fence lines
-Big Trees
-Under Rocks
What else do you recomend looking for. I plan on returning to the site if possible so I might be content to do some mapping of the area to better organize the search. This brings me to another question. What kind of planning do you do when you go onto a site like this? How do you organize your time? What kind of special tools do you bring along. I don't plan on doing any sifting the first time out. I'll wait till the weather cools before start moving any quantities of soil!
-Please give me the benefit of your wisdom by answering as many of the points I raised as you feel obliged. Whatever advice you have will be dearly appreciated. Last but not least I'm game to hunt anywhere with just about anyone. I'm self-employed so I can hunt almost anytime. Let me know what kind of hunting you do and I hope to see you out there somewhere.
Thanks,
jeff

Jeff: I just have a question. Can you post the 52 state parks that allow MD-ing? And, I hope some veterans out there take the time to answer this excellent post soon. You ask some very good and thoughtful questions.....I'm a cache-hunter myself, so feel unqualified to answer you.stvn.

 

[les]

Hi Jeff: I live in Southern Illinois, Ive been Coinshooting on & Off since 1968,
Before hunting any State Park even if the paperwork says that it is ok,check with the Park Rangers to seen if a Permit is needed,laws change sometime, get permission first!
Most Historical Parks are Off limits to metal detecting, Ive found that hunting high traffic area's around homes,public places,Parks,etc, can be productive,I always check good along driveways, getting in & out of cars,on & off of Horse & buggy's people do/did lose coins,Big tree's in a yard or public grassy area, is one of my favorite places to hunt, the pathway from a home to the outhouse can hold coins, clotheslines are a good spot to hunt ,but, sometimes it is hard to figure out where they were at. walkways,sidewalks, grassy areas between the street & peoples yard is usually city property & can be hunted, but usually these spots are cared for by property owners, & some may not like it if you hunt in front of thier home without asking even though it is public property,Ive found alot of coins on Football fields,playgrounds,Parks,Churches,around public swimming pools,the list is endless,a friend & I pulled over 500 Quarters from our Highschool Football field & track area in three days time, along with two silver rings & the other normal change, CoinShooting is alot of Fun,Good exercise & a good way to meet people, it does take some time getting good with your Detector & to understand what it is telling you,this is why alot of Detectors get put in the Closet & left there, it does take some patients to learn & get good at it, you will dig some trash,it will happen,but when you find that first Old Coin you will probably be hooked!!
Ive found that hunting Old homesites is a very good Place to hunt, I Love hunting around those Old large two story Houses,the ones with the huge trees Out front,
I use the USGS Terraserver alot ,it's free, to find Old Churches, Homes in Rual areas Etc, The Topo maps are great for this, I usually go to the aerial photos once I locate a Old site, when zoomed up you can usually seen the imprint of Homes/yards that are now gone if you look close.
Ive also found that some areas have so much trash in the ground that it is almost hopeless to find a coin,but, once at a site you can tell in just a few minutes if it will be a good place or bad,,,coins can be anywhere you drop your coil to the ground, remember, enjoy the hunt & the Coins will turn up. Metal detecting probably isn't something that you will make alot of money from,but, it is a good way to collect Old coins,sometimes I pay more for batteries than I find in face value of coins,but I enjoy my Hobby!! A few days ago I found a 1907 Barber Quarter, the next few coins I found were Brand new Pennies, that is how it goes with Metal detecting. research at the Library to find old sites to hunt, check with the Historical society for old places,talk with Old Timers, Old Platt Maps,County maps,Etc. Research always Helps. Have Fun!!!
Les

 

[SC_hunter]

Welcome to TNet and if you have questions about the windy city..you might want to pm DFX-Gregg....Think he lives up in that area and can fill you in on the particulars.

 

[jeffmajer]

Jeff: I just have a question. Can you post the 52 state parks that allow MD-ing? And, I hope some veterans out there take the time to answer this excellent post soon. You ask some very good and thoughtful questions.....I'm a cache-hunter myself, so feel unqualified to answer you.stvn.
[/quote]

Here is a website that lists the parks that allow MDing by permit only:

http://www.dnr.state.il.us/lands/landmgt/programs/DayUse/metaldetect.htm

Thanks for all the other advice,
Jeff

 

[rcasi44]

First, even though the list says you can hunt the State Parks on the list check or call first before making a drive. Kankakee is on the list but you can't hunt there as one example. I showed them the list and my permit from White Pines, they just said NO.

There was a problem last year with the Cook County Preserves. One of our guys got a ticket. It was thrown out. There is nothing in the rules about detecting. There are rules against digging. There has been no problem this year. They have been working on a permit system but as far as I know its still in the works. Rob

 

[SHERMANVILLE ILLINOIS]

First, even though the list says you can hunt the State Parks on the list check or call first before making a drive. Kankakee is on the list but you can't hunt there as one example. I showed them the list and my permit from White Pines, they just said NO.

There was a problem last year with the Cook County Preserves. One of our guys got a ticket. It was thrown out. There is nothing in the rules about detecting. There are rules against digging. There has been no problem this year. They have been working on a permit system but as far as I know its still in the works. Rob

Ditto on the above.

Call first and get the bad news.

have a good un...........
SHERMANVILLE

 

[rcasi44]

So far Kankakee was the only one that said no. I've been OK at Illini, White Pines, and Clinton Lake. I got a nice diamond ring at Clinton Lake. Rob