Park Ranger with nothing better to do.

[MarySeminole]

I detected in front of a gov. building and a disgruntled citizen pulled into the parking lot right in front of me with his "partner".
I wasn't making a mess or digging trenches. I walked to my truck and put my detector away and right then, the Power Ranger showed up and parked right next to me.
It was obvious that I irked the "couple" and I left.
Don't people have better things to do?

 

[Tom_in_CA]

.... - you should be blaming those MD'ers that leave a mess not citizen's that experienced the mess and now have a bad attitude toward us.....

Vp-navy, curious why you think the OP's situation necessarily arose out of someone in the past "who left holes" ?

It's entirely possible that no one ever left holes at that location, or in front of those gripers. It's possible that persons can just ASSUME that an md'r is about to make marks or holes. Simply because, afterall, that's the mental connotation that seeing someone md can carry. Even though perhaps the griper never actually saw holes in the past.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

MarySeminole, your situation is exactly why most of my turf hunting is done at night nowadays. So peaceful. So serene

 

[T.C.]

I detected in front of a gov. building and a disgruntled citizen pulled into the parking lot right in front of me with his "partner".
I wasn't making a mess or digging trenches. I walked to my truck and put my detector away and right then, the Power Ranger showed up and parked right next to me.
It was obvious that I irked the "couple" and I left.
Don't people have better things to do?

I agree with ya Mary....like the cops don't have anything better to do!! Maybe they just need to go have a donut or arrest a jaywalker....something really important.

 

[QMaze]

Why did you leave? If it is legal to detect and you were doing nothing wrong and basically leaving no trace why would you leave.

 

[Scribe]

Reply to Thread....Take Two.

Mary,
I don't know what state you live in or the laws of that state, but I can say, (from my experience), that almost any government building or business will have issues with anyone MD'ing on their grounds during business hours. I would check with the local City Maint. or building Maint. supervisor to see if it's OK for you to MD on the grounds during their off hours. Mostly the issue is that they don't know you, don't know how metal detecting works and are afraid you might damage sprinklers, buried cables, or the landscaping.

As far as law enforcement responding I would say that vpnavy is correct, (at least in my jurisdiction). We don't have a choice and MUST respond. I can't tell someone that their complaint isn't valid, I can't say that I have better things to do, and I can't point out how petty people are at times . I wish I could but that's the way the job works.

That said, I've always tried to take the time to stop and speak with any MD'ers working in my jurisdiction. I can see how they're operating and have enough knowledge to recognize when they're doing things right and not causing anymore damage then the kids running around. Also it goes a long way with my locals when they see me talking with an MD'er...I don't know why they get tense about MD'ers or if it's a combination of those big headphones with the funky swinging device looks too much like their looking for ET or what but people do get testy. In fact, I've even had locals have issues with me MD'ing on a beach during the off season and that was AFTER I had spoke to the Park Maint guy and he had POINTED out to me some good areas to hit ...but that's a whole different story.

 

[ARC]

When I am at new spot such as you described...
I actually LOOK for a cop.
And I simply and nicely ask him/her...
"Is metal detecting allowed here" ?

If a park... I look for a Park Ranger...
I ask no one else..
No trash guys... No grounds guys... no concession stand guys... no one... but the Head Ranger... OR a cop.

Never failed me yet... and I am at ease after...
And I do not have to look over my shoulder OR worry about what some grumpy people looking weird say or do.

I have without a doubt hunted parks and properties sheeeeeesh I do not know if they could be counted...
Vigorously.

When in doubt... at all... ASK.
Simple as that.
Get permission... and take care of the lifestyle by doing the right things and everyone wins.

 

[MarySeminole]

After reading what vpnavy had to say, my first reaction was to either sell my detector or just smash the s*it out of it and never detect again.
I've been detecting longer than I can remember. I used to dig for my dad when I was a kid, I thought I had the best job because I got to see what the prize was first.
I also agree with Tom, the site I was working was a virgin site albeit small amount of property out front on a main drag.
There weren't any signs visible against detecting, although I did see a sign stating no dogs allowed and there was dog s*it everywhere.
Point being, there are fewer and fewer places to detect and I'd rather say that I'm sorry than ask for permission.... Unless it states "no detecting allowed".
I do subscribe to AARC' advise....Fill your holes... Dispose of all trash properly... OR... don't metal detect.
I know that some of you will disagree with me.
I hope we all have a banner in 2016.

 

[lastleg]

Issues Mary described have caused many to not hunt public places. If you detect you will
have to deal with unpleasant people at some point. So before you bring out your locator
think about what could happen and expect the worst. Just depends on how thick-skinned
you are.

 

[enamel7]

Well I can see a problem when you think it's okay because you don't see it posted on a sign. Are every other state or city regulations posted on a sign? Go on line and read the ordinances for your area. Then you know whether it's allowed or not. Remember, ignorance of the law is no excuse.

 

[Chris R]

All I can say is y'all must detect in some uptight towns. He'll I detect all public property where I live. I'll be on a sub courthouse lawn cops just wave as they drive by. I never ask for permission on public property, ever. I guess some police really have nothing better to do.

Sent from my 710C using Tapatalk

 

[RustyGold]

This is the problem. We see our diggers as this

They see our diggers as this

 

[jeff of pa]

location , location , location sort of fits here.

Mary says "in front of a gov. building" in my eyes I see County or Federal Court house,
The warshington Monument,
the White house to name a Few

as they are all "gov. buildings" and she doesn't say with Permission.

In fact later she says " I'd rather say that I'm sorry than ask for permission."
not a put down on you Mary !
I've heard both the Phrases
1. " It's easier to ask Permission then Forgiveness"
and
2. " it's easier to ask forgiveness then permission"

From people while searching for permission.
the second because sometimes Nobody really cares till you ask. or nobody knows, or wants to stick their neck out and say go for it.
and yes , unfortunately Scribe is correct. their job requires them to respond.
What really Matters is if the cop Came blazing with Lights, Siren and Firing shots.
because you have a digger in your hand and they are afraid of their shadow . Or just there to do his/her duty.

again it's all location , location , location

#1. location: Small Town/Large City
#2. location : Home Town/ place your a Stranger these days
#3. public access for recreation / just public location

the First option on all 3, Small Town, Home Town, public access for recreation.
I won't ask & would argue with anyone who tries to chase me.

I'm 60 & I lived here all my Life, How long was the Complainer here ?

Second Option. Large City,place your a Stranger these days, just public location. Sometimes " It's easier to ask Permission then Forgiveness" if the City is run by
Busy Bodies, Nazis & Storm Troopers.

 

[cooper1841]

I dont live in Boston, D.C. or L.A. , but a decent size Mid-American town. Sunday mornings I hunt curb strips with parking meters, and some older vacant lots downtown, very peaceful and quiet.. On Sunday morning, you could shoot a gun off and not hit a soul, the Police just wave as they go by. Would I hunt these spots during the week, when town is busy, and full of nosey people..................................Hell no!!

 

[ARC]

***Yawn*** arrrg... lets see if my brain is working this morning... heh

Ok its like this...
Some places are a real pain in the arse ... I realize this.
But this lifestyle requires a little respect on OUR part as Md'rs...

FIRST... we must all remember that unless we are digging and searching on our own OWNED property...
Then we are on SOMEONES or SOMETHINGS property.
And from the moment we step foot onto any area to detect that is not owned by you personally we are at the mercy of that situation...
And demands OUR respect.
Some just walk into a park and think "this is public property"... ill do what I want.
Wrong.
This can get you ,,, in most cases... asked to simply leave.
BUT... IF there is an underlying reason that MDing has been prohibited you may wind up in more of a situation.

Many things can put an area "off limits" to MDing...
Like at Fort Desoto Park... North end Mullet Key...
There was a guy in an area that I knew was off limits... I was pulling in when I saw him...
I parked and walked over and said nicely to him... "hey man they will get on you for detecting here".
He says " I have detected here before, no one said anything to me in the past".
So... I say "well man I will only tell you this... If they see you in this area detecting you may have a problem".
He does not respond... and rudely puts head phones back on...
So...
I walk closer waving my hand and loudly say "hey"... he stops and looks...
I yell at him...
THIS IS WHERE LIVE ORDANENCE HAS BEEN REMOVED.
THERE MAY BE SOME LEFT. THIS IS WHY THEY DO NOT WANT PEOPLE DIGGING IN THIS AREA.
He takes his phones off...
he says "really" ?

Right about then a ranger I know comes out of the woods... who had spotted this guy with a detector in his hand...
Lucky for the guy... I know the ranger... who is a pretty damn cool guy.
Turns out... the ole guy lied...
First time he had been there...
AND he had NO permit... and did not even know that you have to have one to even detect this park.
Ranger asks where is car is... ranger writes down tag... and guy is told to stand there till the ranger got back...
Ranger comes back in about 10 or so minutes gets out looking at me with a grin.

Gives the guy an earful and warnings... then tells the guy to fill out form...
The guy thanks me... ranger smiles and gets back into truck...
Guy says thanks a lot... and out to the sand he goes.

See... sand ok... parking lot grass NOT.

 

[I can dig it]

I ALWAYS make small, neat holes and ALWAYS fill them. But I have gone back to places I've hunted within a day or two and found some of the holes had been dug up again. I assume animals did it, but not sure. So you can't always blame the md'er.

 

[MarySeminole]

Fellas, I hear you but can we apply the same standards to everyone else?
For example, the parking lot is always littered with used condoms that are tossed out of the car windows.
If you drive by certain times of the evening you'll see same sex couples using these condoms and then tossing them out of their windows where a child could easily mistake them for a balloon and contract a disease.
But that wouldn't be politically correct.
Another example of the "illegal migrants" that have broken the law and camp out with tents and use the local parks as bathrooms.
There I go again, I'm being insensitive and not politically correct.
What about the H1B that took my Tech job?
I've already mentioned the sign that states "No dogs allowed" and yet dog excrement everywhere.
VPNAVY, are you okay with any of these examples?

 

[Tom_in_CA]

When I am at new spot such as you described...
I actually LOOK for a cop.
And I simply and nicely ask him/her...
"Is metal detecting allowed here" ? ..... If a park... I look for a Park Ranger........

Can't a person look up laws/rules for himself , to see if anything there says "no md'ing allowed"? Muni laws and codes can be looked up afterall. And when you ask cops/rangers what do they base it on ? Actual laws/codes, or personal whim/mood ? Do you ask about "metal detecting", or do you include the words "dig" and "hole", etc... ?

The trouble with what you're saying, is you can sometimes get a "no" (simply because they envision geeks with shovels). Where no one ever had an issue or problem before. Ie.: you might end up the victim of "no one cared UNTIL you asked".

Come on Tom — if those before us filled holes back in and left grounds the way they found it citizen’s wouldn’t care about us MD’ng on property....

Sure, some rules might've been born that way. But on the other hand, EVEN if they never saw any holes/scars, it can STILL be the image that someone has of md'rs. Rusty-gold got it right with his post

...For example, the parking lot is always littered with used condoms that are tossed out of the car windows.....
......Another example of the "illegal migrants" that have broken the law and camp out with tents and use the local parks as bathrooms.
..... the sign that states "No dogs allowed" and yet dog excrement everywhere ....

Mary, do you know what the difference is between those persons and us? None of them asked "can I throw my used condom out the window?" and "can I be an illegal imigrant living at the local park?" and "can I leave my dogs poop w/o picking it up?".

If each of those persons had asked, they'd have been told "no you can't". But we md'rs on the other hand, for some reason feel the need to ask "can I metal detect?"

As for your unfortunate busy-body, I'm not saying that can't happen EVEN without grovelling to ask and fishing for "no's". In those cases, no amount of "permission asking" is going to change that though. In fact, you can sometimes get "no's" where it's never been an issue before. Or get silly answers like "yes but you can't dig", etc.... So the solution is not permission (if there were no express rule against md'ing), but to avoid those persons, and go at lower traffic times.

 

[jeff of pa]

Fellas, I hear you but can we apply the same standards to everyone else?
For example, the parking lot is always littered with used condoms that are tossed out of the car windows.
If you drive by certain times of the evening you'll see same sex couples using these condoms and then tossing them out of their windows where a child could easily mistake them for a balloon and contract a disease.
But that wouldn't be politically correct.
Another example of the "illegal migrants" that have broken the law and camp out with tents and use the local parks as bathrooms.
There I go again, I'm being insensitive and not politically correct.
What about the H1B that took my Tech job?
I've already mentioned the sign that states "No dogs allowed" and yet dog excrement everywhere.
VPNAVY, are you okay with any of these examples?

I'd be ok with the "illegal migrants" & I think "H1B's" ?if that is aliens ?
I'm not Political & this ain't Politics
They may loose something Interesting

 

[Tom_in_CA]

My language is different when asking. I typically ask if there are ordinances or rules that prohibit MDing, rather than asking if it is allowed.....

skippy, good post. This tactic/wording has been suggested by many in the past. So that, like you say, rather than appearing to ask their "permission" (which can be steered by their mood, etc...), you are instead asking if there are any rules to prohibit. Such that it PUTS THE BURDEN OF PROOF ON THEM, to CITE such a rule, if one existed. Right ?

On the surface, that would seem to be the way to surmount arbitrary whimsical "no's", right ? But I have heard of this too failing. Answers like: "No you can't" (as if you'd just asked their permission). So the md'r persists and says "... but where is that written?", and they allude to something about alter, deface, dig, harvest, remove, etc... So then honestly now, do you *really* think you're going to win that debate ?

And I've even heard of one md'r using this tactic, such that the poor gal sitting at the city-hall desk had to concede there was nothing *specific* to stop this guy from md'ing. He had waltzed in with an immistakable 'be prepared to show chapter and verse if you plan to say no' type attitude. After he left, she approached her superiors with this dilemma. Well guess what appeared on the next city council agenda as a proposed rule ??

So while your way of wording is an improvement, it can still back-fire with silly outcomes.