TOT LOT ETIQUETTE

RW · Dec 28, 2010

I am not big on hunting tot lots. Maybe I just feel like a dork in a play ground. :dontknow:

Nevertheless I have hunted a few. It is no doubt great finds come from the wood chips as many people prove daily. On the rare occasion that I do hit a tot lot, I ALWAYS make sure that I am the only person there, which is no easy feat. And I leave the moment anyone else shows up. How do you guys do it? Do you just swing the coil under little Johnny's feet? Am I the only one who feels like I am intruding by being there? Am I just shy and too self aware? Do most of you tot lot hunters mix it up with the moms and kids? :wav:

Willee · Dec 29, 2010

Ron, I hunt them but only if they are not in use.
Early morning or around dusk seems good times for that.

Willee

RW · Dec 29, 2010

Yah this Friday at 6 AM I plan on taking a newly addicted friend of mine to a couple prime lots. He got a HF PP and keeps bugging me to go everyday so... We shall see how into he really is!

gleaner1 · Dec 30, 2010

When all the cool kids come runnin' up to me asking all those questions, I take control and say "hey, see that guy over there? He finds all the money and gives it away to all the kids!" Well, those kids run like hell over to my huntin' bud and he gives me the dirty look.

Chug And Red · Dec 30, 2010

gleaner1 said:
When all the cool kids come runnin' up to me asking all those questions, I take control and say "hey, see that guy over there? He finds all the money and gives it away to all the kids!" Well, those kids run like hell over to my huntin' bud and he gives me the dirty look.

no im not the hunting buddie but it is pricless!!! Chug

gleaner1 · Dec 30, 2010

C & R, we are about 2200 miles apart. But this tactic works the world over. I'm finding it difficult to get anyone to hunt with me within let's say about a mile radius from a playground area.

Bum Luck · Jan 3, 2011

RW said:
Last time I got up early to hit one, there were a dozen high school girls there at 6AM doing yoga.

Drat. I can remember when jogging made my poaching game a tougher prospect. Up to then, NOBODY got up early and did anything............

Ray S ECenFL · Jan 4, 2011

I will hunt the tot lots if they are empty or if only small number of people are there. If there is a crowd or a lot of kids I will put it off for another time.

Tot lots around here get worked over on a regular basis so I try to get there as early as possible and move on to other locations.

Ray S ECenFL

bootyhoundpa · Jan 4, 2011

only if no one is there and i leave if anybody shows up.. i think your philosophy is a good one.. remember its main purpose is for children and parents.. i find early morning is best.

mts · Jan 4, 2011

If I'm going when kids are going to be there then I take my own kids with me and let them play while I detect. I make sure that any parents there see me interact with my own kids so they know I'm not some freak. I don't like to be detecting in a tot lot if other kids are there and mine aren't.

boogeyman · Jan 4, 2011

pyledriver said:
Headlamp and hunt at night...

Same here. Usually after 7 pm. Funny though, end up digging up half full beer cans a lot of times. Figure the teeny boppers buried their beers when the cops showed up. Late evening or nights are nice, you don't have to worry about tripping over the herd of kids gathered in front of you wherever you turn. Or little johnny doing a kamakazi jump off the swings right on your coil. (Yep, happened to one of my hunting partners)

mts · Jan 4, 2011

boogeyman said:
. Or little johnny doing a kamakazi jump off the swings right on your coil. (Yep, happened to one of my hunting partners)

I think that's where the whole idea of tot lot etiquette comes into play. I don't detect near the swings if kids are on them. Your hunting partner probably should have found another place to detect in the tot lot that was further away from the children. Then his detector wouldn't have been in danger.

boogeyman · Jan 4, 2011

He was at the far end of one of those play structures, the kid climbed up from the far end ran across & jumped. I was hunting in the grass a ways away & saw it happen. From my side of the coin, I wanted to roll on the ground laughing, but from his side it was enough to make you cry. If I had video of it, it'd be hillarious.

But it was a lesson learned.

colorado14ers · Feb 5, 2011

I usualy go to parks later in the day and when it gets dark and everyone leaves, i go to the tot lots (they are next to tennis courts so its lit up and im with my dad, so its safe). also being 14, i get away with more :laughing9:

Terrafisher · Feb 5, 2011

Learned this one from geocaching....

carry a clipboard with you and wear an orange vest and hardhat. Most people won't give you a second look. They'll most likely think you're some type of surveyor, contractor, or company employee trying to locate markers or such.

Just suggesting... it works with geocaching quite well.

joeman · Mar 21, 2011

Lowbatts said:
Totlots are part of my sunrise tour. Kids who drop, even throw mems down without regard for them will sometimes go nuts when you're there. Many will not ask but if they think you've got a target they'll start tearing into the dirt under your coil.

And liars?!? Biggest lairs on earth are the little ones around you sometimes. Had them tell me their aunt, cousin, mom and pet dog lost whatever I found. Without ever laying eyes on it.

Other times it's all good and only one or two kids will approach and seem genuinely interested.

Overall, get out when kids step in is my advice. Just move on to another totlot. There's so many of them out there these days you hop from playground to playground fairly quickly.

One thing I don't understand is the design of modern playground equipment. There's gotta be something wrong with them people. Those Picasso-esque designs are beyond my ability to figure out.

BAWAHAHAHAH! Awww man, I just about shot a nice stream of water outta' my nose with the liar comment! Damn that was funny... Hee, hee...

Yeah, the little ones sure have a GREAT imagination and are pretty creative when it comes to 'buried treasure'! Heh, heh...

To the OP.... I've ONLY done TOT lots when they're empty and mostly just before dark or first thing in the AM in order to make sure that I wasn't being bothered and some 'Mom' or 'Babysitter' wasn't worried about little 'Johnny or Suzie' going to play because of the weirdo digging holes under the slide.. :P

savant365 · Mar 21, 2011

I have a black tee shirt with big white letters on the back that say "BOMB SQUAD" for some reason no one comes near me in the parks.

wildman4910 · Mar 21, 2011

Lowbatts said:
And liars?!? Biggest lairs on earth are the little ones around you sometimes. Had them tell me their aunt, cousin, mom and pet dog lost whatever I found. Without ever laying eyes on it.

That's why you keep an old pull tab in your pocket!!

BlueDuck · Mar 23, 2011

I usually hit them early when no ones around.

bwirth1999 · Mar 23, 2011

Just don't stare at the children.

clearblk · Apr 19, 2011

I'm new to this but I would say to just go early or in bad weather and leave when the kids show up. I'll be hitting some Tot Lots in a couple of weeks and will post results if I can find the cord for my camera. Found an old train station that is no longer there to detect before the playgrounds.