Uncomforable hunt

[jimzz977]

I hunt a local park today and kept looking up for a police officer come kick me out of the park, it just uncomfortable even through a have permit to metal detect all city parks.

 

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[fella]

I hunt a local park today and kept looking up for a police officer come kick me out of the park, it just uncomfortable even through a have permit to metal detect all city parks.

Then why care?

 

[rainyday101]

What Fella said. Don't sweat the small stuff, if they have a problem they will let ya know. I have had both cops and park employees stop by just to shoot the breeze, see if I was finding anything, and see what kind of detector I was using. Most of the time they give me tips for places to check. Like on cop told me, unless somebody has a valid complaint he has better things to do than bother someone having simple clean fun.

 

[Nickleanddime]

I had same worries when I started. If you look shady they will be on you like flys to stink. But if you look like you belong there your invincible. When I go out I dress to blend in, no camo no odd bright clothes, no baggy stuff or low slung hats. Walk at easy pace, and you'll become somebody else's problem to everyone. A ghost among the environment. But if you worry you'll worry yourself right outta the enjoyment of it.
A good rule to live by with everything In life, if it doesn't feel right and feels wrong then it is.
Just always ask for private property, if unsure about public land don't call the cop shop, call local commissioner offices, town hall, places like that. They will know more then the cops about it. That's what I do and I have written permission to be on ANY state or county and city land in my county and surrounding counties. That's a lot of land, right around 30,000 acres. Good luck and keep swinging.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

reply

I had same worries when I started. If you look shady they will be on you like flys to stink. But if you look like you belong there your invincible. When I go out I dress to blend in, no camo no odd bright clothes, no baggy stuff or low slung hats. Walk at easy pace, and you'll become somebody else's problem to everyone. A ghost among the environment. But if you worry you'll worry yourself right outta the enjoyment of it.
A good rule to live by with everything In life, if it doesn't feel right and feels wrong then it is.
Just always ask for private property, if unsure about public land don't call the cop shop, call local commissioner offices, town hall, places like that. They will know more then the cops about it. That's what I do and I have written permission to be on ANY state or county and city land in my county and surrounding counties. That's a lot of land, right around 30,000 acres. Good luck and keep swinging.

nickleandime has a point: If you are skittish, and looking around with an "oh no, does anyone see me?" type persona, then sure, it will only be a matter of time before others pick up on those vibes, and ask themselves: "gee, what is that person doing over there? Gee, I wonder if he's allowed to do that?"

Contrast to if you're "acting like you own the place", then people assume you know what you're doing, and you don't "stick out".

Example: one time a buddy and I ... uh ... helped ourselves to an oldtown demolition lot. It was in a blighted "vice" district, so...... periodically a cop would come driving through to scope for drug deals, prostitutes, parole violators, etc... After about an hour, as I was digging a target, I spotted a slowly moving crusier making his way down the street. I could see the cop looking hither and yonder at the landscape, so I instinctively froze, and started staring his way. You know, the old "I wonder if he sees us?" type look. As he passed our part of the block, our eyes/gaze locked for a micro-second, but ... he kept driving, paying me no mind. At first I was thinking "good, he's going to keep going." But instinctively, I kept watching him. Again, he glanced by my way, but again, kept driving. Then just as he was about to have passed the lot, I saw the brake lights tap. Then tap again. Then he stops. Then he backs up, gets on his loudspeaker, and starts the drill: What are you doing? Are you supposed to be in there? blah blah blah.

Later, in retrospect, I realized that it was ONLY MY PERSONA and skittish behavior that led the cop to wonder "gee, what are those guys doing?". Otherwise, he'd have kept on going.

So while I know it's hard when we're doing an "odd behavior" like metal detecting (which has admitted connotations), a lot can be said about the way we react, the way we look, etc...

 

[Jeremy S]

I just keep doing what I'm doing and ignore everyone else. Police are trained to pick out suspicious acting people. If you are skittish around them, they might think that you are trying to hide something. Dress in normal cloths and look decent, if you show up wearing camo with a big knife strapped to your belt you'll get unwanted attention. Just blend in with everyone else.

I've had cops drive past me and slow down, but I just keep swinging and act like I don't notice them. If I sense that I'm being watched, I do tend to just walk and swing, taking metal note of any good signals, and will work my way back to dig them one the onlooker is gone.

I do this for mainly two reasons:

1) Digging is what usually gets negative attention real fast. I can still be productive and detect objects and not lose time detecting, but can avoid a potential "hey, you can't dig here" situation.

2) If I do dig and find something real good like gold or an old coin, I really don't like others watching over my shoulder. This avoids scenarios of people making false claims when they see you find something, or some Barney Fife or busy-body claiming your find as city property.

If you are detecting without permission on private property, or on a park or property with known "no detecting rules", then you can be nervous cause you will probably get booted. Rules are rules, and even though they can suck big time, it gives a cop a reason to hassle you.

 

[RobRieman]

I do the same, if someone is walking by and I get a good signal I will drop a quarter I dug so it's real easy to locate again once the busy body is gone instead of dropping and digging a hole. Then when they have left I will swing back and recover the target. Out of site-Out of mind

 

[luke3026]

Yeah the key is to act like you belong there (because after all we DO). When I see a cop drive by, I smile and wave.

If you act shady people will think you're up to something shady.

 

[lookindown]

I hunt a local park today and kept looking up for a police officer come kick me out of the park, it just uncomfortable even through a have permit to metal detect all city parks.

The more you do it , the more comfortable you will feel.

 

[Dogtirednj]

It's funny, about 2 weeks ago I was hunting a sight with permission when I noticed a police car pull up. Cop got out and headed right for me. Took off my head phones to chat and explained I had the owners permission blah blah blah. Turns out some neighbor called and said I looked "shifty and nervous". I had to laugh because I knew what she meant. The site is a bit remote and draws some truly odd folks and with the headphones on I can't tell if someone's coming. I frequently look around to be sure I'm not being snuck up on. All ended up fine but now I laugh when I catch myself looking around nervously.

 

[TheRingFinder]

Being uncomfortable ruins the hunt, that's for sure. I had permission to hunt an open lot owned by the local church, a neighbor to the lot came out yelling at me. I calmly told him that I have permission and to please go back in his yard. Everything was fine, though, I was mad and uncomfortable and just decided to leave and come back another day.

 

[mcb]

It's funny, about 2 weeks ago I was hunting a sight with permission when I noticed a police car pull up. Cop got out and headed right for me. Took off my head phones to chat and explained I had the owners permission blah blah blah. Turns out some neighbor called and said I looked "shifty and nervous". I had to laugh because I knew what she meant. The site is a bit remote and draws some truly odd folks and with the headphones on I can't tell if someone's coming. I frequently look around to be sure I'm not being snuck up on. All ended up fine but now I laugh when I catch myself looking around nervously.

I can completely relate haha! Depending on the area I'm skittish not because I'm doing something wrong but because of the characters around me.

I have had people shadow and follow me asking questions. Honestly if I'm in the zone I do whatever I can to get them to go away. Normally showing them a bag of finds filled with pull tabs and rusted metal pieces (I keep good finds in another bag). I get asked what I find, why I do it, and for how long type of questions. One park I go to the same group of retired people go. I can hear them greeting one another by name, very sweet. Anyway they were watching me at first but after talking to a few of them they're very friendly with me and my kids when we go.

 

[cudamark]

When I "feel the eyes upon me" from anyone from kids to a cop, I immediately go into slow-mo mode. I just shuffle along at a snail's pace, no recoveries, and make it look as boring as possible. They get tired of seeing nothing and go about their business......then I can get back to mine without interruption. It's best to just fade into the background as much as possible.

 

[myfantasia1]

I do the same I just dig, if I get a bad feeling that I am getting stared at a little to long. I just watch them and make sure no one gets behind me. Really only had this happen one time and since I kept facing them as they moved around me, they gave up.

 

[Fourwayz]

Yep, I know the feeling oh so well. Being of a darker persuasion AND carrying a detector in parks gets me stares galore. But I have yet to be "ratted out" or approached by law enforcement. I just act as if the park is mine.

 

[OCPickle]

There is some great advice here. Quite frankly it is a breath of fresh air. As one of those cops I can't tell you how true it is. An honest answer with a big smile will go longer than most people realize.

 

[jimzz977]

Thanks for the advise that's my I joined treasure net it great people . I decide to my change the way I detect hit parks early morning or evening times. There's some places ill live hunt but they're to close to city offices and a lot of traffic so going stay away .

 

[mcb]

I do the same I just dig, if I get a bad feeling that I am getting stared at a little to long. I just watch them and make sure no one gets behind me. Really only had this happen one time and since I kept facing them as they moved around me, they gave up.

Downright scary!

 

[ToddB64]

Yeah the key is to act like you belong there (because after all we DO). When I see a cop drive by, I smile and wave.

If you act shady people will think you're up to something shady.

luke3026,

I do like you do........act like you belong there and be friendly, smile & give the cops a wave ! If they stop near you and act interested, take a break and walk over and spend a little time talking, but watch their body language for signs that they want to move on.

ToddB64

 

[Prestigitation Digger]

Only takes one off duty do-gooder to ruin your day. Have fun with the permit in your police state. Raise the black flag and enjoy your nonviolent hobby. The clowns that harass you now will be busy burying their uniforms one day to be unearthed again in the future.