When a policeman approaches you

[truckinbutch]

Nomination seconded , is there a question on the motion ?.........

 

[BIG61AL]

Be polite. If they try to hassle you because some cops are on a power trip just leave and go out of their patrol area and detect somewhere else. 99.9% are just doing their job by verifying what you are doing or are just plain curious.

 

[Skifisher]

I often detect parks and playground areas later in the evening when there are less people around. The parks in my area "close" at 10pm but I often hunt them well past midnight. Many times I have chatted with officers there where they sit to do paper work, and the park rangers will stop and chat, and even have unlocked the restrooms for me.
Only once did an officer totally freak out that I was detecting the wood chip area at 10:30pm. Questioned me with his hand fondling his gun the whole time. Even after he told me to leave he kept stopping and questioning me. I really think he wanted to use his side arm. Kinda funny almost. Just for the record... our local city police department has THE BEST patrol officers I have ever seen, damn tough on crime and fair and honest to law abiders. I feel safer when they are criusing the park while i'm there. Theres one in every crowd.

So, follow the rules, be respectful. leave no holes, take out the trash. You will rarely have an issue. Oh, and don't hold your digging tools when they approch

 

[BARGuy]

I'm working a city park in a small town in AZ. I keep having that old hunter's feeling that I'm Not alone/being watched. About 5-10 minutes later I see a shadow moving in from behind me. You guessed it...a local LEO. Asked me if I was looking for anything in particular, or...? Said he'd been alerted by a neighbor.

Bottom line, he says he's been watching me for some time & he appreciates all the trash I've recovered & the care I use in digging & covering my holes.

As someone said earlier, after that incident, we wave.

 

[DigginThePast]

D) Stick your hands in your pockets and act hostile. The officer, being scared, will back down.



How did I do?

 

[truckinbutch]

D) Stick your hands in your pockets and act hostile. The officer, being scared, will back down.



How did I do?

D.O.A.

 

[orviskid]

digging up is just a figure of speech. i realize i can't leave holes all over town. i was just wondering where i could go and not get in trouble. i didn't want to spend a fortune on a finder and get kicked out of every place i went to, even if i was following the rules. also, i've dug holes before and its really not a neat process, so how do you you do it neatly?? yah you pull up a plug, but if its a solid chunk of dirt, its not going back as neatly as it came out, no matter what you do. theres gonna be evidence that you've been there, unless all you guys are lawncare specialists.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

orviskid, yes you can do a plug-&-replace, without evidence of your doing. Here's a few tips:

1) don't go turf hunting in the middle of hot-dry seasons (middle of summer, etc...) because yes, the turf will have a harder time staying alive, and staying in-tact, if the ground is dry and crumbly (a plug will fall apart, roots die, etc... if hard and dry ground). So limit your turf hunting to when the ground is nice and moist.

2) Cut your plug deep, with the entire roots, and the ground still in-tact. Ie.: not just a "plug" of the grass only, but preferably with the entire root and dirt bottom in-tact.

3) Turn it upside down, once removed, to limit the crumbs and dirt getting on to the grass.

4) Use a catchmat for subsequent dirt removal from the hole. A good way to make a home-made catchmat, is to take a truck innertube (can find them in the dumpster behind large-truck truck-tire places). Cut a large-dinner-plate sized section from the portion where it curves to form a concave shape (like a contact lense type shape, yet dinner plate sized). These work great because they roll/fold up tight between uses, pop back out to full size easily, & resist dirt and moisture (ie.: don't get muddy like trying to use a towel would do).

5) When done, repack all the soil and re-set the plug. And.....

6) Very Important: Stomp on the plug to make sure it is level with the ground, & tightly repacked. I see too many people just put the soil and plug back in, then walk away. What happens is the plug sticks up a bit, and soil is not smunched to repack with the existing soil. The plug tends to be more visible, stands up to get kicked back out, etc... So be sure to stomp it for firm reconnection!

7) ruffle up any remaining crumbs with your fingers (in a raking/fluffing-up fashion).

 

[HCW]

A buddy of mine who's a cop loves to sneak up on me when I'm deep in it with my headphones on. Scares the crap out of me.

 

[Frank1960]

Just look at them and say "I didn't do it and I took the tape to so you don't have any proof" and of course you have to say this in a joking way. But no matter what they say when they are done thank them for doing what they do.

 

[spartacus53]

I just sit there and pick my teeth with my lesche knife, then I ask, "so what's your problem"?