Another city bans metal detecting

[ofallon.patch.com]

I saw this link on a different forum and thought I'd share it. This kind of thing seems to be happening with increasing frequency.

Apparently another town is for all intents and purposes banning metal detecting.

You cannot detect at:
•Athletic fields
•Historical areas
•Irrigated lawns
•Archaeological sites
•Landscaped areas
•Any area with a sign prohibiting metal detecting.

Other areas are OK to detect but with a probe only and the finds must be turned over to the city!

How ironic that this town has an annual Heritage and FREEDOM Festival...

I would guess they should thank all those shows on TV with the BIG mouthed wrestler and the others and most likely a few "complainers" that have seen people detecting in the parks that most likely watch or have seen those shows too.

How long does anyone think it will take for bureaucratic dumbaxx'es to see that crap on tv, get a few complaints from Mr./Mrs whiner 49er and then bring it up to the city council that the detecting hobbyist are running around town making millions on their finds in the city parks while leaving trenches and holes that can swallow a car because that's what they've been hearing via complaints?? And why else would they "require" you to turn in ALL finds made in city parks!? Just because they want all the "junk" and Zincolns we all dig? Or could it be that somehow they got the "impression" that we're getting RICH from digging the stuff in the parks!?

I'm sure they didn't just pull that from their axx one day just because they had nothing better to do and felt like banning detecting just for the hell of it!

I could be wrong but... just my .02 and since it's become way more common (hearing about more and more bans on the hobby) over the last yr or 2 since all those shows hit the scene...

I would carry a pocket full of slaw and turn it in. Anything of value would go in watch pocket or in hatband. Some rules are just made to be broken. Stupid people. I have encountered problems from the 2 shows that are ruining the hobby. But that's another story.

For sure those stupid shows have really put us all in a bad light
in the eyes of the general public.

Making an absolute mess, bringing in a back hoe, taking decks apart . . .

Staged finds, staged dealers offering inflated easy big money probably
supported heavily by the TV Show Revenues.
TV network influence . . . and Money had to change hands in order to
get access to some of the historic sites I have seen on these shows . . .

I now know even before the stupid shows . . . we were in a tough spot
and we are all viewed as somewhat weird.

There have been a lot of unfortunate situations were teenagers and other
dummies went into parks and other places obviously inappropriate . . .
made a mess and left it that way.

Don't know if even a NASA Tom Show could turn all that around?

I totally agree with you guys about the metal detecting shows. I've won't go into all my issues with these shows again, I'll just say they are not a positive for the hobby.

The one with the wrestler is obviously worse than Diggers, but to my mind Diggers is even worse for the hobby because it is the one that is most likely to bring newbies into the hobby with no direction whatsoever on how to do it right and a heavy dose of frat boy stupidity that leads many new to the hobby to think anything goes.

The surprising thing to me is how many people in our hobby not only enjoy the show but defend it as well.

Over on the AT Pro forum at that big MD forum site there is a recent thread titled "To all you new to the AT series of detectors!!"

I posted my issues with the shows and just about everybody else who posted defended the shows or said how much they enjoyed them.

The basic premise was that the shows are for entertainment and to capture the attention of non-detecting viewers they have to compete with other outrageous "reality" shows.

Those who have issues with the way the show portrays the hobby and encourages new detectorists without any instruction were labeled as "holier-than-thou"



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/17/2013 01:06PM by marcomo.

This is just awful stuff - towns shutting off detecting.
If I lived there I'd get every guy I knew that detects into town hall for a meeting.

ok yes i think these guys on the tv show are idiots but it did pull me into this hobby. im not all about making money off it ( im happy with it just giving me clad coins to buy batteries) but i did my research about the hobby before i bought a detector so i knew what i was getting into. bottom line is tv or not some people who dont have respect to the city or its residents are ruining it. the park districts i go in require registration and they will pop in and check to make sure your filling holes and taking the trash with you. if you dont they simply ban that one person not everybody but this is a rarity for an area to do this. i think if people see us policing are own they might not be as hard on it. just a thought and please dont take this like im blaming anybody or defending thee shows lol cuz lets face it " BOOOOOMMMM BBBAABBY" is just f'in stupid.

marcomo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> [ofallon.patch.com]
> etector-hobbyists-restricted-must-trn-over-finds
>
> I saw this link on a different forum and thought
> I'd share it. This kind of thing seems to be
> happening with increasing frequency.
>
> Apparently another town is for all intents and
> purposes banning metal detecting.
>
> You cannot detect at:
> •Athletic fields
> •Historical areas
> •Irrigated lawns
> •Archaeological sites
> •Landscaped areas
> •Any area with a sign prohibiting metal
> detecting.
>
> Other areas are OK to detect but with a probe only
> and the finds must be turned over to the city!
>
> How ironic that this town has an annual Heritage
> and FREEDOM Festival...


amazing! didn't realize people even paid attention to us anymore!
nobody seems to give two s**ts about it in my neck of the woods.
i believe they figure it's just somebody that's got no life,so why bother!
just sayin'

(h.h.!)
j.t.

Yep, another nail in the coffin, indeed...

As other posters do, I feel the t.v. shows have a LOT to do with the increased scrutiny of our hobby...but, one cannot simply blame these shows with too broad a brush. Yes, the one with the wrestler is pure & utter garbage, no two ways about it. However, there HAVE been some good shows, as well. There was one called 'Mudlarkers', which was set in England and featured Chicago Ron. That one was exceptionally good. There were a few more that really showcased the hobby in a good light. Sure, the good shows are in the minority, however, I think the REAL bottom line here is this...

I've been predicting & touting for the past few years that the only future left in this hobby is for beach hunting and private property. Period. Beaches for the obvious reasons; easy digging where open holes left behind aren't a major problem due to the tide filling them back in & the fact that they are constantly replenished by the beach goers & storm/tidal action. They will always be there and have goodies aplenty. Parks on the other hand...

Once the old silver & gold comes out, what's left? Nothing. Or, rather, nothing that a modern detector can reach due to items being beyond a certain depth strata. Furthermore, even if the items WERE reachable, you're now talking about digging down 12, 15 or god only knows how many inches to retrieve a target...in a public park! We're WAY beyond cutting a tiny plug here guys, or using the screwdriver method to 'pop' a coin out, lol. And lets not even throw in all the idiots without proper digging technique leaving behind junk, open holes, etc. The public parks have been - and quickly are - reaching a point of diminishing returns. So...

Private property is the 'new frontier'. Fully stocked with goodies, no asinine rules or regulations to deal with, never being hunted before still a plethora of 'good' items at reasonable depths, etc., etc., etc. 25 years ago when there might have been one detectorist that had a whole town park to hunt for himself. And stuff wasn't that deep. Now, you have MANY more hunters with FEWER places to hunt & fewer easy items in the ground to be had. The good ol' days are over, for sure.

That's why you are starting to see detecting clubs nowadays taking a more archaeological approach; they donate a lot of found items from hunts to historical museums, work in conjunction with the local historical societies, etc. Some are even partnering up WITH archeologists! Some clubs have purposely 'official' names; The Central Wisconsin Research & Retrieval Group, lmao They are doing all this because they too see the writing on the wall. They know they have to change course if they want access to the only thing that's left...private property. They are trying very hard to undo all the damage done to this hobby over the years & still have some places to hunt.

What's done is done. And it'll only get worse with the parks Better to keep an eye toward the future & begin taking a different approach to the hobby...or have no hobby left in a few years.

Yes, the TV shows are NOT trying to positively promote this hobby!!!!!!! It is ridiculous!!!! I tell everyone I see....Please don't believe what you see or hear on those shows. It's all about money money money. There hasn't been a TV show made in 20 years that actually had human interest at heart. It is all about money!!! That's why the channels are jammed full of sitcoms that a 9th grader could write!!!!! I ONLY watch PBS (and THEN, cautiously), shows like NOVA and Masterpiece Theatre. And I watch Fox news cause Iike to hear em beating up on the libs. And I like to hear the weather man lie to me. There is only ONE MAN who can really predict the weather, far as I'm concerned. Yeah, as I sit down here in this house by myself, I am likely going a bit crazy (I like to call me eccentric...sounds better)......plus I am going through a monstrous mid-aged crisis right now. I'm S'POSED to be cantankerous. But yeah, that BOOM BABY slob, (you can spit flying from his big flappin soup coolers when he yells it) hhas done more to harm our hobby/past-time than to help it. Rushing down to the buyer/broker with his daily finds and wagging his wad of bills around in front of the camera!!!! Grrrrrrr!!!!@#$%^ He is making it plain what his precise motive is!!!!! He wants to buy more twinkies to cram in those distended jowls!!!!!!

njnydigger nailed it. "Private property is the 'new frontier'"

After endlessly detecting state parks, schools, community parks, forest trails, etc, I'd have to agree that the real untapped resource is private landowners and old abandoned homesteads. That resource will not likely ever be exhausted or ruled off-limits by a panel of bureaucrats.

Banning metal detecting in my town has recently happened as well. It has put me at a terrible loss for words over it.

Tim N Wrote:
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> Banning metal detecting in my town has recently
> happened as well. It has put me at a terrible loss
> for words over it.

Fight it, Tim Take it to the highest level you can with a group of other local hunters & rip the beuracrats a new @$$hole! A group of detectorists did just that near me in NY. They banned hunting in certain parks & the detectorists started a petition, got the media involved, etc. They wound up winning Even if its slim pickings in the places they banned in your neck of the woods, doesn't matter. The POINT is detectorists pay their fair share of taxes too, and should have a place to practice their hobby if its not hurting anybody. Give it a shot. You'll definitely lose if you DON'T try.

Yes, I think that a proper education and subsequent understanding might make city council members realize that we are NOT like those oafs on TV who are out to get rich quick. I am with those people who say: Fight it. But use 'proper knowledge' as your two edged sword. When people stop in the road and ask: "What ya hunting fer?" I simply tell them that I'd like to find a wheat penny, or if I'm lucky, a dime, to add to my new coin collection. And that, in essence, is all I am really trying to do. Just like stamp collecting, only with a machine. I make sure to tell them that "If I was to count on this detector for making me rich.....I'd be in the poorhouse now.!" And that part is true as well. Here lately, a simple wheat penny has been a challenge to find. But I hunt private property exclusively. None of our parks are historical. Our city park was founded in 1970 something.

My town is very old and rich with history. It was founded in the late 1700's. It's a shame all that history is being left for no one like us enthusiasts to find and restore, collect, etc.

When I started detecting in the 1970's , most detectorists went detecting early morning or in the evening hours, or in crummy weather, so we did not draw much attention to our hobby.
I no longer hear much of the subtle approach any more.

Tim N Wrote:
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> My town is very old and rich with history. It was
> founded in the late 1700's. It's a shame all that
> history is being left for no one like us
> enthusiasts to find and restore, collect, etc.

Tim, read my post & what others have written If I can make a suggestion...

Start a petition. I'll be the first to sign it for you. All of that can be done electronically nowadays - meaning, people can sign their name online. I'm sure the other stand-up guys on this site would sign it, as well. Then, get other hunters you know in your area to sign, co-workers, family, etc. Once you have 100, 200 signatures (the more the better), go to a town hall meeting & let your voice be heard. A quick call to your local news station wouldn't hurt either. Give'em a story to run with! Tell'm you've been hunting X number of years, you're into retrieving history from long ago in the ground, you dont want to leave your house no more you're so upset with the ban, etc., etc., etc. Make it emotional. The local politicians will be bombarded with bad press. Everybody loves the underdog Like I said earlier, if you don't fight it, you definitely lose.

Just because they pass a law, doesn't make it right. I would just continue detecting. They banned dredging here in kalifornia, hasn't stopped a lot of folks. Screw them.

It's not just the shows guys, first I been hunting for over 10 years now, 99 percent alone, this winter I found a honey hole and pull out over 100 solver dimes, 35 silver quarters, 10 silver rings and 6 gold rings and many other finds in a two week period, in 10 years of beach hunting, I have seen 2 people hunting on the beach, in this 2 week period, I saw 30 different hunters and they were all scum but one, they dug big holes and didn't fill them in, this is a local beach to me, I got chewed out by the townies, so I started to scream at the detectors who were filling their holes and they told me to kiss off and went on doing it, the price of gold brought out some real scum bags, and they found out the beaches by who posted and searched their areas, we brought it on ourself, we need to police ourself and start turning in these people, or we are only going to be able to hunt our own yards, and they will ban that too