Basic Questions about Hunting Parks

[Overkill Overkill]

Hello all,

I have never posted on this forum but have posted some on the Shallow Water and Beach forum.

Forgive the simplicity of these questions please:
I am using a Sea Hunter Mark II on land!!!!! I know, crazy. But I have a pinpointer as well. My questions: do you usually need a license? How far down do you dig? What size shovel do you use? Is there a protocol for digging up grass- in other words, do you simply return the grass to as close to the condtion it was when you find it? I feel like I am doing something wrong digging up small, small holes in the grass even though I put the dirt and grass back. What can one expect to find in a public park? I get a lot of beeps on land with my Sea Hunter. Any other tips would be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks

 

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[Saturna]

Hello all,

I am using a Sea Hunter Mark II on land!!!!! I know, crazy.

Better than using a land detector in the water, I guess.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Not sure about your sea hunter's ability on land. Does it have discrimination to knock out the iron?

As far as how deep are targets, what do you use to dig, etc.. etc... I would highly suggest you practice in non-turf for awhile. Like cow pasture type-spots, vacant lots, forests/woods campgrounds type places, etc...) before you tackle manicured park turf. Because it sounds like land hunting is going to be new to you. Once you get the hang of sounds, depths, retreiving, etc... THEN worry about doing turf, and leaving no sign of your presense. When you get to that point, you can practice in a low-profile discreet area (like turf where no one's gonna be a busy-body snoop) by getting a plastic catch matt, making a plug (keep the dirt in-tact on the bottom), etc.... When you re-pack it, be sure to stomp of with your foot super flat.

As far as licenses: No, you don't need licenses. There might be obscure locations (some cities or counties) that you'll hear of on the internet, where such a thing has been introduced, but it is very rare. If you have any doubts on your locale, look up city or county codes at city or county hall's website. Rules for parks, schools, etc... are usually there, available for public viewing. If it is silent on the subject of md'ing, then so be it Rules are also usually posted on a wooden sign at park and school yard entrances.

 

[Swartzie]

Lots of targets you won't even need to dig. You can use a screwdriver to pop them out. If they're only a couple inches down you can probe with a screwdriver to locate the object then proceed to pop it out. If it's in range of your pinpointer then you can pop it out.

-Swartzie

 

[Smudge]

Overkill,

Use of a pulse induction detector on land is really, really bad idea unless you happen to be relic hunting. PI detectors offer no discrimination, and you're really going to want that on land. Using a PI detector at a park will be hell for you. Don't do it. And this is coming from a guy who likes PI detectors.

1. No, you do not need a license to detect in city/county parks. Some parks do not allow metal detecting, so check the posted park rules at the entrance. If you're going to a state park, call and ask ahead of time if they'll allow metal detectors. Most won't, some will.

2. 80%-90% of all targets you dig will be retrieved from 6" or less, no matter what kind if metal detector you're using.

3. Bringing a shovel into a park is probably not the best way to go. A hand digger like the Lesche is among the most popular and I use one too. You will cut as small a plug as possible to retrieve your target. Also bring a small towel to put the excess dirt you may need to dig. Pour the dirt back in the hole and replace the plug and it should look like you were hardly there.

4. You can find anything at public parks: coins, jewelry, bullets, keys, cans, pulltabs, shredded aluminum (caught by lawn mowers), etc.

Leave the Sea Hunter for beach hunting. Trust me on that. Get yourself a simple land detector for parks and schoolyards, preferably one with a smaller coil due to the high levels of trash you'll likely encounter. The Tesoro Compadre is my first choice, but lots of folks will also recommend the Ace 250.

 

[George (MN)]

According to Garrett website, the Sea Hunter II has 2 modes: standard discrimination (salt rejection) & Discrete Trash Elimination mode that "eliminates most pulltabs and foil". So might it be usable in parks? HH, George (MN)

 

[Monty]

I had PI Seahunter II and it wasn't worth a hoot for parks. For one thing it's too deep. I wouldn't want to dig an 18" deep hole in the grass of our local parks. It has very minimal discrimination. And regardless of what the manual says, if you want to find gold rings, jewelry, etc, you must dig a lot of pulltabs. The Seahunter will work well on sandy beaches however. And like smudge said, you really need a different type machine for hunting parks. The Seahunter II was really designed for saltwater use such as surf hunting or underwater diving. If you don't hunt in water or dive, you would probably be better off trading it to someone for another machine. I traded my Seahunter II for another brand of waterproof detector that does have the ability to discriminate out iron to a member here on Tnet. I only occasionally hunt freshwater beaches with shallow wading depth. Monty