Harassed at my local ball field

[Corey Shadler]

I was hunting at my local ball field last night. A guy came over and was very angry about me being there. I tried to explain to him that I had already checked with the police and our mayor years ago and there are no laws against it. I tried to explain to him and show him how I do not destroy anything by cutting out the plug of grass and filling my holes back in and putting the plug of grass back so you can't even tell I was there. I could understand his point if I was sloppy and not filling in my holes or not putting the grass plug back in. He said he doesn't care . He told me he is a member of the borough council and at the next town meeting he is going to purpose a law outlawing metal detecting in our town. Any suggestions of how I can stop this guy from passing this law?

 

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[Charlie P. (NY)]

Hi Charlie. I think the "average person" would see the evil of someone waltzing down the lanes of a bowling alley (on a busy Saturday night) and .... yes ... get thrown out. Is that how you equate md'ing to ? That an md'r in a park is on that same level of eye-sore-evil-ness ? If so, then the analogy holds true.

But why do you think of md'ing in that light ? Are we really as obnoxious as someone waltzing across the lanes of an open busy bowling alley ??



Same logic: Do YOU leave ruts and uneven ground after retrieving coins ? If so: I would suggest you take "target recovery 101 class" all over again. For most of us, we leave no trace. So .... I don't understand the implied tones of your message here.

A bowler with someone "disrespecting" his lanes is very much like a ballplayer seeing someone "disrespecting" his ball field by digging in it with no good reason. I have been accused (loudly) of stealing because I was detecting in a public park. There are LOTS of people who consider us vandals and thiefs. And the groundskeeper whose boss reams him for spots on the field and baselines will hate us passionately.

How I see it makes no difference; though I am very careful and even use a rubber pad to place the dirt on so I can pour it back in the hold before flipping the sod lid back over - dried dirt on top of grass looks like damaged grass and a messy dig. How the general public sees it is very much relevant in a public place. Lots of folks consider us pretty creepy to begin with. Lurking arund while pretending to be interested in digging up a few cents - who does that?

 

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[Xraywolf]

A bowler with someone "disrespecting" his lanes is very much like a ballplayer seeing someone "disrespecting" his ball field by digging in it with no good reason. I have been accused (loudly) of stealing because I was detecting in a public park. There are LOTS of people who consider us vandals and thiefs. And the groundskeeper whose boss reams him for spots on the field and baselines will hate us passionately.

How I see it makes no difference; though I am very careful and even use a rubber pad to place the dirt on so I can pour it back in the hold before flipping the sod lid back over - dried dirt on top of grass looks like damaged grass and a messy dig. How the general public sees it is very much relevant in a public place. Lots of folks consider us pretty creepy to begin with. Lurking arund while pretending to be interested in digging up a few cents - who does that?

I think you are drastically overblowing things, either that or had more than your fair share or weird experiences.
Maybe you just look creepy to begin with and people would think that no matter what you are doing, I don't know.
I've been out and about in all kinds of settings over a decade, secluded and public, never had any of these prevalent negative reactions you are alluding to.

Most people recognize it for the hobby that it is, finding lost "treasure", and don't read much more into it. If they do then that is their problem, not mine.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

....digging in it with no good reason....

Only if the person "digging" leaves "holes", does the analogy hold true.

.... I have been accused (loudly) of stealing because I was detecting in a public park. There are LOTS of people who consider us vandals and thiefs.....

Ah yes, to this I agree: There will ALWAYS be some occasional busy-body lookie-lous who .... at the mere SIGHT of a man with a detector will think "holes". Or "Thieves". Or "cultural heritage", blah blah blah. Agreed. Yes: MD'ing *does* have admitted connotations. But if we stoop to the lowest common denominator and think we can please all-such-people, is the day we can all just give up md'ing. Heck, I even had a lady on the beach tell me that my detector was bothering her dog once. (I think she thought it emitted a frequency that only dogs heard ??). Do you really think we are going to please every last person ?

The solution to such flukes is to give lip service and move on. And for nice manicured turfed lawns ....... go at night or such odd-ball hours when said-mr or mrs. lookie-lou isn't present. The alternative of trying to please every last person will drive an md'r nuts. There will ALWAYS be someone who "doesn't like it". I certainly wish this wasn't the case, but ... this is an odd-ball hobby where (at least for nice manicured turf) you need to be a little discreet, choose better timing, and have a tough skin.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

....I've been out and about in all kinds of settings over a decade, secluded and public, never had any of these prevalent negative reactions you are alluding to......

Yes and No.

Yes: the common reaction of passerbys is not one of disdain or gripe. In fact, it's the opposite. Genuine curiosity of "wow what's the best thing you've ever found?" and "how deep does it go?"

But No, is that there's admittedly (especially in nice manicured turf) sometimes going to be a griper. And here's what psychologically happens: If such-a-gripe occurs 1 time, yet the other 100 times was people who pay-you-no mind, or actually come up and are curious nice, well, guess which is the 1 time an md'r is bound to remember ?

So it's sort of like shark attack stories: 10000 people per day, all year long, can swim w/o issue. But the minute a SINGLE shark attack occurs, guess what makes front page news ? So too is it with md'ing I believe: A skittish person (if they have an aversion to anyone else's negativity) will amplify the single fluke to be the "norm". When the reality is: rare and flukes.

At least for regular places (forest, beaches, desert, fields, sand, etc...) Admittedly if you're on a nicely manicured lawn @ a sensitive historical park, well ... then "shark attacks" might go up Solution: go at lower traffic times. It's gotten to where I do 90% of my turf hunting at night nowadays. So peaceful. So serene

 

[A2coins]

We own these parks you the taxpayer tell him to pound sand and whatever issues he has inside himself where he feels the need to vent at other people and spread his unhappiness. A lot of people these days feel like they and their opinions should be the way everyone lives.We who fought for our Country and freedom and whos parents did as well fought for rights and freedoms , Tell the old goat to get a life ...Spoiled self centered BRAT!!! Sorry had to vent. Lets have a club hunt there lol

 

[Xraywolf]

Yes and No.

Yes: the common reaction of passerbys is not one of disdain or gripe. In fact, it's the opposite. Genuine curiosity of "wow what's the best thing you've ever found?" and "how deep does it go?"

But No, is that there's admittedly (especially in nice manicured turf) sometimes going to be a griper. And here's what psychologically happens: If such-a-gripe occurs 1 time, yet the other 100 times was people who pay-you-no mind, or actually come up and are curious nice, well, guess which is the 1 time an md'r is bound to remember ?

So it's sort of like shark attack stories: 10000 people per day, all year long, can swim w/o issue. But the minute a SINGLE shark attack occurs, guess what makes front page news ? So too is it with md'ing I believe: A skittish person (if they have an aversion to anyone else's negativity) will amplify the single fluke to be the "norm". When the reality is: rare and flukes.

At least for regular places (forest, beaches, desert, fields, sand, etc...) Admittedly if you're on a nicely manicured lawn @ a sensitive historical park, well ... then "shark attacks" might go up Solution: go at lower traffic times. It's gotten to where I do 90% of my turf hunting at night nowadays. So peaceful. So serene

I never hunt nicely manicured lawns, this thread isn't about that and I don't know where that cropped up from.
I asked the OP days ago on page 1 if it was manicured, he said no it was ratty, I take him at his word.

It is self evident why one should not dig holes in nicely manicured lawns, unless you own it.

 

[b3y0nd3r]

Council members need votes to get reelected. Show up with a petition or a large group. Let them know YOUR votes count.

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

I think you are drastically overblowing things, either that or had more than your fair share or weird experiences.
Maybe you just look creepy to begin with and people would think that no matter what you are doing, I don't know.

Yes on all three. ;-)

I truly have had moms on at least three separate occasions get in my face for detecting at a town park. One did call me "a thief" for taking lost money. The others were just mother bears who saw me as a threat, I guess. Dressed business casual - but I am 6'2" though hardly grizzly in appearance. I look like Captain Kangaroo. And maybe that creeped them out, too. I used to work a few hundred yards from one and detected there on my lunch hours. And I also knew the groundskeeping staff and even though we were on good terms (still am) I know how they felt about diggers on any playing surface - so I have them wide berth. Though I did hit the edges of the foul-lines well and found a few nice rings. And I started on good terms because I sought out the parks maintenance chief and asked him BEFORE I started detecting at the park.

In fact, one day the town supervisor (a snarky woman by experience and reputation) came over to ask what I was doing as I was searching a spot that had been de-sodded for a monument pad. I said "I have Tom Dxxxxxxx's permission to detect here" and it was all roses after that.

 

[Xraywolf]

Yes on all three. ;-)

I truly have had moms on at least three separate occasions get in my face for detecting at a town park. One did call me "a thief" for taking lost money. The others were just mother bears who saw me as a threat, I guess. Dressed business casual - but I am 6'2" though hardly grizzly in appearance. I look like Captain Kangaroo. And maybe that creeped them out, too. I used to work a few hundred yards from one and detected there on my lunch hours. And I also knew the groundskeeping staff and even though we were on good terms (still am) I know how they felt about diggers on any playing surface - so I have them wide berth. Though I did hit the edges of the foul-lines well and found a few nice rings. And I started on good terms because I sought out the parks maintenance chief and asked him BEFORE I started detecting at the park.

In fact, one day the town supervisor (a snarky woman by experience and reputation) came over to ask what I was doing as I was searching a spot that had been de-sodded for a monument pad. I said "I have Tom Dxxxxxxx's permission to detect here" and it was all roses after that.

Better Cap'n Kangaroo than Mr Rodgers !
I rarely ever hunt parks, don't enjoy picking through the abundance of trash, so luckily I have largely missed out on the park detecting experience.

Stands to reason that the more people you are exposed to while doing anything, the greater the odds of friction.

 

[Iron Buzz]

Thanks for the good advice everyone! It would be a shame to loose this spot for me. Xraywolf. It's definitely not a modern ball field. No lights. Definitely not maintained well. There are ruts all throughout the infield from rain washouts. And every time I hunt there I find good stuff like this.View attachment 1479796

That is clearly a spot worth defending. If you haven't already done so (I'm not finished with this thread yet), go to the meeting to represent yourself. Dress well, and speak well. It could be that the guy that approached you is already known by the rest of the members to be a loose cannon, and all they will need is your sensible presence to shut him down.

 

[Corey Shadler]

Hit the ball field tonight again. Found three more silver coins. Pretty excited about the 43 war nickel. Then I looked up and I guess Lookie Lou was pretty excited too. He was spying on me from behind the dugout. This guy needs to get a life. Or a hobby like metal detecting. Looks like I'll be attending all the board meetings from now on. I will also be getting a letter from the grounds keepers since they don't mind me being there at all stating that I am not damaging anything. And the Mayor also lets me metal detect his personal properties all around town and he knows we don't damage anything. Looking forward to seeing Looser Lou at the next meeting.

 

[SD51]

Corey, nice bunch of finds there, you do need to continue to have access there! Hope bozo is done complaining. Keep in mind he is probably taking pictures of you now so go that extra mile (as you are probably already doing) by taking care of the grass after you remove the target.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Hit the ball field tonight again. Found three more silver coins. Pretty excited about the 43 war nickel. Then I looked up and I guess Lookie Lou was pretty excited too. He was spying on me from behind the dugout. ...

Corey, are you freaking kidding me ? He spotted you again ? As if the guy camps out there or something ? Well now perhaps he might actually try to propose a rule. And then sure, you WOULD have an issue to fight I suppose. Ie.: it might not be idle threats now.

When you say you went to the ball field "tonight", was it after dark ? Or before sunset ? I'm guessing you just meant late in the day, but not in the actual night, right ? If so, perhaps you'd have been better off to have done this park at true night-time-dark ? Highly unlikely that singular lookie-lou would have been there, or seen you then.

Here in CA we have a few nice-turfed parks where no actual *specific* rule exists. But .... in order to "keep the peace", we've gotten to where we just hunt them at night. Keeps things simple. Out of sight is out of mind. Why swat hornet's nests ? Perhaps your park should have been one-such-spot , given this singular lookie-lou busy-body ?

 

[Corey Shadler]

Corey, are you freaking kidding me ? He spotted you again ? As if the guy camps out there or something ? Well now perhaps he might actually try to propose a rule. And then sure, you WOULD have an issue to fight I suppose. Ie.: it might not be idle threats now.

When you say you went to the ball field "tonight", was it after dark ? Or before sunset ? I'm guessing you just meant late in the day, but not in the actual night, right ? If so, perhaps you'd have been better off to have done this park at true night-time-dark ? Highly unlikely that singular lookie-lou would have been there, or seen you then.

Here in CA we have a few nice-turfed parks where no actual *specific* rule exists. But .... in order to "keep the peace", we've gotten to where we just hunt them at night. Keeps things simple. Out of sight is out of mind. Why swat hornet's nests ? Perhaps your park should have been one-such-spot , given this singular lookie-lou busy-body ?

I was there around 7:30pm till about 8:30ish. Just before dark. The sign at the park says it's closed at dusk. So hunting it after dark would not be allowed which really stinks. I would much rather hunt at night to avoid the spectators. Oh well. I've got a good two weeks until the next board meeting. Maybe I can cover the entire field by then. As long as he doesn't shoot me with a sniper rifle.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

I was there around 7:30pm till about 8:30ish. Just before dark. The sign at the park says it's closed at dusk.....

Ahhh, so you *were* there during daylight hours. Ok.

As for signs saying "park closes at Sunset", I'm inclined to believe those are so that there's "teeth" to break up late night teenage keg parties. Or someone who thinks they're going to camp overnight in the park, etc...

As an example of this: I live right across the street from a city park in my town. And the park's wooden sign says , amongst other things "closes at sunset". Yet I can tell you for a fact that (gasp) you might see someone walking their dog through the park at night (d/t the greenbelt connects two disparate neighborhood streets). Or you might see a late night couple on a romantic stroll, etc... Yet the ONLY time anyone would ever call in a complaint, is if there was late-night loud ruckus going on .

 

[SeabeeRon]

While I understand Tom's views on hunting public property, I think for your situation you need to "fly under the radar" and follow any "posted" rule as to not draw attention and lose a good location.

 

[1869er]

I've been harassed before as well. Once I was detecting in a church parking lot that was just dirt and gravel and some neighbor across the street, busy body, threatened to call the police, even after explaining that if anything I'm helping by removing trash. I think some people just like telling others what to do. Makes them feel bigger. Technically I didn't have permission, so I left without further discussion.