Hey, Hey, from the eastern side..........

[BrianB]

Howdy, name's Brian from Western Mass. Hope I didn't get into this hobby to late, seeing I've been reading all the horror stories about laws, rules, and regs.

 

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[copperpenny]

Welcome from So Cal, HH !!!!!!

 

[jeff of pa]

LOL Welcome Brian !
Don't let those "horror stories" get ya down.

They are far and few between & some are even Exaggerated I'm sure

Just use common sense, you should be fine

 

[Metal Detecting Stuff]

Welcome Brian! You aren't too late, lots of stuff left to dig.

Wayne

www.metaldetectingstuff.com

 

[firemac]

welcome , its never too late

 

[ret-detector]

Welcome...

from Central Florida!


ret

 

[lilu_adc]

Welcome from Southern Cali. Just starting too and already said it's never too late.

 

[GMD52]

Welcome to a fellow hunter from New England, Don't worry about all the rules and laws, once you start to immerse yourself in any addiction, you find regulations. Use common sense, research what your searching, and most of all have fun!

 

[vpnavy]

Welcome aboard from the great state of Pennsylvania!

 

[smalltowngirl13]

Hello and welcome aboard Brian!

 

[BrianB]

Thanks for the welcome folks, even though I've had my detector for a few years, I still consider myself a newbie.

 

[hamiddetecting]

 

[Urban Grund]

Welcome from Michigan!

 

[Tom_in_CA]

....Hope I didn't get into this hobby to late, seeing I've been reading all the horror stories about laws, rules, and regs.

Brian, welcome from CA. I had to chuckle when I read your introduction. Because here's the psychology of the thing you point out as a concern: When people read about a new and unique thing they've never done before, their mind instinctively goes to isolate out the exceptions, the "what if's", etc...

For example: when there's a front page story in the newspaper that someone died in a sky-diving parachute accident (parachute didn't open), we all instinctivelly see the activity as "dangerous" risky, and so forth. All we can think about is "splat", right? But wait! What about those 10,000 other people who skydived at that same airport in recent years, and never had a problem? You see how the human mind focuses instead on the exceptions, rather than the "norm".

So too is it the same for detecting. I mean, no one wants to "be arrested". So if you or I read ONE story about someone getting a ticket or arrested, then presto, we think only of that, and wonder "gee, I wonder if I can detect?".

I saw this happen first-hand, 35 yrs. ago, when all-such-legal things started making the rounds. I saw that EVEN THOUGH there was utterly no problems or restrictions in my area, yet when people read the very first accounts (back when the FMDAC was in its infancy, or the very first stories in a magazine article), that the following phenomenom took place: When some such story was read aloud in the club meeting for the 30 attendees to hear, all of the sudden you could see their eyes become as big as silver dollars. Their demeanor turned to one of "oh no, it's "coming to a town near you". And oddly, it ALSO seemed to compel some of our member to go check with city personell in our area, "just to be sure". (which sometimes then resulted in "no's", where no one had ever had a problem before!).

So it became clear to me, that the ONLY thing that had changed, from before, till then, was simply the story that someone had read about. NEVERMIND that there was no problems where we were. NEVERMIND that this was an isolated incident. It didn't matter. The risk-assessment and caution level kicked in, even though, odds were, as long as you weren't being a nuisance, and not tromping on sensitive monuments, no one ever cared.