Newbie advice - Where do I go?

[addlepated]

Hi there!

I bought a metal detector "for my husband" (actually I think it was kinda for me) for Christmas this year. It's a Bounty Hunter Tracker IV. I'm located in Austin, TX. Apparently, using a metal detector in national, state, and city parks is prohibited. The local schools have no trespassing signs on them. Before I realized I couldn't go to city parks, I went to a close-by one and found a zillion pop tops and a nice chunk of what could be a meteorite.

So... where the heck do I go? There's not much in my yard other than old buried juice cans.

Additionally, if anyone has thoughts on what settings I should use for best performance, I'd love to hear them. Oh, and what's the best tool for digging?

Thanks!

 

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[mvSWAT]

Oh the perverbial question....the schools here have no trespassing posted on them but that is so they can use that in case they want an unwelcome visitor on their property during school hours. I've never yet been told I can't detect on school property, use good judgement and don't tear up the grounds and you should be okay there. Are all of the city parks off limits? Again I don't have any problems there and even the grounds keepers don't mind my presence since they can hardly even see that I've been there. I enjoy finding abandoned properties in the country and older places in town, asking permission is hard at first but you'd be surprized how many will welcome you. Lots of diggers to choose from, lots of types of holes...just keep it clean and neat, practice practice practice. Your Bounty Hunter will produce well for you. Happy hunting. Dan

 

[PAdigs]

Hi,

As far as advice tuning your Bounty Hunter machine you might want to check this site out.

Best of Luck


http://www.detecting.com/forum/profile.php

 

[rjnail]

try checking the schools after school hours , should be no trouble then,

 

[greenswinger]

I think that in austin you can get a permit from city . never been ther but was going to wedding last yr , and looked it up..to find what rules were ...if i remember right there is no charge for permit .

 

[Jeffro]

This may sound too simple, but just call the school and ask for permission. I've never been turned down. Contact the local parks department, also. They may issue a permit for detecting the parks. I have been told by numerous sources that i "can't do that here".... well I just show them my permit, and they shut up.

Go up to peoples doors- believe it or not, it works. Find old houses with torn up yards, ones that may be in line for a remodel. You have a better chance of being able to detect these than a well manicured lawn, no matter how much you promise not to tear it up.

Any old abandoned houses on the outskirts of town? Check with the county for ownership, and give the owner a call, never hurts to ask. They can only tell you no.... but you'd be surprised how many times they say yes.

That should give you enough leads to last the rest of your life, LOL! Good luck out there!

 

[mumszie]

The schools here in my county all have signs posted at every entrance that you HAVE to have written permission to be on school property signed by the school superintendent. I have asked twice now and both times they said NO! There reason was "It just wouldn't look right." sigh As for the parks.... There are State, County and City parks and you have to get permission from each one. If it is a State park.... chances are (here anyway) they will say NO. Some of the gng's on here have been able to get permission for State parks (or they hunt them without permission). I have never had any trouble with the County parks, they just tell me not to leave any uncovered holes and don't hunt in the atleletic fields because of the well kept grass. City parks are about half and half. Some say yes some say I can "scan" but can NOT dig (not even a couple of inches). Don't forget the parking areas if they are grass!

All is not lost. I bet you have some small bars (taverns) out your way. The kind that do not have a paved parking lot. Ask if you can hunt the parking lot.... People drink they lose change and jewelry. I seem to be doing fairly well in the parking lots.

Try asking your local churches if you can hunt their playgrounds. I haven't had the best of luck getting permission here but every once in awhile one will say YES. I had a very small 1929 Catholic Church give me permission and I was ecstatic! I didn't find much there. Three pennies, a file, an old key and a chunk of metal.

Do you know anyone that is in Real Estate? Try asking them if you can hunt some of the properties they may have for sale?

Local fairgrounds. I have been unable to get permission to hunt our local fairgrounds but... don't forget the tracks! Tracks where they hold car races or motorcycle races. Definitely do not forget the parking lots in those areas.

Where do people go for the July 4th fireworks?
Where do people go for Labor Day picnics?
Where do people go for swimming, tubing, etc? Get the picture? Where do people go?
THAT'S WHERE TO HUNT!

Well that is just a few..... I hope that helps. HH

 

[addlepated]

Thanks for the many good suggestions! In fact, at my daughter's school they have told us many times that we are welcome to use the playground and fields after hours, which I had forgotten about in this context.

I also have a site in South Texas on a ranch where there's an old homestead which has turned up antique bottles, and I'll be there in February. On the same land are two sites where train depots used to be in the early 1900s. I'm very much looking forward to hunting there!

It also looks like the county parts don't have restrictions on hunting, and there's a county park swimming hole just down the road.

 

[JW]

What about the beaches at some of the lakes? I remember those as crowd areas in the summer... Demo sites too!

HH

JW

 

[dglockster]

You might try Hippie Hollow.

 

[Night Stalker]

Anywhere large numbers of people gather. County fairs, fireworks, abandon lots used for yard sales, most anywhere people gather you'll always find something.

As far as a digger - Lesche. They are indestructable, last a lifetime.

 

[azmetaldetector]

I called my city parks and recreation department and they said there are no restirctions on MD and no permits required...sweet. So then i email the city of Phoenix AZ parks and recreation department and they say it is not allowed. I inquire further and ask if there is a statute against it as each and every park has a sign that indicates what's allowed and not allowed and those all appear to be statutes. Teh city website lists what's allowed and not allowed. Never is it ever in writing that MD is not allowed). The guy tells me there is no statute against it, it's just deparment policy so as not to potentially damage irrigation systems and for liability.
Well if there is no statute against it, is it illegal? These are city parks? To me, as long as I'm careful and cover my holes nicely and don't dig grave sized holes, I think that there is nothing that they can do. Opinions?

 

[mumszie]

Welllllllllll I know others feel that city and county parks are supposed to be public so they don't even ask, but for me.... I ask and if they tell me no... then I don't hunt there. It's a real bummer because I have even offered to sign a waiver so I can't sue them if I get hurt etc. But to me... no is NO. That really is a problem here in Florida as far as the schools are concerned. Every school I've asked has said NO, every county fairgrounds (except one) has told me no. It's a real bummer.