No one talks about it: Feeling awkward.

[SaintSea]

I've been at this hobby about 3 years now. I've hunted abandonded sites, church yards, old towns and the beaches (my favorites!). Initially I didn't want to be seen; prefered my privacy. Even now, when I hit the beach I enjoy watching the sun rise over the ocean and the feeling that I'm the only one there taking in the scenery. It's never true, and as the crowds start to cover the sand, I feel less and less excited about being there. My usual approach is to wear my ball cap, headphones and dark sunglasses which assures that I'll remain fairly anonymous. I'm sure there are snide remarks and sarcastic comments directed at me, but when you can't hear them, you have the luxury of thinking they were never uttered!
Regardless, I've come to the opinion that I'd be a fool to let the opinion of a stranger keep me from the full enjoyment of our hobby. Let them snicker while we uncover the gold!
Ruth

 

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[Stacylee926]

I really try to hunt where there are no people - I don't know, I just want to hunt in peace. I mostly hunt at elem schools and parks, so I go when no one is there. Many times I just HAVE to go MDing and have only a short time, so I have to deal with it. When there are kids around, I try to stay away from them, but those kids are drawn to the detector.... I have let them help sometimes and they are always shocked when I tell them to dig, there is a penny under the mulch - and they pull out a penny. I am a magician!!

 

[UncleVinnys]

I've been at this hobby about 3 years now. I've hunted abandonded sites, church yards, old towns and the beaches (my favorites!). Initially I didn't want to be seen; prefered my privacy. Even now, when I hit the beach I enjoy watching the sun rise over the ocean and the feeling that I'm the only one there taking in the scenery. It's never true, and as the crowds start to cover the sand, I feel less and less excited about being there. My usual approach is to wear my ball cap, headphones and dark sunglasses which assures that I'll remain fairly anonymous. I'm sure there are snide remarks and sarcastic comments directed at me, but when you can't hear them, you have the luxury of thinking they were never uttered!
Regardless, I've come to the opinion that I'd be a fool to let the opinion of a stranger keep me from the full enjoyment of our hobby. Let them snicker while we uncover the gold!
Ruth

RUTH - You go girl!
Yeah, that's pretty much my attitude too.
Though now I am leaning towards really enjoying the kids who have
no qualms about talking to me, and I generally let them find or take
a few pennies, as the above poster noted.
Mostly it's the cops, guards, or custodians who might think I am doing
something illegal, but honestly, that has never happened.
I like the dark glasses idea and maybe I'll even add an iPod!

UV

 

[MonkeyBoy]

It is not so much the machine that bothers me.. it is the fact that I feel compelled to wear knee high black socks.. plaid shorts and a Hawaiian shirt when I go hunt the beach!! ;-)

Ok.. only kidding.. I hate the beach.. but.. hunting yards... or right up on the road does bother me.. because I am drawing attention to the spot.. I have had people stop... wave me over to ask who owns the property and how can they get permission.. not really the kind of information I always feel like sharing! I had one guy drive up the driveway, looking at me in the field, come hauling a$$ back out, stopped and yelled at me because the landowner told him no.. she had given me sole right to hunt. The guy was a bit nuts about it. I also had a over zealous public official sceam at me for digging in town. He said it was against the law and he would call the police.. so I stayed right in the front yard to force the issue and they never came.. there were no laws preventing me form hunting where I was. so it is those sort of things that drive me to sites that are more hidden from public view! I gues it boils down to, you are going to find people who are cool about it.. and people who think you do not have the "right" to do that on other people's property even with permission.. I think most of them are Home Owners Association Officers ;-) It just must be in the blood...

MonkeyBoy

 

[L Anderson]

I see some of you want to find treasure in schools. Well if it is abandoned, I have a great hint for you.
As a custodian of a school, the place to find some treasure is in the lockers of the school. I cleaned these lockers, during the summer when school was out. Gym lockers were the best. Apparently, the other custodians over the years never did do a very good job of cleaning thoroughly. A metal detector is definitely not needed.
When you open the door to the locker you will find all kinds of money and old jewelry. It is located just beyond the hinge in that groove back there and also on the other side farthest from the hinge. I found a lot of gold jewelry that appeared to be old and a lot of coins. This was in a middle school in California.
I hope this works for you all.

 

[shanegalang]

I feel this way sometimes. I am getting more used to it as I hunt more around people and see theres no real bad reactions. A guy yesterday asked if I found Jimmy Hoffa. I do make it a point to go out detecting really early in the morning, right as the sun comes up and have seldom seen anyone else out there. They show up as I'm leaving. If anyone ask if I found anything I say yes but I'm not getting very rich from it. I sometimes feel a little bit embarassed to stop at a store after hunting as I'm so dirty especially on a Sunday morning but I dont really care what people think..........well just a little but I'm not going to need therapy or anything from it.