Scary places

[Vingamel]

Every time I drive through the inner city of Kansas City, I salivate at the possibilities. All those old houses, boarded up churches, vacant lots where buildings burned down--gosh, what could a chap find? The problem is a fear for my own safety. These neighborhoods are full of crime, and a nice suburban fellow like myself waving around an expensive metal detector (not to mention my nearby parked car) would pay for somebody's next drug fix.

Anybody here have any success in these kinds of neighborhoods, and what do you do to protect yourself or make bad-ums stay away?

 

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[Vingamel]

Drugs & crime do the same thing to all people regardless of race. My original post was about neighborhoods in which criminal activity is much higher than the norm, and I never implied anything about particular races. I'd be just as scared in a white neighborhood as I would in a black one if the crime rate in both places is the same. Scum come in all colors.

 

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[czman]

Black, white,red,brown dont make no different, turn the other cheek and you will get the hell knocked out of you...Don

 

[PJB (Ohio)]

This thread is so timely for me. Just last night I was driving to explore a new area that I researched and it took me through the rougher east-side of town, and I though that those neighborhoods had to be something spectacular 100 years back.

In this neighborhood just a few months ago, a friend of mine was a volunteer poll worker during the election, and he was almost stabbed (cut through his hand pretty good though) because he was the only white guy waiting for the bus in this neighborhood, and they assumed that he must be there to stop their vote from counting (as they told him). Luckily, he's a former US Army Ranger and had the guy with the knife in a heap and his other two buddies didn't want any part of that, so they scattered.

Like any martial artist, he tried to calm the situation with reassuring words and a calm demeanor, keeping his head up high, but not being threatening. It didn't matter on that particular night. The knife came a-flyin' anyhow.

It's just a plain fact: in economically depressed areas, people act differently, and expecting them to treat me the same way that someone in an upscale neighborhood would treat me is illogical. I'm not saying that you should treat people like cattle or assume that every one of them will stick you with a shiv over the wheatie you found, but you need to have respect for the different social conditions and address them appropriately.

I can be a pretty intimidating looking guy, I am a martial artist as well, and I know that the way you carry yourself in dangerous situations has everything to do with your chances of being attacked, but I think Vingamel had it right: when you get into your hunting, you tend to shut out a bit of awareness of things around you. So all sorts of ideas for hunting the area ran through my mind, including hiring "protection," but I doubt you could pay anyone enough to stand around and watch you dig holes all day.

In the end, I think that a partner is the only way to go, and preferably someone who knows the neighborhood well (and isn't very good at finding the old coins LOL).

 

[ghost surf]

I can relate to all of that stiff...I was shot at and the bullet nearly missed my head through the car window, taken by a person who said he wanted me to baby sit, which it wasn't that at all and almost met my maker,Had my head just about torn off and had 126 stitches put in my neck because of that darn German Shepard who bit me...a once ?M.P. Police dog !!....Broke open a drug case/picture pervert... by accident and told by that person"I will find you".... And had a hell of a long hard life...After all of that I still hunt..But I am very suspicous of by-standers because when you have been through hell! You think twice...before letting someone take your life away from you. I'd ratherr ?stay away from them kinds of situations....Though I can't wait untill spring and the ground clears of snow.All I have to say..Is... watch your back at all times and don't asume your safe with strangers!!!

 

[Vingamel]

I'm a black belt in Ryu Kyu Kempo, but have no illusions of dodging bullets or defending myself against four guys at once. It's correct, however, that knowing how to defend yourself shows through in the way you carry yourself. I am not a big guy, but people don't mess with me simply because I look them straight in the eye, and give off physical signals that I can and will handle myself. That said, fear can also be another word for wisdom.

 

[gldhntr]

i do not go to these areas of trouble 1 - On fridays after lunch 2-- on any day after 5 pm.. 3-- any holiday especially martin luther day , 4-- after dark ... my reasoning here is during these times the animals are more likely to be sitting around drinking cheap wine, smoking crack that they bought with money they made from robbing and stealing from hard working folks, and talking about how bad they are treated by people like us. pretty much any other time it is usually laid back in these places. you can hunt public property very early, say from 5 am till 8- or 9 am without much problem as they are asleep because they don't work therefore don't have to rise early. i have also found that after 10 am till 3pm you can knock on nearly door in these neighborhoods and tell them what you are up to and ask permission with the offer of splitting any finds with them and they are more than happy to oblige you, even letting you check under their houses, i think this is because they are used to getting handouts while not having to work for them...just don't pick up anything that looks like a cigarette pack, baggie, coffee can, or anywhere it looks like one of them might have their stash of crack rocks hidden. one other thing ,, me and my partner were detecting in danville virginia, less than a block from a police sub-station--- that night we saw where a man was shot at a bus stop at this same spot by a drive by shooter. he was shot 1 1/2 hours after we had left the area so it might be smart to go bullit proof, although i don't and will still go to these places. the only problem i ever had in one was a drunk that decided my hat with rebel battle flag on it was an insult. after a little heated conversation in which i let him know i stood behind my ancestors and their actions, the drunk decided that my hat wasn't all that bad and left. now if i can go to these places with that on my hat, shirt, and car but i am still able to type this it must not be too bad, just use a little better sense than me and you should be fine....

 

[foolserrand]

I live south of KC (in the countryside).... I work in KC..... and i would NEVER & i mean NEVER even attempt to detect in or around some of the dangerous ,rundown neighborhoods in kc unless I was with a couple of very capable fellows. In my opinion it just isnt worth your life to find some old coins. Criminals look for vulnerability in their victums..... and a lone person with a metal detector in the back yard of an abandoned, boarded up home would be a prime target.?

 

[kenb]

Scary places? try reading a Steven King book two miles up a mountain in the middle of the woods by you're self!!!, eye's start playing tricks on you then you start hearing things next thing you know you're looking over you're shoulder at things that aren't there. I'll take bad neighborhoods over that LOL!!!

 

[Vingamel]

Real people with bad intentions scare me much more than Stephen King nonsense, and I've read most of his books. I'll take some hooting owls over a meth-crazed gang any day or night. Ghosts, if they exist, leave you scared; criminals leave you dead.

Most folks, even in run-down neighborhoods, aren't going to be a problem. But as has been stated, if you're a stranger in the neighborhood, alone and vulnerable, you will attract the attention of those who would seek to profit at your expense.

foolserrand, some of the neighborhoods I was looking at are those along the new I-71 (Bruce Watkins Drive). There are some beautiful old churches and other buildings, especially on the west side, all boarded up and begging to be hunted. Sadly, no amount of testosterone or brave words on an internet forum are going to bolster my courage enough without a good, safe plan.

 

[Lowbatts]

Yep, a lot of folks with all sorts of perceptions. All said and done the place where I am MOST likely to have trouble is in a "NICE" or "UPSCALE" neighborhood where my kind of hobby is seen as "LOW-RENT" Not cop bashing, but they are there to serve their constituent community and they will not hesitate to haul you off where they think you do not belong. Gosh it hurts to be stuck in the middle.

Anyone ever try to hunt say, along the edge of one of Trump's estates? The thing about hunting near a "known crack house" is the folks inside know the cops are nearby watching most likely so there is a sort of stasis in the "hood. It's the occaisonal desperado that threatens. Look like you belong, not like a tourist and you shouldn't have too much trouble.

 

[jeff of pa]

You gotta Remember LOWBATTS, PUT A SUIT & TIE ON to search TRUMPS PLACE? Better Yet, a TUX. but not a rented one. HE can probably tell the Difference? jeff

 

[diggummup]

Went hunting in "cracktown" last weekend,no problems.Had some stares,mostly me doing the staring though.There are certain neighborhoods I wouldn't even think about.I can remember in the late 80's while working as a delivery driver in Miami,Fl. hvaing bricks hurled through my windshield just being on the wrong street which was patrolled by drug dealers(literally).I actually had a cop pull me over once for being a white guy in a black neighborhood(true story).I've been shot at,had a knife pulled on me(his mistake)and been robbed by a group of punks once.All this, just from delivering TV's in Liberty city and Overtown.Yeah, there are a few places in the" hood"that I would love to detect,but not without a .45 on my side!This is reality in the BIG city,sad but true.H.H.

 

[spotz]

If you think that your endless certified research has promised you a cache of proportions only imaginable in any true detectorists wildest dreams, You could try: ( week day ?only between 10 AM & 3 PM )

Yellow crime scene tape, spotters facing outward at all four corners wearing wind breakers with FBI stenciled in yellow paint on front & back, obvious weapons & numerous CLOSE, CLOSE, VERY CLOSE FRIENDS in the local law enforcement agency who really believe that they are in for an equal share of the goods.

NAW!! It's just not worth it!

Spotz ( 22 years law enforcement before owning RV Park)

 

[gldhntr]

go man, you've been to some of my sites spying on my methods i see. just in fun

 

[swizzle]

Try this instead.

Make yourself a viking helmet out of tinfoil and make fake tnt sticks out of cardboard, colorful wires and duct tape them around a vest. Put on the vest and if anyone approachs act like your gonna flip a switch on your detector and give them the evil eye. I wouldn't mess with someone like that. Would you?

 

[stoney56]

Just a piece of advise, look around as you detect, keep one earpiece adjar to hear, stay alert but above all if you/re using a BH and somebody asks what you're doing-tell them someone stole your car and all you've been able to get back is the muffler and a piece of the tailpipe. LOL

 

[GunFarce]

I don't think a few coins is worth the effort, or the risk.. Criminals are basically cowards.. If you 'look' defensless, you WILL be a victim. 100% guaranteed.. There are lots of beaches, fields, old farms.. Why poke around where your not wanted..

 

[PJB (Ohio)]

We're not talking about digging in Cell Block "D" at the state penitentiary. We've gotten some good suggestions...

if you're not hunting in south Chicago,
if you're capable of projecting a presence that's not "I'm an easy target",
if you can hunt between 6:00-10:00 AM,
if you use some common sense,

then the he spoils go to you! Remember, we're talking specifically about old neghborhoods that have possibly never been hunted. Weigh the risk, win the prize.