Rusty,
No I wouldn't you don't hunt urban green spaces. Shovels are ok in farm fields, woods and similar sites. The hand trowel is the way to go in urban green spaces though.
I'll argue that , and lose due to the perception of a shovel ,and abuses.
I found manhole sized plugs tossed back off location of holes and not re secured. One had an old flattened can left under it. Kept me busy a while trying to mend.
And guessed who did it? After having a chat with the suspect the activity ceased.
Anyways I use a Lesche in parks but could do as well with my WW2 Army shovel by cutting a flap type plug.
What happens from making plugs vs flaps is Squirrels ,skunks and other critters get a whiff of fresh dirt and some investigate.
I want to detect ,not re-work/replace other folks plugs....
A real eye opener was watching the mowing in multiple parks.
A former town mayor (or it's version of a mayor) used to stop and visit me detecting ,one time he was driving a big mower they use.
After mowing there were plugs pulled from the mower decks vacuum.
At time there have been a lot of detectorists over a weeks time adding up to a lot of plugs...Those plugs not well secured get loose.
A large flap properly secured might hold better. I may be alone in flaps vs plugs ,and do cut plugs in rough areas ,but if people would use a shovel like a trowel it would not damage sods as much as poor plugs of any size.
Went past the village administration hall last year(?) and the turf across the road from it looked like some one mounted a shovel on a tractor and tore it up!
I was near mortified ,knowing there were lots of mixed iron signals in that spot.
If not for patient village workers , that park would be closed to detecting , I have no doubt.
Multiple times a worker has stopped to chat ,with some obviously stopping to see the how of what I'm doing more than a cheerful social visit...
The least cheerful one watched a while and then said (more than asked) that I take any trash dug out with me.
I showed him my trash..
They (well some of them) know how a plug can be cut and not result in the poor results they see on occasion.
I don't ask if they check everyone out but hope they kick someone in the hind end verbally if they are being crazy rather than ban everyone someday.
Not their job though if they want to avoid the issue...
It's on detectorist to police their own.
Yes we can say a shovel is a bad image on any but remote sites.
But even remote sites can be fragile.
And like one friend who looked bewildered when I insisted he patch up plug work out in the woods , we don't need to leave evidence of where we make a recovery.
Previous trapping experience has me blend a cut and area around it in after securing it until it can't be noticed. Usually.
It's worth the time.
