What would you do?

[Monty]

You have a really nice warm spring day and decide to go to the local reservoir to hunt some of the beaches. The water is still too cold to swim and the beaches will be devoid of everyone except perhaps a sun bather or two. When you get to the beach you find that is has been dug up from one end to another by a so called detectorist using a shovel. Thare are large gaping holes all over about a foot or more deep and twice that wide. As you start to leave you notice a guy at one end of the beach sitting in the back of his pickup truck eating a sandwich and drinking a beer. There is a metal detector and a shovel beside him in the bed of the truck. Would you approach him and ask if he dug the holes and if so, would you chastise him? Would you try to contact a park ranger and get him arrested? Or what would you do?

It happened to me last spring. I got out of my car and walked over to chat with him. He was friendly enough and readily admitted that he had been detecting and digging on the beach. His atitude changed when I told suggested that he needed to go back and fill in the holes. He became very beligerent and said it was none of my business. I even offered to help and he told me to go and make love to myself or something like that. I felt like shoving the shovel where the sun didn't shine, but I thought better of it and went on my way looking all the while for a park ranger. Luckily there was one at the entrance gate to the public area and I stopped and made a report, giving the tag number and description of the creep. I iterated that I was also a detectorist and didn't condone that type of behavior regardless. The ranger headed off that direction and I never heard the outcome, but I noticed all the holes had been filled the next time I went to the beach. I have a suspicion that the guy had a choice to fill in the holes or go to jail. I would like to have seen him fill all the holes and pay a hefty fine as he deserved it. Monty

 

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[Probed]

This happened to me recently. I met a nice metal detecting couple while at my favorite park/beach. We chatted for a few and went our separate ways. I looked at my watch and realized I had to be at a job so as I was leaving, there they were. I went over to say goodbye and I couldn't believe my eyes to see they were using this large shovel on a nice lawn, the holes being made were huge and the grass was being placed back in several pieces per hole with the trash thrown to the side. Disgusted and late for work I left not saying a word. I regret not having said anything and it bugged me so much I went back the next day to fix it all. I remember him asking if I ever got kicked out of there and that it was his constitutional right to dig where ever he wants, what a tool. He's a t-netter too so I hope he reads this.

 

[Smudge]

Monty,

I think I would have done exactly what you did. I might also have offered to help the ranger fill in the holes if the creep had already split.

A handful of pigs is going to ruin this hobby for the rest of us.

 

[TORRERO]

I'm wondering if these people we raised by humans with any respect or were they adopted
and raised in a box.
How can anyone with any kind of common sense, see the correctness in leaving a public place
in such a condition after they use it ?
Makes you want to take his machine and break it over his head.

 

[calisdad]

Thanks for doing the right thing. A lot of people wouldn't and I find that sad.

We had a similar discussion on a hunting forum and most would walk away (poaching).

Help protect what we have (conservation) or risk losing it.

 

[gmanlight]

There the same ones that park the car in the handicap spot
because thy cant be bothered to walk the extra hundred feet.

 

[boogeyman]

I would've / have done the same thing. I've said it many times here. If you get a reputation of keeping an eye out for these idiots & don't act like them, it'll go a long ways. Either way the image you leave with rangers & police sticks. Most rangers are a valuable source of information and making friends and good behavior comes back to you many times over.

 

[Monty]

A sandy beach will sometimes fix itself with wave action, but the beach I saw was on a freshwater lake. The sand was shallow and after about 10" or so it was solid clay. This fool had dug down into the clay and left a muddy mess. Had it been just sand I may not have been so upset. Monty

 

[JoeMoto]

One of my hunting buddies is my bro-in-law and he sometimes takes my 9 year old nephew. We recently found a local park that appears to be untouched, as it's produced silver of the coin and ring varieties. I spent a few minutes teaching him how to dig a plug correctly so we can keep coming back to this spot. He did a good job of it after one lesson. If a 9 year old can do it these bozos should be able to as well.

 

[wildman4910]

I would have/ have done the same Monty, it's pigs like that that get the rest of us booted out of our favorite digs.

He needed that shovel wrapped around his fat head!

I mostly beach hunt, and I still fill in my scoop holes regardless of the wave action.

It's those fools that will cry foul the loudest when they can't hunt a site again because of their own action's!

The last one I told him "if you want to root around like a pig do it out in the woods were nobody will see ya!"


~~Happy Hunting~~

 

[deepskyal]

I fill my holes in the woods....ya just never know. Still can't even bring myself to use a shovel. Had the same WW2 army knife since I started this hobby back in the early 80's. Good luck charm...lol

I doubt I'd approach anyone. Like the reaction Monty got, I'd probably swung at him or picked up his detector and smashed it. I'd opt for finding someone and turning them in.

Not much different than my job. Sometimes I work in dangerous situations and I want whomever I'm with to be sane and sober. If not, I'll report them in a heartbeat. It's my life in jeprody.

Detecting is no different. I don't have many hobbies but the couple I do have, I want to be able to enjoy. If someone is screwing it up for me, I'll stop em.

Al

 

[boogeyman]

Hmmmm......... Well officer, the guy appeared intoxicated, started swinging his detector at me. This put me fear for my life, so I disarmed him of his detector. He kept swinging at me. When he grabbed for his shovel, I defended myself with his detector, he kept attacking me until I knocked him out with his broken detector. That's my story & I'm stickin with it.

 

[wildman4910]

^^^^^ Sound's like a plausible story to me!!


~~Happy Hunting~~

 

[ivan salis]

in life there are the "rape and pillage" one timers and the long haul folks -- these two types of folks will never see eye to eye -- it has to do with basic point of life veiw differances -- the one timers are "harrah fer me and screw the rest of the world" basically - they hit a spot once --high grading fer silver and maybe gold -- they will not refill holes -- waste of their hunting time as they see it -- dealing with their holes are someones elses "problem" -- they think well the other guy should be "alert" and not trip in em .

these are the dirtbag type of folks that I despize since they are the folks that give the hobby of metal detecting a bad rap --it only takes a couple of losers like them in a area to get all the local areas declared "off limits" to detecting sadly

 

[boogeyman]

All kidding aside Like I've always said, Make friends with the rangers & park workers. 1. Valuable source of info 2. some real nice guys! 3. Better to have them on your side.

I turn these animals in every chance I get along with taggers & vandals. You build up the opinion that these animals aren't the norm, and the rest of us are glad to have places to search & are interested in preserving them. If you come on a ton of holes call the rangers & make a report, then spend a little time fixing the mess while they're there. I guarantee that will stick in the rangers minds longer than one more vandalism report. Where I'm at I've actually had a City Park Ranger defend me when some ole bitty called & complained. Can't beat that!

 

[Monty]

I wasn't trying to be nasty to the guy I talked to and he was very pleasant until I mentioned he should fill in the holes. Then it was none of my business. I didn't want a fight so I walked away. I am not able to defend myself with fisticuffs alone and carry at all times and I go out of my way to keep from having a fight with someone. I can't win a fight and I am not going to take a beating. Monty

 

[Lowbatts]

I wasn't trying to be nasty to the guy I talked to and he was very pleasant until I mentioned he should fill in the holes. Then it was none of my business. I didn't want a fight so I walked away. I am not able to defend myself with fisticuffs alone and carry at all times and I go out of my way to keep from having a fight with someone. I can't win a fight and I am not going to take a beating. Monty

I hear ya there Monty, the tried and true approach to the guys who are pretty much gonna leave the targets behind in the holes they don't fill anyway is pretty straightforward. Let them know you've been hunting that ground for 25 years, no matter whether or not it's the first time you've ever been there.

Right off the bat they'll figure you got the goodies, they are usually the kind with the "it's all hunted out" mindset if they haven't scored much more than clad. More often than not you won't see them there again. Don't forget to mention you and a group of other md'ers have worked pretty much all the parks for a long time and boy do you miss the good old days.

Personally, I scold folks openly and let them know they're in my playground if they can't take a hint and won't take the genuine offer to help them get more sites and have a better time of it.

And yeah, I'd have taken their sandwiches and fed them to the critters. Don't want to burden you with too much reading but for your perusal, one of my summer encounters this year was one of my favs man. I mean all too cool:
http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,351036.0.html

 

[Woodland Detectors]

It simply comes down to respect for others. I personally fill all my holes...Beach, woods and even teach the kids who are in our program to fill the holes. (but most of them instinctively knew to do that already) Some people just have no clue. They are raised that way.

 

[Ronfrommichigan]

If the Gentleman was drinking beer at any of our area beach parks the grounds keepers and ranger's would have given him a stiff ticket and banned from the park before he could finish his beer. But if I did see him with his equipment at his truck I would explain how idiots mess it for the rest of us and how he is going to get the parks off limits to metal detecting and not even argue the point.I network at my parks and on the way out would tell the guys to watch this bum so he doesn't go on a mining expedition.

 

[ivan salis]

most all public parks that i know of are "NO ALCOHOL" ALLOWED -- INSTEAD OF POINTING OUT HIS BAD DETECTING WAYS -- TURN HIM IN FOR DRINKING INSTEAD -- IT WILL STILL EFFECTIVELY GET HIM "BARRED" FROM THE PARK -- heck maybe even a DWI (arrested with jail time)-- so that way you might not see him for quite sometime . more than one way to skin a "jerk cat"