School yards are great, but almost always trashy. I never ask for permission for public schools. I don't hunt old churches or church schools unless I get permission. Either way I always hunt schools weekends, evenings or very early in the morning, and during the summer. Schools, the older the better, but those playgrounds can really give up some goodies sometimes. Good Luck!
Metal Detecting school yards
- Thread starter twistidd
- Start date
Howey01
Elite Member
Hello Joe I'm new but do MD school yards only on the weekends I live in KY and it is public property but if you need premission you ask the principle or the superintendant. Howard
I detected a school this morning I had never been to before. Strangely there were no signs whatsoever stating no trespassing or that it was even a school 
I only hunted for 20 minutes or so, I plan on going back again, earlier in the morning.
I only hunted for 20 minutes or so, I plan on going back again, earlier in the morning.
whitey
Full Member
I work in a school and i guess it would depend on where your detecting, If it was on the oval and on the weekend i dont think you would have much trouble, but if it was around the buildings and someone from the school saw you then i think it would be a different matter. We have had a lot of break in's of late and i think you would look up from detecting to find the police looking at you and asking you to leave. Well at my school anyway.
daddydigger
Forum Supporter
differcult
Junior Member
I have never asked, I figure its public land. As far as schools go, as everyone else says, do it at night or on the weekends. I have had a few people ask me if I find anything, and a few kids follow me around.
The one time I had the police ask me to leave, it was not because they didn't like what I was doing, they didnt like that I was alone, in a bad area of the town, in the rain at 10 PM, they said to come back tomorrow.
I think the big rule is, make it so no one know you were there, I bring about a pound of potting soil, so when I do make a mistake with my soil, I can still fill the hole. ALSO USE A SOIL CLOTH!
The one time I had the police ask me to leave, it was not because they didn't like what I was doing, they didnt like that I was alone, in a bad area of the town, in the rain at 10 PM, they said to come back tomorrow.
I think the big rule is, make it so no one know you were there, I bring about a pound of potting soil, so when I do make a mistake with my soil, I can still fill the hole. ALSO USE A SOIL CLOTH!
school yards
im gettin ready to head out to a once private school built around 1900. its now an elementary magnet school, public. it has very high wrought iron fences due to the bad neighborhood it is in. during the school year you CANT go during the week, they get mad. i usually go early early in the morning on a saturday. like 5am sunrise, helps beat the 104+ heat down here too. i wasnt sure if i was allowed to be there the first time i went, and ended up finding out by calling the cops because someone across the street was getting robbed. "beep beep beeeeep OH MMMY GOD GET OOOOUUUT OFF MMMY HOOOUSE! SOMEBODY WAS WATCHING MMMEEE SLLEEEP!!" and some !!!!!!! busts out her front door running off with his friends or whatever down the alley. so i call the cops and they dont say !!!! to me about the detector for once.
im gettin ready to head out to a once private school built around 1900. its now an elementary magnet school, public. it has very high wrought iron fences due to the bad neighborhood it is in. during the school year you CANT go during the week, they get mad. i usually go early early in the morning on a saturday. like 5am sunrise, helps beat the 104+ heat down here too. i wasnt sure if i was allowed to be there the first time i went, and ended up finding out by calling the cops because someone across the street was getting robbed. "beep beep beeeeep OH MMMY GOD GET OOOOUUUT OFF MMMY HOOOUSE! SOMEBODY WAS WATCHING MMMEEE SLLEEEP!!" and some !!!!!!! busts out her front door running off with his friends or whatever down the alley. so i call the cops and they dont say !!!! to me about the detector for once.
kingingkunsan
Full Member
READ me
I do hunt schools and have never been questioned. If I go on weekdays, I go after school hours. 5PM or later is usually good. Weekends I go whenever. I want to give a warning though. Not all schools are public! There are private schools (Catholic is the most common) and you will need permission to hunt those. I would start with the Principle. Good luck and HH
I do hunt schools and have never been questioned. If I go on weekdays, I go after school hours. 5PM or later is usually good. Weekends I go whenever. I want to give a warning though. Not all schools are public! There are private schools (Catholic is the most common) and you will need permission to hunt those. I would start with the Principle. Good luck and HH
kingingkunsan
Full Member
SageGrouse
Elite Member
"Stranger Danger" Kids and parents are far more paranoid nowadays. Just recently I had an incident that scared me.
I was MDing in the park totlot and away from the kids, when I heard a little girl scream. Not a hurt scream, or a fun excited scream but an "I'm scared! Get me out of this!" scream. I looked and she was dangling by her hands from the 'adult sized' gym bars! The drop was a good four to five feet and she was only about seven. Poor thing was scared and hanging there, crying.
I dropped my equipment and dashed over "Catch me!" she cried. I *knew* better! I'm a woman, but still, I'm a stranger! LAST thing I need is some hysterical mother claiming whatever. Instead, I said "Stand on my back!" and bent forward, beneath her dangling feet. I stabilized her, providing her with a place to stand on. Then when she let go she slid harmlessly down as I crouched, breaking her fall.
Her Mom rushed over, but instead of yelling at me, thanked me for keeping her little girl from falling. Still... it was one *scary* encounter. I returned to my stuff and continued detecting on the far side of the playground.
I try to stay far away from the kids, or leave when they arrive. And I *never* hit the park on weekends. Far too crowded and noisy for me.
SageGrouse
I was MDing in the park totlot and away from the kids, when I heard a little girl scream. Not a hurt scream, or a fun excited scream but an "I'm scared! Get me out of this!" scream. I looked and she was dangling by her hands from the 'adult sized' gym bars! The drop was a good four to five feet and she was only about seven. Poor thing was scared and hanging there, crying.
I dropped my equipment and dashed over "Catch me!" she cried. I *knew* better! I'm a woman, but still, I'm a stranger! LAST thing I need is some hysterical mother claiming whatever. Instead, I said "Stand on my back!" and bent forward, beneath her dangling feet. I stabilized her, providing her with a place to stand on. Then when she let go she slid harmlessly down as I crouched, breaking her fall.
Her Mom rushed over, but instead of yelling at me, thanked me for keeping her little girl from falling. Still... it was one *scary* encounter. I returned to my stuff and continued detecting on the far side of the playground.
I try to stay far away from the kids, or leave when they arrive. And I *never* hit the park on weekends. Far too crowded and noisy for me.
SageGrouse
WadeF
Junior Member
I would like to try detecting the schools in my area, when kids aren't around, but what about bringing along a Lesche, etc, to cut plugs with? Would the police consider it a weapon on school property?
Tom_in_CA
Elite Member
- Joined
- Dec 23, 2013
- Messages
- 20,761
This assumes a police is close enough to even see the lesche, to begin with. I mean, wouldn't they need to already be having stopped their car, and have had some reason to have walked all the way out to you, to begin with ? And when not in use (while you're just walking looking for signals you wish to pursue), the lesche would be put away anyways. The only time it's out is when you've crouched down to dig.
Heck I use a 10" long blade bayonnete! Talk about a weapon!
And in my 35+ yrs. I have yet to ever have the issue of "weapon" be a supposed ill. But then again, I'm not waving it around in menacing fashions, looking for attention from potential gripers.
Tom_in_CA
Elite Member
- Joined
- Dec 23, 2013
- Messages
- 20,761
And so too would a reasonable person agree with that. ESPECIALLY cops in this day and age who have MUCH BIGGER fish to fry.
But I bet if you walked in to enough lawyers or, walked in to the police station, and said "Hi. Can this be construed as a weapon?", I bet you could find someone to say "most certainly".
Today i hit up my old high school and asked first as i knew the kind of people in the area. Power hungry trying to intimidate you. Its also vacation week so i didnt think any students would be around but i started detecting and a crowed grew fast. Then a old guy started yelling and half the kids ran. I stood up and stood my ground saying this is public property. He insisted its not public but school property. I then asked him this school is a public school is it not? So that makes this public property. I then said the lady at the front dest has no problem with me being here and im taking all the trash with me and filling my holes back in. Can you see where i have been? I also told him to go ahead and call the cops on me if he had that big of a problem. He left me alone after that. Ill now only hit the schools after 5 and on weekends.
myfantasia
Senior Member
I hit the schools on the weekends and the parks during the week
Grumpysrb
Forum Supporter
If the school allows the public to use the grounds, play sets, track, ball fields, etc. after hours then it should be ok to detect. Unless it is posted that it is not.
FIREBIRD
Senior Member
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2014
- Messages
- 254
Ding ding ding, we have a winner. That's the exact same thing I do. It keeps me out of sight and out of mind.
Sent from my Mobile Command Center (MCC)
texasred777
Junior Member
I'm just getting back into MDing. I used to hunt school yards a lot. The elementary schools seemed to have the most coins. I didn't find much at the jr. and high schools that I searched. I always went when school was not in session. I found more coins at the elementary schools than even the parks and playgrounds around town.
That was in Texas. Now, I'm in Idaho and it seems some things may have changed. There is an elementary school about 2 blocks from the house that is mostly fenced and has 'no trespassing' signs around. Also, a lady I know told me that while walking the dog a few days ago, she happened to be close to the building and horn/siren went off and a recorded message ask her to leave. I'll have to check all of this out before going there! One of the other elementary schools, across town, didn't have any fencing around a year or so ago and I was there MDing for a while one Saturday morning. I asked at the city hall if there were laws regarding MDing in the town and was told 'no'; that any public property was ok to hunt.
That was in Texas. Now, I'm in Idaho and it seems some things may have changed. There is an elementary school about 2 blocks from the house that is mostly fenced and has 'no trespassing' signs around. Also, a lady I know told me that while walking the dog a few days ago, she happened to be close to the building and horn/siren went off and a recorded message ask her to leave. I'll have to check all of this out before going there! One of the other elementary schools, across town, didn't have any fencing around a year or so ago and I was there MDing for a while one Saturday morning. I asked at the city hall if there were laws regarding MDing in the town and was told 'no'; that any public property was ok to hunt.
pescadore
Elite Member
I hunt schools very often and have never been asked to leave. I always hunt them on weekends. I work in a school every day and will tell you that they are always suspicious of someone on the grounds during school hours. At my campus if you tried to detect during school hours, I am sure you would be asked to leave.
