Virgina hunt questions

Some town parks yes most no, you have to check with the parks and rec dept for the towns. Woods that are privatly owned can be hunted if you have the land owners permission. No NPS property can be hunted. Some National Forest can be but you have to check with that ranger district to be sure. Most state parks can Not be hunted. This is as far as I know and I think I'm right on most of this.

RelicHunter1 said:

I was wonderint if anyone can help. I heading to virginia this sat. I want to swing while im there. Can I swing if im not on a battlefeilsd? Like parks and woods without getting in trouble?

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Well I guess that depends on what your your girlfriend looks like. Most times people just get a motel room but I guess if your girlfriend is ugly and you don't want to many people seeing her with you in public I guess the woods is a good place as long as it's heavily wooded. Parks and battlefeilsd are probably not a good idea along with boat landings and the park n go spaces at the airport. Park rangers and the cops are always on the look out for parked cars with steamed up windows or loud moans and squealing coming out of the bushes along the trails in the parks.

If you are the nostalgic type and you just want to feel the closeness of a battlefeilsd nearby while you and your swinging group are doing the nasty may I suggest the Motel 8 on Williamsburg Rd. and Airport drive. It's right at the Richmond Int airport entrance and the airport sits on a large portion of the Richmond defense works during the civil war. Large numbers of troops were stationed there during the war as well as during WW2 if I remember correctly. You can be as noisy as you like there because the sound of the air planes taking off and landing will drown out the loudest of screamers and you will hardly even notice the gun shots going off a few doors down when a drug deal goes bad or some dude tries to skip out on paying his bill at the pancake house close by.

By all means get permission before you swing cause you never know when you might come across a couple and the dude is the jealous type or there even may be the time when you come across a couple where things aren't what they seem and the dude ends up being the one wearing the panty hose and lipstick and is sporting a pump handle longer than a well rope and you just can't seem to shake the funny feeling you have, that something just ain't right about this situation.

Don't be the one laying on the psychiatrist couch trying to figure out how and why you ate the whole thing and why you have had this awful taste in your mouth every since that Sat night in Va. Or, why for the past few days you have had this overwhelming erge to watch one rerun after another of the movie....Broke back mountain and old Ellen shows.

So by all means, please do get permission and get the details sorted out before you start your swinging trip cause you never know who or what you may run in to these days.

OH!! you meant swinging like, when you are working your medal detector along the ground. Silly me, I thought you meant.........Oh never mind.

It depends on the locality. In Fairfax County, I'm pretty sure ALL county parks are off limits.

-- Tom

The other thing to be aware of is that Virginia is a NO WARNING state. If you are caught on state park property or a landowners property without permission you go straight to jail with NO WARNINGS. They passed this law due to people who hunt near state property, casually wonder onto the state protected land, and say they didn't know or got confused. There have been lots of problems with this type of thing in Virginia and the they got fed up and changed the law.
Be sure to know where you are hunting and get permission. Hope this helps.
John

What if im way out in the woods at night. They really wouldnt see me then. And of course I wouldnt hunt on private property without permission or on battlefields. I do not break laws bit I guess my only choice is to ask.. I see all these videos on youtube of people in woods detecting. So I wasnt sure.

Where in VA are you specifically going? I don't think you can just randomly pick a wooded area and expect to find anything. If you know of woods that had civil war activity and it's not on private or fedeal property, you should be ok. But if you're randomly going into a forest, I don't think you'll find much. Just because its Virginia doesn't mean relics are just lying on the ground everywhere. I sure wish, though.

If you have a good spot spot picked out and want one more to join, PM me. I'm in Northern Virginia and do most of my metal detecting at night.

John in NC said:

The other thing to be aware of is that Virginia is a NO WARNING state. If you are caught on state park property or a landowners property without permission you go straight to jail with NO WARNINGS. They passed this law due to people who hunt near state property, casually wonder onto the state protected land, and say they didn't know or got confused. edir have been lots of problems with this type of thing in Virginia and the they got fed up and changed the law.
Be sure to know where you are hunting and get permission. Hope this helps.
John

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John could you post this law or at least point us in the right direction. I haven't seen any laws like that other than on Federally owned land and NPS stuff.

Is that a State laws or local?

Hey malone I am going to winchester area but dont mind traveling to culpeper area or wooded areas around the battlefeilds but outside the park grounds. What you think?

John in NC is exaggerating. You have to be told not to be there. If hunting, as in deer, you have to have oral permission if not posted; written permission if posted. Only a ticket, not a trip to jail.

From the code of Virginia:

§ 18.2-119. Trespass after having been forbidden to do so; penalties.

If any person without authority of law goes upon or remains upon the lands, buildings or premises of another, or any portion or area thereof, after having been forbidden to do so, either orally or in writing, by the owner, lessee, custodian, or the agent of any such person, or other person lawfully in charge thereof, or after having been forbidden to do so by a sign or signs posted by or at the direction of such persons or the agent of any such person or by the holder of any easement or other right-of-way authorized by the instrument creating such interest to post such signs on such lands, structures, premises or portion or area thereof at a place or places where it or they may be reasonably seen, or if any person, whether he is the owner, tenant or otherwise entitled to the use of such land, building or premises, goes upon, or remains upon such land, building or premises after having been prohibited from doing so by a court of competent jurisdiction by an order issued pursuant to §§ 16.1-253, 16.1-253.1, 16.1-253.4, 16.1-278.2 through 16.1-278.6, 16.1-278.8, 16.1-278.14, 16.1-278.15, 16.1-279.1, 19.2-152.8, 19.2-152.9 or § 19.2-152.10 or an ex parte order issued pursuant to § 20-103, and after having been served with such order, he shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. This section shall not be construed to affect in any way the provisions of §§ 18.2-132 through 18.2-136.

I donno about straight to jail on the normal parks, but you sure will if you detect on the protected battlefields.

Btw, its tough to find public-owned areas near any known civ camps or battlefields. At least I'm having a hard time finding any around.

Seriously, you don't want to end up in the wrong person's woods in the middle of the night. People have been relic hunting around VA since the 50's, and some folks have grown to dislike us all together because some hunter, at some point trespassed and dug large nasty holes, etc. They're are farmers that will call the officials on you if you're caught and point a gun at you until they get there. And if you have an out-of-state license, you're probably going to jail. All this may be hear-say, however it's not worth it to me. I stick to where I have permission.